IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


& 


■P- 


(/. 


Zl 

% 


1.0 


I.I 


25 
2.2 

1.8 


11.25  11.4   mil  1.6 


?,• 


Kiotographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


I 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


4 


>    \ 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


D 
D 
D 


[ 


D 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 

Covers  damaged/ 
Couverture  endommagde 

Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurde  et/ou  pelliculde 


f         Cover  title  missing/ 

•v    .    Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


□    Coloured  maps/ 
Cartes  g6ographiques  en  couleur 

□    Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

I      I    Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 


"*    Bound  with  other  material/ 
.    Reli6  avec  d'autres  documents 


D 


Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  reliure  serr^e  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  intdrieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajout6es 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  6t6  filmdes. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  suppl^mentaires: 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  6t6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-dtre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mdthode  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiqu6s  ci-des30us. 


□    Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  de  couleur 

p     ■    Pages  damaged/ 
I 1    Pages  endommag6es 

I      I    Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 


D 
D 


Pages  restaurdes  et/ou  pelliculdes 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxei 
Pages  ddcolorSes,  tachetdes  ou  piqu6es 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d^tachdes 

Showthrough/ 
Transparence 


I      I    Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
I      I    Pages  detached/ 
I      I    Showthrough/ 


I      I    Quality  of  print  varies/ 


Quality  indgale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  material/ 
Comprend  du  matdriel  suppldmentaire 


Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 

Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partieller?ient 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  6x6  filmdes  d  nouveau  de  fapon  d 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmd  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqud  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


26X 


30X 


X 


12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


e 

Stalls 
s  du 
lodifier 
r  une 
Image 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

Library  of  Congress 
Photoduplication  Service 

The  Images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


L'exempiaire  fllm6  fut  reproduit  grfice  d  la 
gAn6rositA  de: 

Library  of  Congress 
Photoduplication  Service 

Les  Images  suivantes  ont  6t6  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  teru  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  netteti  de  l'exempiaire  film6,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 


>s 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  Impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  Illustrated  Impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  Illustrated  Impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  -^(meaning  "CON- 
TINUED "),  or  the  symbol  y  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


Les  exemplalres  orlglnaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  Imprim6e  sont  filmds  en  commenpant 
par  ie  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impresslon  ou  d'lllustratlon,  soit  par  ie  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplalres 
orlginaux  sont  fllm6s  en  commenpant  par  la 
premldra  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impresslon  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
ciernS^re  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  la  symbole  — ►  signlfle  "A  SUIVRE  ",  le 
symboie  V  signlfle  "FIN  ". 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  Included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  Illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cnrtes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
film^s  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diff6rents. 
Lorsqua  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  cllch6,  11  est  film6  d  partir 
de  Tangle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'Images  n^cessalre.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
lllustrent  la  m6thode. 


errata 
to 


pelure, 
>n  d 


n 


32X 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4    : 

5 

6 

■■mm 


^iaWfcn>a  TWinwriMwr  ^inm^m 


/ 


A  NEW 


CENTENNIAL  HISTORY 


9^ 


•> 


.1  ) 


W 


THE  STATE  OF  KANSAS 


BEING 


A  FULL  AND  COMPLETE  CIVIL,  POLITICAL  AND  MILL 
TARY  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE, 


FROM  ITS  EARLIEST  SETTLEMENT  TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME. 


'BY  V    •& 

PROP.  CHARLES  r!"  TUTTLE 

Author  of  "  History  of  Wisconsin."  "  History  of  Indiana."  "  History  of  Michigan,"  "HIstoiT 

of  Border  Wars,"  "  History  of  Iowa,"  "  History  of  the  Northwest," 

"  History  of  Coantrles  of  Korth  America,"  etc. 


i^OLD  ONLY  Br  SUBSCBIPTION. 


MADISON,  WIS.,  AND  LAWRENCE,  KANS. : 

PUBLISHED  BY  THE  INTER-STATE  BOOK  COMPANY. 

1876. 


h 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  CongrcBS  In  the  year  eighteen  hundred  anj  Beventj-sl« 

BY  CIIAULES  K.  TUTTLE, 

In  the  ofilce  of  the  Llbrarlnn  ol  Confe'ress,  iit  WashlngtDn,  D.  C. 


/ 


k 


Mapi80»,  Wis.: 

STr.nEOTTPKD  AXD  PBINTKD  BY 
ATWOUD  &  CULVKB. 


MANrFACTVHEI)  r.v 

Wm.  J    Park  &  Co.,  11  Kixo  Sj. 

Madi»u.n,  Wis. 


^  ^.: :. 


"^ 


INTRODUCTORY. 


cnty-elx 


U  . 


TV  HEP  r.v 

Co.,  n  Kixii  Si. 

J.N,  Wis. 


It  cannot  be  hoped  that  any  writer  of  to-day,  altcmptinj;  the  tusk  in  one 
brief  volume,  will  be  able  to  condiinse  the  whole  of  the  matter  necessary  for 
a  History  of  Kansas  from  the  days  of  the  first  settlement  of  the  territory,  long 
before  the  passage  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  to  the  present  time;  but  it  is 
hoped  and  believed  that  by  a  careful  collation  of  all  known  facts,  and  some- 
times by  the  statement  of  even  conflicting  records,  where  the  material  for  an 
authentic  conclusion  was  not  available,  there  is  now  offered  to  the  reading 
public  a  work  which  will  supply  some  of  the  wants  of  the  day,  and  servo 
hereafter  as  a  basis  of  practical  value,  for  the  preparation  of  more  enduring 
literature.  The  genius  of  Buckle,  Motley,  Prescott  and  Froude,  finds  but  few 
exponents  in  any  age,  but  the  patience,  which  as  much  as  genius  itself,  makes 
the  page  sometimes  valuable,  historically  considered,  is  more  common,  and  just 
that  quality  it  is  hoped  has  found  expression  in  the  volume  now  presented  to 
the  state  of  Kansas,  and  the  union.  The  writer  has  striven  to  avoid  preju- 
dice in  preparing  these  sheets  for  the  press,  but  every  man  is  a  partisan  in 
some  degree,  and  with  his  utmost  efforts  cannot  prevent  his  ccmstitulional 
leanings  finding  utterance  in  his  written  and  spoken  words,  when  his  feel- 
ings as  well  as  his  judgment  become  interested. 

The  central  state  of  the  union  must,  in  tiie  progress  of  time,  become  of  im- 
mense  importance  in  the  economy  of  the  nation,  and  may  be  the  seat  of 
empire;  hence  it  is  of  some  moment  that  every  possible  contribution  toward 
its  authentic  lystory  should  be  preserved  in  such  form  as  will  be  best  availiv 
ble  toward  constructing  the  philosophy  of  its  development,  when  Chronos 
shall  have  ripened  his  fruit;  and  for  the  same  reason  it  is  to  be  desired  that 
the  writer  should  throw  no  unjustifiable  animus  into  his  narration.  History 
should  be  for  society  and  man,  what  the  earth's  crust  is  for  the  aeons  of  time 
that  have  elapsed  since  itJ  primary  rocks  were  first  solidified ;  a  faithful  pre- 
sentation of  every  fact  and  feature,  whose  imprint  could  be  made  before  the 
fugitive  and  protean  matter  had  put  on  another  semblance.  The  chronicler 
wliose  capacity  may  enable  him  to  achieve  a  result  so  glorious  will  make  a 
name  greater  than  Herodotus  aimed  at,  or  Thucydides  imagined ;  and  there 
are  approaches  toward  that  degree  of  excellence  among  the  writers  now  liv- 
ing, or  just  passing  away.  Such  a  design  could  not  be  fulfilled  for  Kansas, 
except  in  a  rudimentary  and  incomplete  way  at  the  present  era;  but  it  is 
something  to  have  helped  in  preparing  the  material  for  a  great  edifice,  and  to 
llxat  extent  the  writer  hopes  he  has  attained  a  measure  of  success. 


/ 


A 


.15^!^E' 


^  ciiJiy  <*'  J--^is^  =iXij&^  '■.*^h^-'  -■■* 


^^.Fjw.  f,w^u.iis^■sssfiiSissT 


4  Tvttlk's  IllsTOUV  OF  Kas'sas. 

The  ,..,si,ion,  .limonslon.,  n.nnulion  mul  river  .y.lc.  of  K.ns...  lu^vo  bm. 
„„,...]  u,  r..i..r  .hun  ....■rn,..!  in  .....dl.  because  1,  --^;^    '^  j' 
Lnvv..luMH.s  to  lum.  re-ul.Tcd  tlu...  lull  jusl  n-,  an-l     ' '^^^  ^.'^  f  /    ,,,, 
pnnLily  to  !,.■  read  by  the  i.c.-pl.,  .l.o  must  gain  thnr  ul.aH  b    «';  ; 

brl..f  auration,  and  not  by  a  regular  course  of  '^'-'-;  "^^^^^  ^ 

„,a  ,.,  i„  „n.s.n.c..l  will,  so.ne  inevitable,.  saeritUes  wluch  the  rtn  si  .1  sc  1  u 
and  Hiblil-Lole  .ill  discover.  Each  deparUnent  already  >;-'«;;• 
^•hose  worL  abound  hi  just  such  inforniation  as  the  n.ore  ue  e,  t       m 

,,,,t  sunuuarize,  and  to  their  pa.es  the  more  pro   ,und  -"^;         ^     '     ; 
when  the  purpose  of  this  work  shall  have  been  tultllled.    «;"1"W'   '"      ' 
i:e  1  nl  ■  invests  the  average  reader  to  the  extent  in  whe    a  -  -  -     - 
presence  or  absence  of  the  coal  nu-asures,  the  precious  metals  go.  d  .pan  ic 
1  u   ding  stone,  and  other  such  facts  of  economic  value     Cater.ng 
ubH      nd  pressJd  for  space,  speculative  geology  has  recoved  very       m. 
an  llin.'    and  the  circumstance  requires  numtion  rather  than  "1>"1"«>  •  ^^"l 
c      e  he       St  great  aim  of  the  merateur  is  to  secure  a  buy  ng  and  read    g 
c     si  u.ncy  that  will  receive  and  renuu.erate  such  faithtul  >"  >"••'-;;  »- 
a    e   .indemand.    No  man  has  ever  written   for  posterity  alone,  u  Id  he 
"fl-s  of  .d    failed  to  secure  the  ear  of  his  own  time.    It  is  then  ot  some 
imnot  nee  that  our  readers  should  know  that  Kansas  coman.s  none  ol  the 
Sri-tals,  and  that  its  geological  ..rn.atlon  ^^^^^^^^ZS^Zl 
U  such  discoveries.    It  is  of  greater  s>gn,llcance  tor  "^     f     !    ^^^ 

of  the  state  that  coal  and  lime  and  building  stone  abound,  that  salt  spun  s 
a  e  uu  e  ous,  that  layers  of  pure  salt  can  be  found  embedded  among  the 
s  n."  u  1  tin  t  the  so  1  is  rich  in  just  such  principles  as  wdl  conUnue  for  a 
,;'ie  to  keep  this  region  in  the  front  rank  among  the  most  ertde  agr  - 
c  Uu  countries  in  the  world.  Gypsum,  alum  and  natwe  sulphur,  brown 
h  m^ite  and  petroleum,  porcelain  clay  and  lire  clay,  indicate  w.ue  fi  Ids  of 
crlrpri  whch  will  not  fail  to  build  up  a  gre»t  commun.ty,  and  beyond 
thlt  ^Int  we  have  not  thought  it  expedient  just  now  to  deal  w.th  the  geo-   . 

loirieal  features  of  Kansas.  .         •  •     ,  ., 

Km    s   s  not  densely  wooded,  nearly  95  per  cent,  of  its  area  .s  prame;  but 
th^-uef  rests  of  considerable  extent  in  some  parts  of  the  state,  and  m  our 
cm  ntyskeches  a  careful  estimate  has  been  preserved  of  the  per  centage  of 
Zd  b  .t  om  land  and  prairie  in  each  locality,  so  that  the  intending  emigrant 
Z  ;'      a  glance  whit  part  of  the  desirable  region  will  best  meet  h.s  pu  - 
Zes   n     ttl'ment.    The  climate  of  the  state  has  been  analyUcally  consulered 
s^t  a    1  e  merits  and  demerits  of  the  several  sections  have  been  duly  credited 
regions  and  belts  to  which  they  belong,  as  will  be  seen  when  the  reader 
fc     to  those  portions  of  the  work  which  are  more  particularly  devoted  to 
nieteorolo-ncal  phenomena.    The  brevity  of  the  winter,  the  dryness  of  the  at- 
molple    %he  umeliorating  effects  of  tree  culture,  the  gradual  changes  ob- 
rvei  in  regard  to  the  frequency  and  violence  of  storms,  with  all  the  mam 
;  ts   e  ating  to  and  explanatory  of  the  apparent  change  will  be  found  so 
amlled  as  tliat  he  who  runs  may  read,  so  far  as  the  limited  knowledge  of  the 
race  has  yet  made  clear  the  laws  of  the  atmosphere;  yet  the  popular  reader 
wUl  find  that  he  has  not  been  afflicted  with  columns  and  pages  of  statistics; 


ve  dfiiiiiiKlctl 
•ork  inti'iult'il 
l)y  1)111!  silting 
wiiole  pieluro 
lishcil  sch'iliir 
IS  ita  writers, 
KTiil  liistorirtu 
liiivc  rccoursf, 
fology,  for  iii- 
iliinliciUcs  llio 
good  (luurric's 
lutorini;  f'>r  tlu! 
il  very  cursory 
ill  iipology,  bc- 
'jt  iiml  reiurmg 
labor  lis  for  tho 
alone,  until  he 
s  tlion  of  some 
ins  none  of  the 
i  exijectiitiou  of 
ulustrial  future 
lat  salt  springs 
Lied  among  tlic 
1  continue  for  a 
lost  fertile  ugri- 
sulphur,  brown 
e  wiiie  ttekls  of 
ity,  and  beyond 
a  with  the  geo- 

■a  is  prairie;  but 
state,  and  in  our 
iC  per  centage  of 
ending  emigrant 
!St  meet  his  pur- 
cally  considered, 
een  duly  credited 
1  when  the  reader 
Lilarly  devoted  to 
Iryness  of  the  at- 
dual  changes  ob- 
ith  all  the  maia 
will  be  found  so 
linowledge  of  the 
e  popular  reader 
iges  of  statistics; 


ISTRODUCronY.  *» 

the  writer  has  made  a  careful  digest  of  his  facts,  and  he  submits  to  the  public 
only  tlie  results  that  are  derived  therefrom. 

Then-  U  no  part  of  the  United  States  that  has  been  so  long  and  so  persist, 
ently  misrepresented  bv  writers  and  speakers  as  Kansas,  which  continued  lor 
many  yei.rs  to  Ik;  described  on  maps  and  in  tiooks  as  part  of  the  great  Amer- 
lean  desert ;  that  fact,  with  all  of  its  eonsecpiences  has  been  duly  set  lorlh,  am 
it  will  be  found  by  the  unprejudic.d  re-,ider  that  Kansas  has  been  hilly  cUarcU 
from  the  calumny  once  so  injurious  to  its  interests.    The  best  answer  to    ho 
charge  of  sterility  is  ne.:essarily  supplied  by  the  agr.:ultural  products  of  the 
state,  which  for  quantity  and  for  (luality  have  suri.assed  for  many  years  sav- 
Ing  only  certain  excei.lional  seasons,  not  only  the  general  average  ot    ho 
union,  but  the  best  records  of  every  other  agricultural  state.    That  indubiU 
able  fact  will  be  seen  by  the  reader  to  have  been  sustained  by  pregnant  tesli- 
monies  which  cannot  be  controverted.    The  railroads  of  a  country  fre(|uently 
indicate  its  measure  of  progress,  because  however  much  speculation  nmy  un- 
wisely  extend  the  iron  road  in  non  paying  regions,  notliing  but  good  returns, 
or  the  immediate  prospect  of  their  attainment,  will  induce  or  enable  a  rail- 
road  company  to  continue  to  operate  its  lines.    An  authority  commonly  ac- 
ccpted  without  question  claims  for  Kansas  the  possession  of  2,315  miles  ot 
railroad,  and  shows  that  there  are  only  seven  slates  in  the  union  whoso  record 
exceeds  that  aggregate.    Massaehusetts  has  not  yet  1,500  miles;  5lichigan  has 
not  2,000;  Maryland  and  the  District  of  Columbia  combined  present  an  ag- 
gre-ate  of  less  than  1,200;  .Alaine,  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont,  with  llhodo 
Island  thrown  in  as  a  makeweight,  still  fall  a  few  miles  below  the  aggregate 
presented  by  this  state  alone.    Accepting  railroad  development  as  an  index  of 
advancement,  the  prospects  of  Kansas  are  enviable  in  the  extreme.    The  de- 
tails  of  this  wonderful  phase  of  growth  since  the  year  1801  will  be  found 
briefly  summarized  in  their  proper  place,  and  the  contemplation  of  the  phe- 
nomena  will  present  many  curious  circumstances  to  the  mind  of  the  observer. 
The  growth  of  manufactures,  stretching  in  an  increasing  series  over  many 
years,  will  be  allowed  as  evidence  of  progress,  and  Kansas  can  present  a  very 
satisfactory  array  (ui  that  basis.    Ilcr  manufactories  of  various  kinds,  not  in- 
eluding  breweries  and  cigar  factories,  had  increased  steadily  up  to  the  year 
1874,  the  time  of  the  locust  plague,  and  at  that  time  numbered  805 ;  in  the  fol- 
lowing  year  the  cei;sus  was  collected  in  March,  before  the  slate  had  fairly  re- 
covered  its  feet  ,■  i' .'  that  visitation,  yet  the  aggregate  had  almost  doubled ;  tho 
returns  for  that  yeai  being  G04,  an  increase  of  299,  without  glancing  at  tho 
total  of  108  breweries  and  cigar  factories  noted  in  the  same  return.    In  every 
channel  that  permits  of  the  registration  of  business  activities,  similar  facts 
might  be  quoted;  but  enough  has  been  said  to  show  that  Kansas  is  building 
•.trongly  from  the  base,  and  must  certainly  become  a  mighty  state,  puissant  m 
manufactures  as  in  agriculture,  and  equal  to  all  requirements  in  the  expan- 
sion  of  her  commercial  relations. 

The  educational  enterprise  of  Kansas  is  not  excelled  in  proportion  to  the 
extent  of  its  population  by  any  one  of  the  United  States;  indeed  il  might  be 
easy  to  make  it  appear  that  too  much  has  been  done  in  that  respect;  but  in 
reality  it  is  not  possible  for  a  state  to  procure  too  many  educational  facilities, ' 


|^||gf^aWiSBA%>^i^i**«^^***^«SS«*SSs^^ 


.«iiAaS, 


All 


il'  -, 


6 


Tini.Ks  JIisTunr  of  Kas'sas. 


ns  Ion;;  ns  tlic  penile  can  \>y  lione^l  menus  sinmrp  llie  arcmint ;  scciii!,'  tliat  tlio 
most  (?csiriilile  class  of  men  and  families  will  always  lie  allraelfd  towards 
that  state  hi  wlilcli,  while  they  find  ample  scopo  for  all  their  adult  faeiilii<'s, 
their  children  can  he  most  llherally  furnished  with  aids  and  incenlivej  to 
mental  cullure.  Kansas  has  Invested  largely  in  schools,  beyond  hur  means 
undoul)lcdly  in  some  few  instances,  but  the  return  will  not  fail  to  he  com- 
mensurate before  many  years  have  elapsed.  The  unparalleled  t'rowth  of 
manufaelories  already  referred  to  is  one  form  in  wliich  the  reward  maybe 
conlinuouslv  recorded.  {;harilal)le  institulions,  churches,  colleges  in  their 
several  forms,  slate  normal  schools  and  asylums  alike  testify  to  the  praise- 
worthy activity  of  advanced  lliought  and  pliilnnthropic  cH'ort  whicli  will 
maintain  for  the  state  its  high  position.  The  growth  of  the  power  and  im- 
jicutance  of  the  press  alone  would  serve,  were  no  (Mher  means  available,  to 
illustrate  the  steady  growth  of  our  population  in  industries  and  morale;  l)Ut 
as  will  he  seen  by  the  reader,  tlie  story  that  is  told  by  any  one  department  is 
abundantly  corrol)oraled  Ijy  every  other. 

The  history  of  Kansas,  since  tlie  days  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  luw 
abounded  in  incidents  as  thrilling  and  perilous  as  the  surprises  in  the  drama, 
or  the  curious  ,1eiwu,iiw,ts  of  the  modern  novel,  and  while  there  has  been  no 
attempt  to  e.xasrgerate  for  the  sake  of  elVect,  there  lias  been  an  honest  eflort  to 
l.lace  upon  the  printed  page  such  a  statement  of  causes  and  effects  as  would 
make  the  movemenls  of  "Horder  RuHians  "  and  Free  Settlers  quite  intelligi- 
ble from  every  standpoint.  Tlie  movements  of  the  several  governors  of  the 
territory,  from  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Kceder,  in  1854,  will  lie  found  fairly  and 
accurately  stated,  os  the  chief  events  actually  transpired.  Tlie  action  of  Sec 
retary  Woodsim,  tlie  conduct  of  Franklin  Pierce,  the  weakness  and  vacilla- 
tion  of  Gov.  Shannon  and  his  ultimate  danger  at  the  hands  of  his  allies;  the 
manly  resolution  evidenced  from  the  beginning  by  Gov.  Geary  and  the  neces- 
Bity  that  impelled  him  to  seek  safety  in  tliglit,  after  the  prot.'Ction  of  United 
States  troops  had  been  shamefully  withdrawn  from  him;  the  statesmanlike 
pronuncunnnito  of  Gov.  Walker,  upon  a  basis  settled  beforehand  in  consulta- 
tion with  President  Buchanan  and  Senator  Douglas,  and  liis  resignation  when 
he  discovered  that  the  president  dared  not  abide  by  his  promises  of  honest 
administration;  the  conciliatory  conduct  of  Gov.  Denver,  and  of  his  succes- 
sors, Medary  and  Stanton,  will  be  found,  each  in  tlicir  order,  briefly  summa- 
rizcd  for  tlie  purposes  of  this  liistory,  up  to  the  time  wben  the  territory  be- 
came  a  state,  after  the  election  of  President  Lincoln,  and  before  his  inaugura- 
tion because  of  the  change  worked  in  congressronal  majorities  by  the  sue 
cess  of  the  Republicans,  and  by  the  desperate  measures  resolved  upon  by  the 
opposition  party  in  the  war  of  Secession,  which  was  waged  long  before  the 
fall  of  Fort  Sumter. 

There  was  less  scope  for  home  history  after  the  outbreak  of  the  war;  the 
impeachment  and  trial  of  Gov.  Robinson  and  his  colleagues  seemed  but  a 
small  event  in  view  of  the  perils  with  which  the  Union  was  menaced,  and  it 
was  desired  to  continue  from  the  beginning  in  regular  sequence  the  story  of 
the  war  as  rendered  part  of  Kansas  development,  by  the  heroism  of  her  sons 
oa  the  battlefields  of  the  Rebellion,  from  Wilson's  Creek  to  Pittsburg  Land- 


f 


:^J 


^  .^,— -—.u-jO*-,— -J -i^U^ -r' 


■I'lll)^  tlllll  tlio 
(■led  lowariU 
lull  fiu'ultW'!*, 
iiicdiUivi'.i  Id 
d  liur  mcmw 

I  to  he  foin- 

II  ^TOWtll    lit' 

wiiiil  may  bo 
cgcs  in  their 
lo  llic  pniisc- 
I't  wliicli  will 
)\vur  iiiul  im- 
i  iivailablo,  to 
il  morale ;  but 
department  is 

•aska  bill,  has 
in  the  drama, 
e  has  been  no 
lonest  efl'ort  to 
Tecis  as  would 
quite  inlelligi- 
vernor3  of  the 
lund  I'airly  and 
action  of  Sec- 
ss  and  vacilla- 
his  allies;  the 
and  the  neces- 
tion  of  United 
)  statesmanlike 
nd  in  consulta- 
signation  when 
nises  of  houcst 
1  of  his  sueces- 
hriefly  sumnia- 
lie  territory  be- 
e  liis  inaugura- 
ies  by  the  suc- 
ed  upon  by  the 
ong  before  the 

)f  the  war;  the 
i  seemed  but  a 
lenaced,  and  it 
lice  the  story  c»f 
sm  of  her  sons 
:*ittsburg  Land. 


IsTiioiJi'CTonr.  ' 

in;t,  from  ViekHliurR  to  Mi'slou  Uld;;c.  and  from  the  Ki-n.snw  lo  the  dose  of 
till'  war  at  Appomattox;  but  there  did  not  fail  to  h"  occasionH  when  the  homo 
life  of  KiiUHtis  could  be  (.'lanced  at,  as  from  a  di«lanee,  under  the  rule  of  Car- 
uey,  Crawford  anil  Harvey,  the  two  latter  actively  i(h'ntiflcd  with  the  war,  up 
lo  the  ansumption  of  onice  by  Gov.  Osborne,  the  present  incumbent.  The 
military  record  of  the  state  has  proved  itself  brilliant,  cxcecdiiij;ly,  and  there 
was  a  temptation  at  times  to  give  full  sway  to  the  entlmsiusm  which  heroism 
never  fails  to  arouse,  but  the  sober  prose  of  history  permitted  of  no  raptures. 
Kvcry  rcginu'Ut  raised  by  Kansas  to  maintain  tlie  slruiiitle  until  the  end  was 
reached  in  the  suppression  of  the  greatest  rebellion  tiie  world  has  ever  seen, 
will  be  found  named,  and  ils  deeds  summarily  mentioned,  but  to  have  d(mu 
them  just U'e  would  reciuire  a  library.  The  Drought  and  the  Locust  plague 
will  lie  found  in  their  proper  place,  recorded  witliout  an  attempt  to  cloak  erne 
fact  that  seems  to  militate  against  the  agricultural  greatness  of  the  state,  but 
with  u  full  aiipreciatlou  of  the  peculiar  circumstances  that  may  never  more 
combine  to  desolate  the  i)eople,  The  men  who  have  made  the  history  of  the 
state  could  not  all  be;  nami'd,  but  a  few  representatives  liewn  from  the  quarry 
of  public  life  have  been  used  as  illustrations  of  the  mass  in  order  that  the 
facts  and  possibilities  of  our  time  might  be  better  understood. 

CHAULES  R.  TUTTLE. 
Madison,  Wis.,  April,  1870. 


-  <!»l^i8^^s8a^W«M»l«^®srws»«»*:»isa«i^^ 


;--Lii>wM''...>J>'!  ■iiMr>iffUilPi*lMil»]iw''W^ 


mi-  ■BBffi--ea'i'^BSyi^»i-.'  "na^ 


CONTENTS. 


CIIAITEIl  1. 

Qeneuai.  DKBCUimON. 

Rivers  and  Streams  —  Soil  and  Surfiico  —  Climate  and  Productions,       •      17 

CIIAI>TEK   II. 

Hvaiioiio  Conditions. 

Air  — Water—  Soil  —  Timber—  Geology—  Stone—  Coal  —  Iron—  Lead  — 
Tin  — Petroleum,  •  -  -  ,...48 

CHAFFER  III. 

Eauly  History. 

The  French  on  tho  Missouri  —  Indian  Warfare  —  French  Fortifications  — 
American  Setttlement  —  Mormon  Farm  — Mexican  War— Fort  Leaven- 
worth—The  Gold  Fever,  ......      71 

CHAPTER  IV. 

TKnniToniAL  Hibtort. 

The  Nebraska  Kansas  Bill  — Gold  Mrners  Seeing  the  Land  —  Mean  Whites — 
Aristocrats  — Gen.  Atchison  —  Slavery  in   Kansas  — The   Irrepressible 


Conflict, 


88 


CHAPTER  V. 

Territorial  History  {continued). 

Missouri  Crossing  the  Boundary  — Shepherding  Selections  — Tone  of  the 
Press  — Choose  ye  Whom  ye  Will  Serve  — Tho  Dark  Hour  Before  the 
Dawn— Light  Shines  In  the  East,         -  •  •  -  -      98 


ms?& 


/ 


1 


10 


TuTTLic's  IIisTonr  of  Kaxsas. 


» 


CHAPTER  VI. 

TEimiToniAL  IIiBTOKY  [continued). 

Retrospective -Emigrants  Aid  Associations-  Limits  of  '^''''\^f^''-J''' 
Pictures  of  Kansas -Widening  the  Circle -Founding  a  City- Tactics 
of  tlic  Slave  Owners  — Progress  of  the  Struggle, 

CHAPTER  VII. 
TERiiiToniAii  HisTonY  (continued). 

Act  of  Organization -Gov.  Reeder- Inauguration  "^  ^f  ™2' "BaUot 
gressional  Delegate  -  Stuffing  the  Census-Courtes.es  of  the  Ball.u 
Box -Vote  or  Die -Some  new  Elections  -  Proslavery  Law  -  Gov^ 
Reeder  Removed  -  Causes  and  Pretense  -  Conduct  of  the  Governor,  13. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

TEiiBiToniAii  HisTOttK  {continued). 

Difficulties   Before  Gov.  Shannon  -  Legislation  in   Shawnee -Bond    and 

iree- Death  for  Abolitionists -Sifting  the  Jury  Panel -Sef-chosen 

Legislators -Spirit  of  '76 -The  Shawnee  Force -Twm  Delegates - 

The  Press-The  word  "  White "- First  Constitution- We  are  Readjs 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Reconnaissakce  (-4  Mef  Digression)  -  Piuncipal  Cities  of  Missouki. 
Reconnoitering   the  J  :nemy  -  Jefferson  City -Kansas  City -St.  Louis - 
StMph  -  Hannibal  -  Independence  -Weston  -  Lexington  -  Boon^ 
ville,  -  -  "  '  '  , 

CHAPTER  X. 

TEBBiToniAL  HisTonv  (m«med) -Tue  Wakauusa  Wab. 

Rein.>rced  from  the  East-Unsettled  Settle^ -Tl>e  Kansas  ^ 


-Tak- 


iforced  from  me  J^asi — uuav^iv.^  ^^^ -- 

ing   Blood -Illegal  Arrest  -  Wanted  Three   Thousand   Men  -  Platte 
County  Riflemen  1  Congress  -  Munitions  of  War  -Abolition  Scalps - 
':      The  Governor  in  Lawrence- The  Blaei:  Mag  Conspiracy,    -  .24- 

CHAPTER  XI. 

TEBiuToniAL  HI8T0BY  (continued) -K^m^^  Cokflicts  -  Events  o,-  1856. 

Sinister  Rumors  -  Negroes  Excluded  -  The  Territorial  Register-  Kickapoo 
tngers-Murdefof  Capt.  Brown  -  Organizing  a  Crus'.de-Now  or 
Never-The  Hoodwinked  President -Aid  ing  Kansas -Vote  and  Fight- 
We  want  Armed  Men- God  and  Our  Rights, 


— *rA«»i«4WtSff;S7S5fl*^5!^ 


Contents. 


11 


on  —  Pc; 

—  Tactics 

.    120 


•nt  —  Con- 
he  Ballot 
aw  —  Gov. 
ernor,  135 


Bond  and 
3elf-chosen 
(clegates  — 
are  Ready, 
173 


IlSSOURI. 

It.  Loula  — 

n  —  Boone- 

-    205 


B. 

;ion— Tak- 

tcn  —  Platto 

)n  Scalps  — 

.    243 


iia  OF  1856. 

—  Kickapoo 
iC  —  Now  or 
and  Fight— 

.    277 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Territouiat.  History  (<-on<t>iM,i)  — Early  Kansas  Conflicts— Events  of 

1850. 

In  the  Free  State  Camp  —  Waiting,  not  Resting  — Waiting  lor  Spring- Ad- 
dressing the  President—  Pierce  or  Davis?  —  Gross  Injustice  to  Kansas  — 
Mustering  Militia— Reviewing  the  Situation  — Reasons  for  Change  — 
Will  Free  States  Submit?— Unseating  Whitllcld  — No  Delegate  in  Con- 
gress —  Knavery  Defeated,  ..---■    293 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Tkrritorial  History  (continued)  — 'EAV.hY  Kansas  Conflicts  —  Events 

OF  1850. 

Free  Settlers  Helpless  —  Not  Homes  but  War  —  Lectures  on  Kansas  — 
Wood's  Exit  —  Shooting  Jones  —  Arrest  of  Robinson  —  Seargent-at- 
Arms  —  Imprisoned  —  Ct<l.  Sumner's  Duty  —  Atchison  on  the  Stump  — 
Tenderness  to  Women— Wearing  the  Spoils— Defense  Inevitable  — 
Mercy  Misplaced  —  Leavenworth  Order,  -  -  -  815 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Territorial  History's  (eontinned) —  Tue  John  Buown  War- Events 

OF  1856-7. 

Blood  will  Tell  — John  Brown  — Arms  and  Men  — Southern  Kansas  —  "  Old 
Brown"  — Brown  Captured —  " Kansas  Aid "  — Congressional  Art  — 
Presidential  Campaign  — Sfrenghenifig  Topeka  — Shannon  Commands  — 
Sumner's  Dragoons  —  Divergent  Views  —  Painful  Duty  —  Marshal's 
Brag, 836 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Territorial  History  (continued)  —  Tuk  John  Brown  War— Events  of 

1856-7. 

Sumner  Superseded— Franklin  Captured  —  Lovely  Woman  — Disbanded 
Militia—  Prisoners  Liberated  —  Bail  Bonds  —  Robinson's  Trial  —  Look- 
ing Ahead, *  _    -  ■  -    856 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Territorial   History  (continued)  —  End  of  the  John  Brown  Wab  — 
Gov.  Geary's  Rule  —  Events  of  1856-7. 

Manly  Record  —  Border  Dismay  —  Secretary's  Protection  —  Missouri  Mi- 
litia—Lawrence  Reinforcements— Kickapoo  Murder —Changed  Con- 
ditions —  Preserving  Peace  —  Moral  Tone  —  Fruitless  Arrests  —  Cataline 
andCato, -  '  -    370 


i  1 


k^ 


ir  * ' 
iiJ: 


la 


Tvttle's  HisTonr  of  Kassas. 
CHAPTER  XVII. 


TEBniTOKiAL    IIisTOUY  (continued)  -  Gov.  Geary  Cohclui)E9  -  Events 

OF  1857. 

Governor's  Message -Faction  Fury -Sheriff  Sl.crrard-riatol  Encoun- 
ter -  Kansas  Converts  -  liouest  Advice  -  Soutliern  Fury  -  Biclin? 
Events,        ..---■ 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Territorial  History  (<;oft<t«uec2)  -  Denver  vice  Walker  -  Events  op 

1857-8. 

Stale  Officers -Unequally  Yoked  -  Endless  Debates-Supporting  Judges- 
Wrong  Basis  -  Dreadful  Music -Bravo  Douglas- Trying  Bribes -De- 
cisive Victory- Log  Rolling— Impotent  Conclusions,  -  -    40a 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Territorial  History  (roft<t;i«erf)  — Denver  Succeeding  Geary  — Strife 

m  tue  Soltueast. 

Further  Troubles -Probable  War  -  Governor's  Movements- Legalized 
Oppression -Jay  Hawker's  Revenge  -  Peace  Convention -Enemy 
Flanked— Closing  Accounts,       -.---- 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Territorial  History  («)n«j)iw«f?)  -  Denver,  Med.uiy  ajjd  Stanton - 

End  op  Civil  Strife. 

Settling  Down  -  Why  Changing  -  Speedier  Growth  -Territorial  Sacrifices  - 
Defective  Census -Lincoln  Wins -War  Record  -  Eastom  BenevoU 
ence  — Grasshopper  Famine- Looking  Ahead,  -  -  -    438 

V  CHAPTER  XXI. 

State  History  —  Fighting  for  the  Union— 1801-C5. 

War  Record -Before  Vicksburg -Fifth  Kansas -Warren  Cross  Roads - 
Boston  Mountains  -  Veteran  Volunteers  -Lancaster  -  Quantrell -Mur 
froesboTO,      -  -  -  - 

CILAPTER  XXI L 

State  History  -  Fioutino  for  the  Union  - 1801-1805  (continued). 

War   Record -Evacuating   Chattanooga -Dog   Feast- Bragg   Routed  — 
Capturing  Clarkson- Civil  Government -Kansas  Prospects,  478 


y-VH-.ji.--  4Mti^ 


;.T-^L  _rrt"'#'^^?" 


3  —  Events 

jtol  Kncoun- 

iry  —  Bidini; 

-    39-t 


-Events  op 

ling  Judges  — 

Bribtis  —  De- 

-    405 


ABY  —  Strffe 

s —  Legalized 

tion  — Enemy 

-    419 


ID  Stanton — 

irtl  Sacrifices  — 

btorn    Benevol- 

-    4S3 


31-65. 

Cross  Roads  — 
uaatrell— Mur 
.    448 


5  {continued). 

ragg   Routed  — 
>ect8,  478 


COXTESTS. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


13 


Educational  Prookess. 

Settling  Down -Heavy  Responsibilities -State  System- Compulsory  Ed 
ucalion  —  State  Agriculture— Sound  Instruction  — Beautiful  Edifices 


County  Results  —  General  Outcome, 


513. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


Population  —  State  Institution  —  Railroads  -  Rivers-  Agriculture  and  Live 
Stock, ^^^• 


The  Plague  of  Locusts, 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

CHAPTER  XXVL 

County  Sketches. 


568. 


Allen 581 

Anderson o*^ 

Atchison l^'l 

Barbour 587 

Barton 588 

Bourbon 0°" 

Brown 591 

Butler 592 

Chautauqua J"* 

Chase 5M 

Cherokee o95 

Clay 500 

Cloml 597 

Cofiey 598 

Cowley 509 

Crawford 601 

Davis «04 

Dickinson "Ois 

Doniphan ^Oo 

Douglas "07 

Edwards «iO 

Elk ejo 

Ellis SJi 

Ellsworth 5io 

Ford 6-8 

Franklin ^\» 

Greenwood 615 

Harvey «}5 

Jackson 618 

Jefferson "i" 

Jewell 620 

Johnson 6Z1 

Labette 622 

Leavenworth 633 

Lincoln 635 

Linn 626 


627 


M'on nSa 

Marion «*° 

Marshall 6?9 

McPlierson 630 

Miami 631 

Mitchell 632 

Montgomery 63^ 

Morris 633 

Nemaha 634 

Neosho 635 

Norton 636 

Osage '^J7 

Osborne »°^ 

Ottawa ^ 

Pawnee 640 

Phillips 640 

Pottawatomie 641 

Reno 643 

Republic 643 

Rice 644 

Riley 644 

Rush 645 

Russell 646 

Rooks 646 

Saline 646 

Sedgwick 647 

Shawnee "*° 

Smith 650 

Sumner 651 

Wabaunsee 6M 

Washington 663 

Wilson 653 

Woodson 655 

Wvandotte 6.J0 

i  Graham 6.^° 

iHamilton 658 


ti 


Tuttle's  IIisTonr  of  Kansas. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 


BiooRAPiiicAL  Sketches. 


Gen.  Halderman 659 

Gov.  Osborne 664 

Hon.  Hiram  Griswold 007 

Gov.  Crawford 073 

Hon.  Orrin  T.  Welch 070 

Hon.  .lames  Hanway 677 

Hon.  Thos.  H.  Cavanaugh 081 

Hon.  Daniel  W.  Wilder 083 

Dr.  A.  M.  Eidson 085 

Hon.  Samuel  Seward  Benedict. . .  687 
George  D.  Stinelaugh 


Hon.  Hannibal  Cicero  St.  Clair. .  688 

Hon.  Columbus  G.  Bridges 690 

Hon.  Wm.  Ludley  Parkinson 091 

Hon.  Harvey  Seburn 093 

Capt.  S.  8.  l^routz 601 

Hon.  Geo.  "\V.  Fox C9T 

Hon.  Byron  Judd 700 

Capt.  Perry  Hiitchinson 70'i 

Hon.  Harlan  Page  Dow 704 

Brev.  Maj.  Gen.  Carr 700 

'  708 


M 


$ 


^^.xm-': 


t'nniiiiii|iiim'iiiii'iij"i>iin-ii"i*i  "T"'  I  '"""*  I'  "V'r 


St.  Clair. .  C88 

dgiis 690 

tinson 091 

C93 

6»4 

09T 

700 

)n 703 

w 704 

700 

708 


^^msiu^^Jsm^ 


Ill 


-p-nsw 


.*«      ,  ..    .  l.iJIM 


■A->!»^»l  g  'Jli'^i" 


ll 


(1  , 


■\|1    h 


iujJ.UWMiimi«>ii' 


TUTTLE'S  HISTORY  OF  KANSAS. 


CHAPTER    I. 


GENERAL    DESCRIPTION. 


Rivers  and  Streams— Soil  and  Surface  — CI imatf  and  Productions. 


The  state  of  Kansas  has,  for  its  southern  boundary  line,  the 
parallel  of  thirty-seven  degrees,  and  for  its  northern,  the  parallel 
of  forty  degrees,  north  latitude.  The  adjoining  states  and  terri- 
tories are,  on  the  east,  Missouri,  on  tlie  north,  Nebraska,  on  the 
south,  the  Indian  territory,  and  on  the  west,  Colorado.  The  di- 
mensions of  the  state  are  four  hundred  and  thirty  miles  long,  by 
two  hundred  and  ten  miles  wide,  and  its  area  contains  ninety 
thousand  square  miles.  This  state  has  peculiar  claims  upon  pop- 
ular attention  because  of  the  troubles  which  have  from  its  ear- 
liest settlement  been  endured  by  the  people,  but  before  dealing 
with  these  several  items  of  history,  it  wili  be  best  to  delineate 
briefly  the  topographical  features  of  the  country.  Between 
Missouri  and  Kansas  flows  the  Missouri  river,  in  some  places  half 
a  mile  across,  narrowing  down  considerably  in  other  localities,  as 
for  instance  at  Leavenworth  City,  where  a  bridge  of  one  thousand 
feet  spans  the  mighty  stream.  Tliis  river  is  the  boundary  line  of 
the  states  mentioned,  for  a  long  distance,  and  Kansas  has  a  water 
frontage  of  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  in  the  numerous 
windings  of  the  Missouri.  The  navigable  river  which  thus  leaves 
the  eastern  border  of  the  state  has  an  ever  increasing  value,  which 
must  continue  to  be  immensely  important  in  the  transport  of 
heavy  freights,  notwithstanding  all  the  facilities  that  can  be  pre- 
sented, by  the  iron  road.  Steamboats  can  ascend  the  stream  two 
2  , 


I 


•iiaintWi'-  r^iir  1'nf'r-  ^''iffill'li'  Tinfliitini '■'•' '" 


'1 


--•i!"*"""""^" 


niMij  ix.iili*'*''*!'"^^'*"^'^'' 


il 
ill 

m 


18  Tvttle's  lIisroBY  of  K.iy.^AS. 

thousaml   fiv.    nundrccl  milca   beyond   the   northern   boundary 
of  KansriP,  north  and  west  to  Fort  Benton,  near  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains;  and  to  the  southeast,  tlie  navigation  is  unimpeded  to  the 
point,  five  hundred  miles  distant,  twenty-five  miles  above  theeity 
of  St.  Louis,  where  the  waters  of  the  Missouri  flow  into  the  Mis- 
sissippi  river,  and  the  tonnage  of  all   the  nations  of  the  world 
might  float  upon  the  greatest  river  known  to  commerce.     The  ma- 
jestic  Amazon  has  no  pretensions  to  compare  with  the  Mis.sissippi, 
in  its  value  as  the  highway  of  the  New  World.     The  Missouri  i? 
so  great  in  its  proportions  that  the  other  rivers  and  streams  which 
flow  through  and  across  the  state  of  Kansas  are  apt  to  be  under 
valued  in  the  enumeration,  but  they  are  in  many  instances  ol 
great  volume  and  considerable  length.     The   Kansas   or  Kaw 
river  is  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  long,  the  two  streams  known 
as  the  Republican  river  and  Smoky  Hill  river,  flowing  into  one 
channel  near  Junction  City,  to  form  the  Kansas.     This  river  re- 
ceives  many  streams  oh  its  course.     The  Big  Blue  nver,  aftei 
flowing  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles,  from  its  source  in  Ne- 
braska territory,  empties  itself  into  the  Kansas,  at  Manhattan,  and 
the  Grasshopper,  which  is  a  stream  seventy-five  miles  in  length, 
also  joins  the  larger  river  on  the  north  side.     There  is  only  one 
lar-e  confluent  entering  the  river  on  the  south  bank,  and  that  is 
the°Wakarusa,  which  after  a  course  of  fifty  miles,  with  innumer- 
able windings,  finds  its  home  in  the  Kansas,  near  Lawrence,  flow- 
incr  onward  with  that  stream  until  it  enters  the  Missouri   nearly 
due  east  from  the  junction  of  the  parent  streams,  just  where  the 
mightier  river  bends  to  the  east  and  quits  the  boundary  line  ol 
the  state.     The  Smoky  Hill  river,  whose  course  we  have  traced 
from  near  Junction  City,  has  its  fountain  head  near  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  in  Colorado,  and  that  stream  is  enriched  with  others, 
which  come  over  immense  stretches  of  territory.     One  of  these, 
the  Saline  river,  runs  about  two  hundred  miles,  and  the  Solomon 
is  fifty  miles  longer  than  the  Saline.     The  other  constituent  of  he 
river  Kansas,  the  Republican,  is  a  still  more  extensive  traveler. 
Bising  in  Colorado,  the  stream  flows  through  Kansas  in  the  north- 
west of  the  state,  into  Nebraska  territory,  and  then  returning  to 
Kansas,  more  than  one  hundred  and  forty  miles  from  the  eastern 
boundary  of  the  state,  finds  its  way  to  the  Missouri  as  before  de- 


-t;A^I^ 


MtrnjuwU't' 


■nim.mw.i-mawMwi'Wiuiw'iiMW 


"mm^-'^mm 


Gknnual  Description. 


19 


n   boundary 
look3'M()un- 
peeled  to  the 
30V 0  the  city 
into  the  Mis- 
of  the  world 
le.     The  ma- 
i  Mississippi, 
0  Missouri  is 
trcams  which 
to  be  under 
f  instances  o) 
isas   or  Kaw 
reams  known 
iving  into  one 
This  river  re- 
le  river,  aftei 
source  in  Ne- 
anhattan,  and 
iles  in  length, 
e  is  only  one 
ik,  and  that  i? 
vith  innumer- 
lawrence,  flow- 
issouri,  nearly 
just  where  the 
undary  line  oJ 
ve  have  traced 
jar  the  Rocky 
;d  with  others, 
One  of  these, 
d  the  Solomon 
istituent  of  the 
msive  traveler. 
IS  in  the  north- 
jn  returning  to 
om  the  eastern 
ri  as  before  de- 


cribcd.  The  length  of  this  river  from  its  source  to  the  point 
near  Junction  City  where  it  becomes  part  of  the  Kaw  or  Kansas 
river,  is  just  four  hundred  miles.  ^  c     *u 

Northern  and  Southern  Kansas  are  the  terms  used  to  dcfmcthe 
portions  of  the  state  which  lie  to  the  north  and  south  respectively 
of  the  line  described  by  the  Smoky  Hill  and  Kansas  rivers,  about 
two- thirds  of  the  state  lying  to  the  south  of  the  streams  mentioned. 
Steamboats  have  ascended  the  Kansas  river,  and  in  one  instance 
a  steamer  reu-hed  Fort  Riley,  clear  beyond  the  junction  of  the 
two  streams,  on  the  Smoky  IliU  river,  beyond  the  debouchure  of 
the  Republican,  but  there  was  no  commercial  value  in  the  fact,  as 
the  stream  is  not  naviga\,le,  except  as  an  exploit  more  curious 
than  profitable.     The  River  of  Swans,  or  Mamh  des  Cygnes,  as  the 
French  named  it,  has  the  honor  to  have  been  celebrated  in  immor- 
tal verse  by  the  Quaker  poet,  Whittier.     This  stream  rises  some- 
what  to  the  east  of  the  geographical  center  of  the  state  of  Kansas, 
and  flows  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles,  with  sundry  bends, 
mainly  east  and  by  south,  before  it  enters  the  state  of  Missouri, 
near  Fort  Scott,  and  changes  its  appellation  to  Osage  river      i  he 
Neosho  runs  a  course  of  about  two  hundred  miles,  before  leaving 
the  state  of  Kansas  for  the  Indian  territory,  about  twenty-six 
miles  from  the  southeastern  angle  of  the  state.     This  river  also 
has  its  rise  near  the  middle  of  the  state,  and  is  the  receptacle,  in 
its  route,  of  the  Cottonwood  and  of  several  other  streams,  some 
of  them  of  considerable  volume,  capable  of  manufacturing  utility. 
The  Cottonwood,  just  mentioned  as  a  confluent  of  the  Neosho  is 
the  larger  stream  of  the  two,  just  before  the  two  rivers  join  their 
currents  near  Emporia.     The  Cottonwood  is  one  hundred  miles 
loner  from  its  headwaters  to  the  junction.     Another  river,  which 
flows  about  one  hundred  miles  in  Kansas,  is  the  Verdigris  run- 
nincr  almost  parallel  with  the  Neosho,  and  receiving  into  its  bosom 
the'Fall  river,  which  joins  it  from  the  west  after  a  course  of  about 
sixty  miles.     The  Arkansas  is  quite  a  mighty  river,  having  a 
couie  of  about  two  thousand  miles,  from  its  rise  far  up  in  the 
Rocky  mountains,  in  what  is  known  as  the  South  Park  of  Co^- 
r.do  to  its  junction  with  the  Mississippi  river,  between  Memphis 
and  Vicksbur<r     The  river  traverses  Colorado,  Kansas,  the  Indian 
territory  and  Arkansas  state  before  being  lost  in  the  vaster  stream, 


'i '' 


lUuMflUmiMMli'* 


so 


TUTTLhfs  IIlSTOUY  OF  KaNSAS. 


fl 


and  it  lias  numerous  tiibularios.  Tlio  courso  of  tlio  Arkansas, 
wliicli,  willi  its  connuenls,  waters  and  drains  fully  two-thirds  of 
soulliorn  Kansas,  anu)unts  to  very  nearly  live  hundred  mile;  m 
the  state  of  Kansas  alone,  so  numerous  are  the  convolutions  by 
whieh  it  npjiroaehes,  wiiile  it  appears  to  be  retreating  from,  its 
•  destination.  Many  of  the  streams  of  southern  Kansas  flow  into 
the  Arkansas  river  after  that  stream  has  entered  the  Indian  terri- 
tory. The  prineipal  tributaries  of  the  Arkansas  in  this  state  are 
tlio  Walnut,  whieh  flows  into  the  main  stream  near  Arkansas 
City,  after  running  a  distanee  of  about  seventy-five  miles,  and  be- 
ing enriched  by  the  Whitewater,  a  eonsiderablc  stream  ;  the  Little 
Arkansas,  about  seventy-five  miles  long,  a  deep  and  strong  river, 
whieli  enters  its  larger  namesake  at  AVichita;  the  Cow  creek,  a 
stream  little  short  of  seventy  miles  in  length,  is  another  of  the 
feeders,  and  the  remainder  need  only  be  named,  as  Ash  Fork, 
Pawnee  Fork,  the  Sh.akuska,  the  Good  river,  the  Cowskin,  and 
several  others,  whieh  vary  in  their  length  froin  forty-five  to  sev- 
enty miles  respectively.  The  Cimarron  flows  through  the  south 
•westeiii  angle  of  the  state  for  a  considerable  distance,  and  the 
river  receives  many  tributaries,  which  vary  from  about  fifty  to 
one  hundred  miles,  but  in  consequence  of  this  portion  of  Kansas 
not  being  properly  surveyed,  their  exact  bearings  cannot  be 
given.  Nescutunga,  Bluff  creek.  Medicine  Lodge,  and  Mule 
creek  are  among  the  principal  of  these  tributaries.  Kansas  is 
perhaps  the  best  watered  prairie  state  in  the  union. 

Katisas  may  be  said  to  have  a  type  of  beauty  entirely  its  own  ; 
vre  have  seen  that  its  river  system  is  really  vast,  and  it  remains 
to  be  said,  that  the  word  prairie,  although  it  is  the  proper  word 
to  express  the  character  of  the  country  which  predominates  in 
Kansas,  will  give  but  a  very  inadequate  idea  to  the  general 
reader  as  to  the  surface  and  scenery  of  this  state.  The  traveler 
in  Kansas  finds  hiinself  on  table  land,  elevated  and  undulating, 
the  surface  very  gently  falling  from  the  altitude  of  the  western 
boundary,  where  it  is  three  thousand  five  hundred  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea,  until  it  descends  to  the  eastern  boundary,  only 
seven  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  sea  level,  where  the 
Kansas  river  pours  its  volume  into  the  Missouri.  The  gradual 
ascent  of  the  surface  of  the  state  may  be  illustrated  by  reference 


GeSKUA  !,  DhSClill'TlOy. 


SI 


10  Arkansas, 
vvothirild  of 
red  mile;  in 
'olutions  by 
ing  from,  its 
«i3  flow  into 
Indian  terri- 
his  state  are 
ar  Arkansas 
liles,  and  be- 
II ;  tlie  Little 
strong  river, 
Cow  creek,  a 
other  of  the 
,  Ash  Fork, 
;owskin,  and 
yfive  to  sov- 
;h  the  south 
nee,  and  the 
bout  fifty  to 
m  of  Kansas 
s  cannot  be 
,  and  Mule 
Kansas  is 

•ely  its  own  ; 
d  it  remains 
proper  word 
lominates  in 

the  general 
The  traveler 
I  undulating, 

the  western 
!et  above  the 
undary,  only 
;,  where  the 
The  gradual 
by  reference 


to  the  gradients  on  the  Kansas  Pacific  Railroad,  where  the  route 
is  a  continuous  climb  from  the  eastern  to  the  wcHtorn  bomidury. 
Tlie  first  two  liundred  miles  show  an  ascent  of  more  tliaii  six 
hiindicil  feet,  tliroe  hundred  and  forty-eight  of  which  are  between 
Wanicgo  and  iirookvillc,  tliciice  to  Ellis,  u  distance  of  otio  hund- 
red miles,  shows  a  rise  of  seven  hundred  and  sixty-nine  feet,  and 
from  that  point  to  Kaglc  Tail,  the  station  nearest  the  western 
boundary,  the  continuous  ascent  approximates  to  one  thousand 
tlirei!  hundred  and  twenty  feet.  Such  a  rise  compressd  into  a  less 
distance  would  become  formidable  to  engineers,  but  spread  over 
a  territory  so  extensive,  it  hardly  taxes  their  ingenuity  in  tiio 
least.  Up  the  aide  of  this  vast  incline,  the  traveler,  who  has  timo 
for  observation,  finds  that  ho  is  passing  between  and  across  tiio 
system  of  rivers  already  parlieularized,  and  he  perceives,  that 
along  the  watercourses  there  are  bottom  lands  which  vary  from  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  at  the  narrowest,  to  three  miles  at  the  broadest 
l)arts,  except  in  the  western  section  of  the  state,  where  tho.se 
streams,  still  large,  must  at  some  remote  period  have  been 
majestic,  as  the  bottom  lands  now  stretch  from  five  miles  to  ten 
miles  acros5s.  For  many  years  past  there  have  been  no  submer- 
gences of  the  bottom  lands,  or  if  an  occasional  freshet  has  for  a 
brief  term  induced  the  rivers  to  break  bounds,  they  soon  return 
to  their  u.sual  propriety  and  decorum,  flowing  in  their  channels 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  below  the  levels,  which  were  at  one 
time  the  beds  of  the  several  streams.  Hence,  these  bottom  lands 
are  very  desirable  locations  for  agriculturists  and  stock  raisers,  as 
the  producing  power  of  the  soil  is  immense.  Many  of  tlie.se 
bottom  lands  are  well  wooded,  more  especially  in  the  eastern 
section  of  the  state,  where  about  one-half  is  timbered,  and  the 
rest  open  cultivable  soil,  ready  for  the  grazier  or  the  farmer  at 
once.  Some  of  these  streams  have  what  is  known  as  a  second 
bottom  at  a  still  greater  elevation,  and  varying  from  quite  an 
insignificant  belt  to  a  breadth  of  nearly  three  miles.  The  line  of 
the  second  bottom,  where  it  is  found,  is  seldom  straight,  more 
generally  it  presents  a  ssries  of  hills  and  dales,  never  consider- 
able, but  running  almost  at  right  angles  with  the  streums.  Some 
of  these  eminences  and  depressions  are  little  more  than  two 
liundred  yards  from  the  depth  of  the  valley  to  the  apex  of  the 


i 


m 


I 


ir^ 


9S  TUTTLh.-'s   lIlSrollY  Oh'  K ASS  AS. 

Iiill,  and  otlieivs  Htrctoli  fully  half  a  iiiili;  fnnii  tlio  lowest  ]K)int  to 
tlio  liigliCHt,  tho  variations  of  uliitiiilc  iiingiiig  from  twouty  to 
forty  feet.  Wlioii  it  is  borne  in  niiii<l,  tliiit  in  adilitioii  to  tlio 
curvt'M  already  nientiont'tl,  these  holtoin  lands  have  graceful 
bends  toward  the  rivers,  which  flow  through  the  lower  strata,  it 
will  b(!  seen  that  the  line  of  beauty,  never  a  straight  lino  any- 
where, is  fully  exeinplilieil  in  tho  topography  of  this  state.  Tho 
drainage  of  lands  so  undulating,  and  intorseetod  by  rivers,  could 
hardly  fail  to  bo  perfect. 

We  have  gradually  ascended  from  one  side  of  the  state  to  the 
other,  an  altitude  of  about  two  thou.sand,  seven  hundred  feet, 
supplying  a  grand  watershed  for  tho  Mi.s.souri  and  the  Mi.ssi.ssippi 
by  tlie  route  of  the  Arkansas  river;  we  have  since  then  gradually 
folhnved  the  contour  of  the  river  banks,  until  we  have  risen  to 
the  boitom  lands,  and  the  second  bottoms,  and  we  come  now  to 
the  higher  ridges  or  bluffs  which  tower  above  tho  cullivablo 
lands,  in  some  places  fully  three  hundred  feet,  and  in  others  not 
more  than  fifty,  with  every  degree  of  elevation  intervening,  and 
the  angle  of  ascent  varying  from  twenty  to  thirty  degrees.  "  Alps 
piled  on  Alps"  would  not  describe  the  scene,  as  there  is  nothing 
alpine  nor  mountainous  in  tho  aspect  of  the  country.  The  trav- 
eler who  has  been  suppo.sed  to  have  .set  out  upon  his  journey, 
with  sudicient  time  at  his  dispo.sal  to  enable  him  to  view  the  di- 
verse beauty  of  the  country,  having  ascended  by  successive  steps 
from  tho  river  bed  to  the  second  bottom,  has  now  climbed  the 
ascent  and  mounted  tho  blufT,  from  whence  tho  upland  prairies 
stretch  away  in  an  illimitable  perspective  of  depressions  and  ele- 
vations, just  the  counterpart  of  the  smaller  valleys  and  eminences 
before  described,  but  of  course  in  larger  proportions.  The  long 
swell  of  the  sea  which  the  voyager  has  sometimes  seen  in  the 
tropics,  when  the  clipper  would  lie  just 

"  Like  a  painted  sliip 
Upon  a  painted  ocean," 

but  for  the  rolling  of  the  vessel  from  side  to  side,  as  if  she  meant  in 
sheer  despair  to  send  her  top  hamper  overboard,  or  at  tho  least  to 
immerse  lier  yard  arms,  to  give  them  the  benefit  of  sea  bathing. 
In  the  long  swell  of  such  a  sea,  which  probably  Coleridge  had 


4s.. 


Gf.sf.ua I.  Dt:s< •Hirrms. 


98 


:)west  ]ioint  to 
1)111  twenty  to 
liiitioii  ti)  tlio 
liavt!  gi'Mccful 
owtT  strata,  it 
(i,ht  lino  any- 
lis  Htiite.  Tlio 
y  livcrrt,  could 

lie  Htntc  to  tho 
hundred  feet, 
;lio  Mirt.si.ssipi)! 
;lion  gnidually 
liavo  ri:^cn  to 

0  conic  now  to 
the  cul Livable 

1  in  others  not 
tcrvciiing,  and 
_'grceH.  "Alps 
icre  is  nothing 
■y.  Tlic  trav- 
1  his  journey, 
to  view  the  di- 
ucccssive  steps 
w  climbed  the 
ij)land  prairies 
ssions  and  ele- 
and  eminences 
ns.  The  long 
s  seen  in  the 


if  she  meant  in 

at  the  least  to 

)f  sea  bathing. 

Coleridge  had 


in  er  seen  wlicii  he  wrote  his  "Ancient  Mariner,"  tlio  traveler 
has  witnessed  just  such  a  Hcrie«  of  rounded  billowH  uh  now  salute 
llif*  rtight,  but  perhaps  the  hills  are  just  a  trille  higher,  the  valleya 
a  little  niurw  depressed,  and  the  green  of  tiio  upland  prairie  dif- 
fers soniewhat  Iruin  the  bluish  green  of  the  deep  sea;  still  tho 
resemblance  is  sulheieiilly  great  to  arrest  tho  attention  of  tho 
least  iuuigiiiutive  observer,  and  to  suggest  that  Dauio  Nature,  in 
a  fanciful  mood,  concluded  to  copy  on  the  land  the  superb  courses 
t)f  tlie  never  resting  sea.  The  crests  of  tho  hills  arc  from  four 
hundred  yards  to  a  mile  apart,  and  tho  elevations  vary  in  tho 
same  proportion,  from  about  twenty  to  eighty  feet.  Tho  crests 
of  these  hills  aro  already  engaged  in  th(;ir  daily  work,  enticing 
the  rain  drops  to  leave  the  clouds,  in  which  they  have  traveled 
from  the  sea,  and  to  descend  by  the  blade  of  grass  to  the  soil,  by 
tiio  earth  to  the  lowest  line  in  the  valley,  and  there  striking  hands 
with  associate  drops  upon  a  partnership  for  a  journey,  they  form 
a  rivulet,  soon  to  become  a  stream,  and  commence  their  pilgrim 
ago  toward  tho  Atlantic  once  again.  Down  the  miniature  valloy 
they  trickle,  until  some  tributary  of  tho  Kansas  or  Arkansas  is 
reached,  and  by  any  of  these  tho  rain  drop  is  at  length  rolled 
along  over  its  many  thousand  miles  of  travel,  never  lessening 
its  volume,  until  it  flows  and  dashes  in  the  mad  sport  of  giant 
winds,  in  the  billows  of  the  ocean.  IIow  many  millions  of  years 
may  have  {jassed  since  tho  sun  llrstdrew  the  cloud  forth  from  the 
ocean,  to  descend  upon  the  earth  as  rain,  to  refresh  vegetation 
with  its  dews,  to  give  music  to  the  murmuring  spring,  to  givo 
volume  to  the  dancing  river,  and  give  health  to  the  rosy  cheek 
of  beauty  when  tho  ages  should  at  length  permit  of  the  birth  of 
mankind,  it  entcreth  not  into  the  heart  of  manhood  to  eonceive, 
but  the  simple  beauty  and  eitectiveness  of  the  process  should  fill 
our  minds  with  the  hope  that  this  green  earth  will  never  lapse  to 
the  chaos  from  whence  it  came,  nor  advance  into  the  arid  cheer- 
lessness  and  frozen  despair  of  the  pale  faced  moon.  But  perhaps 
that  part  of  the  earth's  business  may  for  the  time  be  dropped  at 
this  point,  and  we  will  proceed  with  the  history  of  Kansas. 

The  hills  and  bluffs  arc  fretjuently  broken  by  the  rills  and 
streams  formed  in  these  upland  valleys,  and  along  their  banks 
are  belts  of  timber,  more  or  less  considerable,  in  proportion  to  the 


■—— tSpE.- 


M' 


M 


24  TuTTLffs  History  of  Kansas. 

extent,  to  which  the  formation  of  the  country   protected  isolated 
spots  Uom  desolation  by  fire.     These  prairie  fires,  terrible  as  they 
are.  or  rather  were,  for  in  the  settled  districts  their  frequency  l.as 
been  reduced  until  they  are  scarcely  dreaded,  were  not,  ana  un- 
fortunately we  are  forced  hereto  use  the  present  tense    are  not, 
the  worst'destroying  agencies  known   in  this  region.      1  here  was 
a  time,  scarcely  more  tlian  eighteen  months  since,  when  Kansas 
was  smiling  like  a  garden  in  almost  every  valley.     The  g.-een 
earth  had  been  "  tickled  with  r.  hoe,  and  it  had  laughed   with  a 
harvest"  as  usual,  when  one  day  there  was  a  black  cloud  seen  in 
the  air,  and  as  the  impending  darkness  fell  upon  the  earth,  it  was 
found  that  the  locust  of  scripture,  the  grasshopper  of  our  own 
time,  had  come  down  upon  the  community  with  a  worse  than 
Egyptian  plague.     All  the  plagues  seemed  to  have  been  rolled 
imoor.e  in   this  terrible  visitation.     The  trees  were  covered  by 
the  unwelcome  host  of  visitors,  and  soon  the  crashing  sound  of 
their  mandibles  could  be  heard  by   every  cottager,  as  they  de- 
stroyed  his  fruit  trees,  and  his  harvests,  his  growing  erop.s  and  his 
garnered  grain,  leaving  no  green  thing  visible  for  miles,  and  uoth. 
L  befoie   the   despairing   husbandman   but   blank   starva   om 
Tiiere  had  been  nothing  before  like  it  in  the  eNper.nce  of  se  t led 
America.     In  vain  did  whole  populations  turn  out  to  fight  the 
destroyer;  the  name  was  legion,  and  ten  millions  o   the  invading 
coleoptera  destroyed  hardly  made  an  atom  of  d.fTerence  m  the 
consumption  of  food  which  had  been  meant  for  the  sustenance  of 
men,  women  and  children.    Trenches  dug  across  the  line  of  march 
arre  ted  enough  of  the  locusts,  too  tired   for  flight,  to  cause  a 
stench   of  decomposition  in  the  air,  but  the  -- -g-- 
.pon  the  wing  to  descend  upon  the  next  orchards  and  field    v  ith 
the  scorching  effect  of  flame.     When  everything  had  been  con- 
urn"!,  the  youngandstrong  grasshoppers  unfolded  their  wings  and 
rose  sailing  before  the  wind,  to  "fresh  woods  and  pastures  new. 
S'on.  men  who  had  not  realized  until  now  the  extent  of    lieir 
m  X°tune,  came  out  to  discover  the  utter  nakedness  of  the  land. 
B    !  t    scourge  came  down  upon  them,  they  were  moving 

g^  onward  to  independence,  now  they  had  not  enough  c.- 
frops  remaining  for  the  next  season's  seed  ;  they  had  not  food 
enough  to  keep  starvation  from  thedoor  one  month,  they  had  not 


AtMJK. 


-'•''^mmmm^m^^^i^^^^^^^^^^^'' 


General  Descriptiojt. 


25 


iter!  isolated 
riblc  as  they 
equeiiey  lias 
not,  ana  un- 
nis( ,  arc  not, 

There  was 
,vhen  Kansas 

Tlie  green 
ighed   with  a 
:;lou(l  seen  in 
earth,  it  was 
"  of  our  own 
n  worse  til  an 
'e  been  rolled 
e  covered  by 
ling  sound  of 
r,  as  they  de- 
crops  and  his 
lies,  and  noth- 
k   starvation, 
nee  of  settled 
It  to  fight  the 
f  the  invading 
lerence  in  the 
I  sustenance  of 
!  line  of  march 
;ht,  to  cause  a 
!  vigorous  rose 
\nd  fields  with 
had  been  con- 
;heir  wings  and 
pastures  new. 
extent  of  their 
ess  of  the  land. 
y  were  moving 
snough  of  their 
,'  had  not  food 
b,  they  had  not 


credit  to  procure  a  barrel  of  flour,  nor  a  saclc  of  potatoes,  not  be- 
cause men  doubted  their  sterling  honesty,  but  that  they  knew 
there  was  not  a  prospect  of  payment  until  another  season's  crop 
should  be  harvested,  if  even  then  there  might  be  a  chance.     In 
vain  did   the   poor  fellows  quit   their    homes   to   find    employ- 
ment elsewhere,  for  wherever  their  failing,  unfed  strength  could 
carry  them,  similar  misfortunes  sat  upon  the  face  of  the  country, 
andinen  who  had  toiled  for  years  to  become  possessors  of  their 
homesteads  were  now  marching  forth  penniless,  to  begin  the  liat- 
tle  of  life  anew.     Famine  brought  death  in  its  train,  and  whole 
families  were  swept  away.     The  Egyptian  plague  of  the  worst 
kind  carried  off  only  the  first  born;  this  worse  affliction  was  fatal 
to   whole  groups,   and  destroyed  confidence,   made  it  doubtful 
whether  the  old  days  of  plenty  would  ever  shine  again ;  but  there 
is  a  fine  old  adage  that  the  darkest  cloud  has  a  lining  of  gold. 
Just  as,  when  the  fire  in  Chicago  destroyed  a  modern  ciiy,  the 
whole  civilized  world  as  one  man  rose  up  with  succor,  as  well  as 
with  sympathy,  and   the  city  rose  from   its  ashes  to  a  splendor 
greater  than   before;  just  as  when   the  potato  famine  fell   upon 
Ireland,  and  the  wail  of  despair  resounded  across  the  ocean,  there 
was  an  all  but  unanimous  response  with  substantial  help,  which 
gladdened  those  who  were  ready  to  perish,  and  brought  thousands 
out  from  under  the  darts  of  death  ;  so  in  this  Kansas  misfortune 
there  was  an   earnest  wish   to  alleviate  the  sufferings  of  the  dis- 
tressed.    From  all  over  the  land  railroad  companies  volunteered 
the  use  of  their  freight  cars  to  convey  help  to  the  broken  people, 
and  committees  of  men  and  women  in  every  locality  divided  thtir 
cities  and  towns  into  canvassing  districts,  which  were  allotted  to 
proper  persoii.s  to  be  worked,  and  the  results  attained  in  unifica- 
tion of  the  races  upon  this  continent  will,  in  the  course  of  years, 
be  W'.rth  more  than  all  the  sacrifice  and  suffering  by  which  the 
end  was  rendered  possible. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  even  in  the  presence  of  such  a 
misfortune,  there  was  charity  in  every  heart  to  the  extent  of  ac- 
tual giving  to  the  needy.  There  are,  unhappily,  thousands  who 
are  so°constituted  that  they  a-'e  impregnable  to  the  voice  of  mercy. 
Sydney  Smith  said  that  "benevolence  is  universal,  because  A 
never  hears  of  B  being  in  trouble  without  at  once  concluding  that 


J 


.-a 


1 


26 


Tuttle's  History  of  Kansas. 


N  :'* 


m 


C  onglit  to  assist'hiin;"  but  in  this  case  something  better  tlian 
vicaiiouri  generosity  was  demanded,  and  many  who  are  prepared 
to  talk  mercy  would  give  nothing,  for  fear  they  might  establish  a 
bad  precedent.     Tlie  priest  in  the  fable  would  give  his  blessing 
freely,  but  he  would  not  discount  his  beatitudes  to  the  (xtent  of 
one  farthing.     Aminadab  Sleek  would  not  give  a  cent  to  assist 
the  widow  and  family  of  a  bricklayer,  who  had  been  killed  by- 
falling  from  a  .scaffolding,  for  fear  it  might  induce  other  brick- 
layers  to  fall  from  other  scafl'oldings,  to  leave  other  widows  and 
children  dependent  upon  such  charity.     The  world  owes  much  to 
philosophers  of  that  stamp.     In  the  city  of  Boston  there  was  such 
a  man,  and  although  he  belonged  to  a  church,  and  fared  sump- 
tuously every  day,  wearing  the  purple  and  fine  linen  of  wealth 
and  respectability,  it  had  been  impossible  to  draw  the  smallest 
atom  of   fractional  currency  for  the  poor  people  in  Kansas  and 
Nebraska.     His  clerks  had  been  asked  and  had  given  freely  from 
their  stinted  means  ;  he,  with  his  $2,000  per  day  of  certain  in- 
come, could  not  for  many  days  be  bled  in  the  smallest  degree. 
Ills  cashier  doubled  his  own  subscription  rather  than  assume  the 
responsibility  of  making  an  appeal  to  the  money  grubber,  to 
which  he  had  been  unfeelingly  urged  by  a  committee.    A  delega- 
tion was  at  last  found  hardy  enough  to 

"  Brave  the  lion  in  his  den, 
The  Douglas  in  his  hall." 

And  they  wrestled  in  spirit  with  the  miser,  until,  as  r.  result  of 
two  hours'  pleading,  and,  perhaps  too,  in  dread  of  a  possible  longer 
stay,  the  ancient  banker  consented  to  give  something,  he  would  not 
say  what ;   but  he  would  give  something,  not  money ;    he  would 
give  his  tithe  in  kind,  if  not  in  kindness.     There  was  triumph 
Tn  the  hearts  of  the  benevolent  delegation,  because  when  such 
a  tough  old  sinner  could  be  melted,  adamant  might  be  welded 
like  an  easily   worked  metal.     The  day   wore  on,  and  it  was 
evening  before  the  newly  awakened  benevolence  of  the  hard- 
ened money  getter  brought  itself  to  the  point  of  making  the 
sacrifice.     The  old  man  had  examined  his  wardrobe  a  dozen  times 
over,  but  the  shabbiest  garment  there  was  ten  times  too  good  to 
be  sent  to  a  grasshopper  region  ;  and  at  last  with  many  a  sigh  of 


.■i,smm 


iit0amMiimt 


General  DEScniPTioy. 


27 


;  better  tlian 
ire  prepared 
.t  establish  a 
bis  blessing 
lie  ( xtent  of 
:cnt  to  assist 
eu  killed  by- 
other  brick- 
•  widows  and 
iwos  much  to 
ere  was  such 
fared  sump- 
eu  of  wealth 
the  saiallcst 
Kansas  and 
n  freely  from 
ot  certain  in- 
allest  degree, 
m  assume  the 
/•  grubber,  to 
;e.    A  delega- 


as  p.  result  of 
)osslble  longer 
;,  he  would  not 
ey ;  he  would 
3  was  triumph 
ise  when  such 
rht  be  welded 
n,  and  it  was 
!  of  the  hard- 
)f  making  the 
3  a  dozen  times 
les  too  good  to 
many  a  sigh  of 


regret,  more  poignant  than  the  grief  of  the  average  sinner  on  the 
anxious  seat,  he  concluded  to  send  to  the  committee  "one  salted 
mackerel,"  very  salt  indeed,  folded  in  a  copious  pamphlet  on 
"Original  Sin."  That  night  the  banker  sullered  so  much  from 
the  reproaches  of  his  conscience,  or  of  his  cupidity,  that  he  re- 
solved thenceforth  never  again-  to  waste  his  substance  in  indis- 
criminate charity.  Kansas  found  so  rich  a  harvest  last  year  that 
the  s(jrro\V3  of  the  preceding  summer  \vrerc  forgotten,  and  the  rash 
philanthropy  of  the  man  who  gave  one  mackerel,  from  out  of  all 
his  wealth,  to  assuage  the  agony  of  so  many  thousands  of  people, 
may  afford  an  opportunit}'  for  a  smile. 

The  scenery  of  a  state,  formed  as  Kansas  is,  could  not  be  "  flat, 
stale,  and  unprofitable,"  nor  could  it  be  monotonous,  nor  ill 
drained,  nor  badly  irrigated.  The  wayfarer,  whoso  course  we 
have  attended  to  the  bluffs  overlooking  the  upland  prairies,  finds 
a  scene  which  is  unique  in  his  experience.  The  picture  which 
we  have  tried  to  present  shows  the  hills  and  valleys  running  at 
right  angles  with  the  streams ;  and  that  is  as  nearly  the  fact  as  a 
general  statement  could  be ;  but  the  hills  are  not  two  alike,  so 
infinite  is  the  variety  of  nature's  operations,  even  where  the  grand 
combination  might  seem,  under  description,  to  be  monotonous, 
and  the  rivers  flow  with  an  individuality  which  produces  a  per- 
petual surprise,  until,  as  though  speaking  of  the  work  of  some 
great  artist,  one  exclaims  in  the  language  of  the  bai'd : 

"Age  cannot  wi  her, 
Nor  custom  stale,  bis  infln'te  variety." 

The  streams  bending  toward  every  point  of  the  compass  as 
they  follow  the  course  shaped  by  two  forces,  the  strength  of  the 
current,  working  upon  more  or  less  yielding  strata,  have  all  the 
changes  possible  in  the  kaleidoscope  of  form,  and  the  bluffs  present 
every  variety  of  wave-like  outline,  here  a  long  swell  breaking 
off  short  and  almost  sharp  in  a  billow,  that  would  seem  to  have 
dashed  itself  against  an  invisible  cliff,  there  graceful  as  the  ring- 
let of  the  maiden  waved  by  the  wind,  then  for  some  distance  flat- 
tening and  extending  the  heave  of  the  land,  until  there  appears 
to  be  a  plain,  but  the  wave  like  contour  is  never  lost.  Sudden 
or  slow,  the   form  of  the  never  pausing  sea  is  stamped  upon  the 


1: 


"^i 


■  .•ai'li'iliiliil''  itflMfi  l"r  iTiralttTfrii 


IK 


i  % 


r 


I 

:1 


28  Tuttlk's  IhsToiiY  of  Kansas. 

soil.     Enilless  similarity  and  endless  cliange  are  visible  at  every 
turn.     The  streams  are  alike  in  their  unlikeness,  to  each  other, 
the  prairies  eurve  into  ten  thousand  lines  of  change,  in  which  the 
general  feature  is  always  the  same,  but  the  detail  as  dissimilar  aa 
can  be  imagined,  where  valley,  plain  and  hill  are  the  factors  of 
the  occasion.     The  bottom  lands,  which  follow  the  windings  of 
every  stream,  stretch  out  in  some  favored  spots  to  a  breadth  milea 
in  extent,  and  again  there  seems  to  be  no  valley  at  all,  only  a  nar-    , 
row  margin  by  the  river's  brim,  the  changes  being  rung  upon  these 
several  possibilities  ad  infinitum.     The  bluffs  seem  to  have  in- 
dulged their  grim  humor  in  the  mazy  dance,  and  to  have  been, 
petrified  in  their  several  attitudes.     Here  the  bluff  is  an  aggres- 
sive character  rushing  to  the  front  intrepidly,  there  a  more  yield- 
ing temper  is  displayed  in  a  curtsy  which  half  grants  and  half 
refuses,  and  yet  again  there  is  the  attitude  of  the  suppliant  bare- 
ly rising  from  the  earth.      In  some  of  these  forms  the  rude  earth 
has  cast  aside  its  coverlet  of  grass,  and  in  others  the  adornment 
of  emerald  pervades  every  step  from  the  silvery  stream  at  the 
base  to  the  rounded  parapet  where  the  bluff  loses  itself  in  the 
upland  prairie.     Those  various  forms  advance  and  retreat  con- 
tinuously, but  no  two  forms  are  found  alike,  and  in  every  in- 
stance the  completes!  dissimilarity  is  a  manifest  outcome  of  the 
same  general  principle  of  development.     Forest  and  pasture  al- 
ternate and  blend  in  a  thousand  different  ways,  and  the  witchery 
of  loveliness  is  over  all  the  landscape.     Men  who  have  traveled 
much  in  Europe,  ^nd  have  then  visited  Kansas,  find  that  the 
scenery  bears  a  kind  of  general  resemblance  to  the  Champagne 
country  in  France,  and  all  are  agreed  that  there  is  nothing  more 
lovely  in  the  world,  than  the  grander  aspect  of  this  state.     When 
prosperous  and  general  settlement  shall  have  dotted  the  earth, 
with  the  homes  of  men  to  whom  life  is  a  series  of  luxuriant  de- 
lights, under  whose  direction,  the  vast  natural  lawns  will  assume 
th'e  elegant  growths,  which  the  landscape  gardener  knows  so  well 
how  to°produce,  and  when  their  palaces  will  stand  on  the  knoUa 
which  seem  to  have  been  intended  for  edifices  such  as  C'aude  Mel 
nolle  describes,  "  Lifting  to  eternal  summer  their  marble  walls," 
and  backed  by  the  park  forests  which  are  so  useful,  so  profitable 
in  every  sense,  and  still  so  grand  in  their  repose,  the  beauty  of 


General  Descriptiok. 


29 


ible  at  every 
0  each  other, 
in  which  the 
dissimilar  as 
;he  f  ictors  of 
e  windings  of 
breadth  miles 
11,  only  a  nar- 
ng  upon  these 
n  to  have  in- 
to have  been 
is  an  aggres- 
a  more  yield- 
ants  and  half 
suppliant  bare- 
the  rude  earth 
the  adornment 
stream  at  the 
s  itself  in  the 
id  retreat  con- 
d  in  every  in- 
outcome  of  the 
,nd  pasture  al- 
id  the  witchery 
)  have  traveled 
1,  find  that  the 
he  Champagne 
is  nothing  more 
s  state.     When 
3tted  the  earth, 
i  luxuriant  de- 
/yns  will  assume 
r  knows  so  well 
id  on  the  knoUa 
h  as  Claude  Mel- 
■  marble  walls," 
ul,  so  profitable 
se,  the  beauty  of 


Kansas  will  be  the  unit  of  admiration  by  which  other  excellences 
will  be  judged.  Turning  from  the  contemplation  of  natural  beau- 
ty, we  find  ourselves  examining  the  earth,  upon  which  this  loveli- 
ness is  superimposed,  and  it  is  worthy  to  be  classed  among  the 
best  soils  known  in  the  world  for  the  purposes  of  farm  and  gar- 
den. There  are  those  who  would  say  that  because  Kansas  has 
suffered  by  drought,  by  locust  and  by  border  violence,  in  the 
long  struggle  when  state  sovereignty  was  to  have  been  wrested 
into  forming  a  weapon  for  the  slave  owner,  therefore  Kansas  is 
not  an  eligible  field  for  emigration.  As  well  say  that  because 
Lisbon  was  once  swallowed  by  an  earthquake,  therefore,  the  city 
is  not  a  proper  residence  for  men,  or  that  Chicago  and  Bostoa 
having  suffered  terrific  conflagrations,  both  cities  shall  henceforth 
be  tabooed.  Droughts  come  more  or  less  in  every  part  of  the  world ; 
the  border  outrages  which  were  incidental  ">,o  the  struggles  of  the 
south  to  retain  supremacy  are  being  very  rapidly  erased  from 
living  memories,  and  as  to  the  locusts,  it  may  be  well  to  remem- 
ber, that  the  lightning  does  not  strike  twice  in  the  same  spot. 
The  soil  of  Kansas  is  deep  and  fertile,  requiring  only  moderate 
care  and  skill  to  secure  good  crops  every  time ;  the  average  crop 
of  Indian  corn  in  fifteen  states,  in  the  year  1865,  showed  that  the 
most  productive  states  in  the  union  only  gave  thirty-seven  bush- 
els per  acre,  while  the  state  of  Kansas  gave  forty-one.  In  the 
year  1869,  the  largest  yield  per  acre  in  any  other  state  was  thirty- 
four  bushels  in  Vermont,  and  Kansas  gave  forty-eight  In  the 
same  year  there  were  but  two  states  that  exceeded  Kansas  in 
the  yield  of  potatoes  per  acre,  the  quantities  being  in  Kansas  one 
hundred  and  forty-nine  bushels,  in  Michigan  one  hundred  and 
fifty-five,  and  Vermont  one  hundred  and  sixty,  the  average  for 
that  year  being  thirty  bushels  of  Indian  corn,  eighteen  bushels 
less  than  Kansas,  and  one  hundred  and  sixteen  bushels  of 
potatoes,  thirty-three  bushels  less  than  Kansas.  It  would  be 
easy  to  continue  these  contrasts,  all  to  the  advantage  of  Kan- 
sas, but  no  good  purpose  could  be  served  by  persisting  in  an 
array  of  figures.  The  fact  indicated,  as  to  the  fertility  of  Kansas, 
may  be  tested  by  any  person  who  is  curious  enough  in  such  mat- 
ters, to  induce  him  to  consult  blue  books,  and  the  returns  of  the 
agricultural  department,  and  we  turn  therefore  from  the  tables  of 


■1 


f: .  ji'-y/l  !'>'-""""  '""*" 


7 


rii.- 


s  (| 


Tuttle's  History  of  Kansas. 


lits  tocan.,^  the  .oU  ^^^;^:^Z^:" 
tillage  o£  a  border  state,  bardly  yet  qvuetecl  irom 

of  the  unscttlca  times.  .^^nlete  •  that  we  have  already 

seen  in  U,=  contour  of  *;'»;''•"';  ''„„,„,,  „tifKa„l  diainage  « 
„ay  bo  a  trifle  too  mo„t  for  tfl  a^o     >  ^^^^^^^^  ^; 

mdc  aaxiliary  to  the  natural  tormauon.     1        1  ^^^y_^;,^^ 

Kansas  for  the  growth  of  w.nter  "^  »t '»  »  e  »  ^_^ 

fact,.  In  that  prticular  ■  -,f  *  "jf  X  "y  fo«  "«='•«.  ""<> 
tte  bottoms  the  -i"'-™^^;*:';:  ,  ^theri  are  .any  s,«ts 
tlie  maximum  ten  feet.    On  the  P'"  ^   ,  ■^  ■„ 

,he,e  the  soil  is  hardly  more  than      o      .nch«  ^^  ^^^^^^^^ 
usually  very  froduefve  »"^-  *;^^;P^,  J.^y  ,„.ors  the  idea 

exeocds  "'i't^'^- -^''^/j'    :nd  permanently  fertile,  in  eon 
that  the  soil  oi  Kansas  wui  mineral  salts  in  the  earth, 

sequence  of  ^1^^ ''^^^^"^^ V'"'^  ^L^known  as  "buffalo  wal- 
There  are  some  peeuliarly  ^--" jf^\  ^^^^^^  a  sulphate  of 
lows,"  which  in  dry  seasons  «-"'  ^^  "^  j^^.^s  which  have  a 
magnesia;  but  with  P-f  J- ^^^^ 

reputation  so  unfavorable,  can  ^^  ve^  ^he  old  fashioned 

good  crops    of    almost  every  ^e^cnp  on  ^.^^  ^^^^ 

farmer,  who  prided  ^;7  ^  j;;  ^r^Xontact  with  a  dim- 
learning,  finds  himself  at  ^  heavy  a  ^^^^^^  ^^  ^^ 
eulty  of  this  description,  which  to  his  ^^^^^^^^^  ^^^^^^  ^^ 


-  -  :s  de.crip^n;;;^^«^  -  -  a^;Sows  appear  to 

thought  a  trial  ot  his  skn  .  descriptions  for  the  min- 

havc  been  frequented  by  »"™f ?  j'  °'^;„:TJearth.    The  "salt 
eral  quality  «hich  they  obta  n  d  by  l.c^n         ^^^  ,^  ^^^^  ^^^ 

lick  "  is  at  all  t,mes  a  spot  ^''"^  '"  °>  \„^  j^^  soil  into  a 

the  wallowing  and  lickmg  of  *;;;;tr  water,  when  for  miles 
cavity  sufficient  to  afford  a  ^8™"  ,  ,  .„^a  These  hard  and 
„„Jd  the  rest  of  the  -"tj  --^  ^  ™\^  .„e  „m.er  rains 
depressed  spots  alternate  y  soaked  »n^^^^^^  ^  ^^^  ^  description 

and  summer's  heat,  are  lew  ana  ^.^^^^^^^  ^^j^^„^^ 

c«  *e  soil  would  not  be  comp    =  J^«^,^^  ,^„^  ,„  ^„„,„,  ,, 
to  this  peculiarity.     Ihe  ^l^^ni  y  ^  comparative 

small  indeod    -"hether  -^^^^^^^^rO^,  readers  are  of  course 
statement  D.tween  this.tate  ^^^^'^^^         ^  ^,  farmed ;  by 

aware  that  there  are  two  ways  in  whicti 


-"%, 


GKyEttAL  DESCniPTIOJf. 


81 


pi5,  in  tlic  rurle 
c  disturbances 

3  have  already 
■){  the  bottonis 
■ial  drainage  is 
)cial  fitness  of 
he  established 

0  Illinois.  In 
our  inches,  and 
[ire  many  spots 

deep,  but  it  is 
the  soil  hardly 
r  favors  the  idea 
y  fertile,  in  con- 
;s  in  the  earth. 
iS  "buffalo  wal- 
er,  a  sulphate  of 
s  which  have  a 
be  made  to  give 
e  old  fashioned 
itance  with  book 
itact  with  a  difft- 
;ely  comes  to  be 
xllows  appear  to 
lions  for  the  min- 
jarth.     The  "  salt 
,nd  in  many  cases 
orn  the  soil  into  a 
r,  when  for  miles 
These  hard  and 
ly  the  winter  rains 
but  a  description 
without  reference 

1  in  Kansas  is  very 
es  or  a  comparative 
eaders  are  of  course 
lay  be  formed ;  by 


the  disintegration  of  rock,  affording  a  lodgment  to  seeds  and  to 
moLsturc,  out  of  which  a  sparse  vegetation  springs;  and  by  the 
decomposition  of  vegetal  matter,  wliich  gradually  coats  the  ox- 
idized stratum,  or  in  the  processes  of  cultivation,  becomes  incor- 
porated therewith,  and  supplies  an  endless  variety  of  growths.    In 
some  parts  of  Kansas,  sandstone  has  been  made  the  base  of  the 
agricultural  lands  ;  in  other  parts,  limestone,  the  first  is  found  to 
be  of  excepticmal  value  in  the  cultivation  of  fruit,  and  it  is  always 
ready  for  the  operations  of  the  farmer,  before  the  limestone  soils 
can  be  approached.     In  many  of  the  bottom  lands,  all  these  qual- 
ities combine,  and  all  that  is  necessary  to  attain  perfection  for  the 
agriculturist  is  just  so  much  of  art  as  will  relieve  the  earth  of 
superabundant  moisture  at  particular  spots.     Upon  a  careful  cal- 
culation made  by  competent  persons,  with  whom  circumstances 
have  brought  the  writer  in  contact,  it  appears  that  there  is  not 
tliroughout  Kansas  an  average  of  one  acre  in  five  hundred  in 
which  the  rock  is  so  exposed  as  to  preclude  cultivation,  and  in 
the  few  cases  in  which  such  exposures  occur,  the  number  of 
springs  and  the  area  of  running  water  make  the  country  pecu- 
liarly valuable  for  grazing  and  stock  raising  purposes.     The  value 
of  these  exposures  in  other  respects  will  have  to  be  considered  in 
another  phase  of  our  treatment  of  the  surface  and  capabilities  of 
Kansas.     The  soil  of  eastern   Kansas  is  usually  black,  that  of 
western  Kansas  is  lighter  in  color,  with  an  inclination  to  redness, 
from  the  iron  present  in  the  earth.     The  soil  of  western  Kansas  is 
much  deeper  than  that  of  the  east,  but  except  in  the  bottoms,  it 
contains  a  very  small  amount  of  vegetable  mold,  that  deposit 
seeming  to  have  been  washed  out  of  the  higher  lands  into  the  val- 
leys, or  by  some  circumstance  to  have  been  arrested.     The  qual- 
ity which  is  largely  lacking  in  the  light  colored  soil  of  the  west- 
ern section  abounds  in  the  east  of  the  state.     The  bluflf  formation 
has  qualities  which  make  it  of  peculiar  value  to  the  agriculturist ; 
for  many  growths,  indeed,  it  is  fully  equal  to  the  black  soil,  rich 
in  vegetable  deposit.    "When  the  bluff  deposit  underlies  the  darker 
soil,  as  we  have  seen  that  it  sometimes  does,  the  farmer  occasion- 
ally brings  up  the  subsoil  by  deep  plowing,  and  after  exposure  to 
the  air  it  will  give  as  good  crops  as  the  bliick  soil  so  much  praised. 
In  some  parts  of  Kansas  the  soil  seems  to  be  made  up  of  a  finely 


i^^:i&fi}f'mr:ri^s0ifi}'^-'i--^ 


m\ 


I 


nmi 


n 


32  TvrriE'i}  HisTuHr  of  Kaxsas. 

pulverized  sand  which  shows  no  grittiriess  on  boing  handled,  yet 
never  bakes  like  a  clay  soil,  and  is  ready  for  the  plow  sooner  than 
any  other  land  on  the  record.     This  (luality  is  found  more  or  less 
prominent  wherever  the  bluif  deposit  predominates,  and  it  ia  often 
found  in  combination  with  vegetal  mold,  supplying  in  that  form  a 
wealth  of  soil  such  as  the  whole  world  cannot  excel.     Kansas  is 
only  beginning  to  be  appreciated  as  a  grazing  and  stock  raising 
country ;  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  when  the  agriculturist  of 
this  state  shall  have  enjoyed  full  opportunities  to  become  acquaint- 
ed with  the  capabilities  of  the  soil,  he  will  learn  that  Kansas  can 
produce  more  and  better  stock  than  any  other  state  in  the  union. 
The  farmer  will  carry  on  his  multiform  operation,  producing  the 
crops  best  suited  for'his  winter  avocations,  growing  hedges,  groves 
and  belts  of  trees  in  the  positions  best  adapted  for  shelter,  allow- 
ing his  cattle  to  graze  down  the  magnificent  blue  grass  which 
abounds  for  summer  feed  and  for  winter  hay,  without  an  atom  of 
trouble  beyond  cunng  and  saving,  and  making  his  dairy  an  item 
in  his  daily  work,  which,  at  little  cost,  will  supply  all  the  wants 
of  an  extensive  household. 

There  need  be  no  waste  in  time  or  substance  in  the  business  of 
the  successful  agriculturist.     His  stock  will  give  us  much  in  one 
form  as  it  takes  in  another  from  the  soil,  so  that  the  farm  will  be- 
come richer  every  day,  and  if  due  care  is  observed  in  procuring 
the  very  best  crosses,  the  state  will  soon  obtain  the  repute,  worth 
more  than  money  in  the  market,  of  producing  the  best  qualities 
of  live  sU)ck  in  the  union.     Iowa,  in  some  of  her  counties,  has 
done  wonders,  with  but  little  outlay,  in  this  respect,  and  m  some 
parts  of  Kansas,  at  this  moment,  there  are  breeds  of  cattle  which 
will   hardly  be  surpassed   in  the  next   quarter  of  a  century. 
Bakewell,  the  English  farmer  who  first  introduced  the  idea  of  im- 
proving^ the  breed  of  domesticated  animals  in  his  own  country, 
was  se^down  as  little  better  than  an  idiot  by  his  neighbors,  but 
he  persevered  in  his  subdued,  enthusiastic  way,  until  some  few 
persons  were  won  over  to  a  half  belief  in  his  theories.     The  sheep 
of  his  day  were  remarkable  for  their  points ;  indeed,  they  were  all 
points,  carrying  as  much  bone  as  Don  Quixotes  Rosinante,  and 
as  little  meat  as  the  Knight  of  the  Rueful  Countenance  himself. 
Bakewell  pointed  out  to  his  few  listeners  that  it  was  possible  to 


OEJiEIl.iL  DESCliU'Tiny. 


t  liiindled,  yet 
w  aoonur  than 
1  niore  or  less 
and  it  is  oftea 
ill  that  form  a 
el.     Kmisus  is 
I  stock  raising 
griculturist  of 
lomeacquaint- 
at  Kansas  can 
i  in  the  union, 
producing  the 
hedges,  groves 
shelter,  allow- 
le  grass  which 
jut  an  atom  of 
!  dairy  an  item 
y  all  the  wants 

the  business  of 
s  much  in  one 
le  farm  will  be- 
J  in  procuring 
e  repute,  worth 
i  best  qualities 
;r  counties,  has 
ct,  and  in  some 
of  cattle  which 

of  a  century. 
[  the  idea  of  im- 
3  own  country, 
;  neighbors,  but 
until  some  few 
ies.  The  sheep 
id,  they  were  all 

Rosinante,  and 
enance  himself, 
was  possible  to 


reduce  the  mileage  of  b(.,  ,  and  to  increase  the  acreage  of  meat 
by  judicious  breeding,  and  very  soon  ho  had  something  more  con- 
vincing than  argiunent  to  support  his  theory.  J  lis  sheep  and 
cattle  cost  no  more  for  their  keej)  tlian  the  animals  raised  by  his 
neigliliors,  l)ut  the  drovers  who  came  to  buy  for  the  London  mar- 
kets were  ready  to  pay  a  better  price  because  there  was  moro 
meat  for  the  consumer,  and  that  product  was  of  better  (puility. 
Some  of  the  rare  old  true  blue  conservative  farmers,  of  whose 
successors  Karl  Kiissell  said  in  his  younger  days,  that  "  tlu^y  were 
more  stupid  than  the  cattle  they  raised,"'  stuck  to  the  old  ways 
and  were  ruined.  Tiic  younger  and  brighter  race  profited  by 
their  experience,  and  the  same  law  of  selection  which  resulted  in 
the  production  of  "pedigree  wheat,"  and  "  Southdown  mutton,'' 
was  applied  in  a  hundred  diflercnt  ways,  until  the  farmer  and 
grazier  in  England  at  the  pretsent  time  is  a  .scientist,  following  a 
profession,  instead  of  a  plodding,  stupid  sort  of  man,  running  liia 
chances  and  grumbling  at  every  phase  of  fortune.  What  Bake- 
well  did,  other  men  in  this  country  have  carried  to  still  greater 
perfection.  The  best  thing  that  has  been  accomplished  by  Gold- 
smith Maid,  under  the  eye  of  the  public,  is  but  a  limited  exhibi- 
tion of  what  she  would  do,  it  the  occasion  warranted  her  owners 
in  taxing  her  strength  and  speed,  and  by  continuous  care  in  .selec- 
tion, every  quality  that  is  thought  desirable  can  be  secured,  not 
in  particular  individuals,  but  in  a  large  percentage  of  the  animals 
raised  from  certain  stock.  The  interest  of  the  producer  demands 
that  he  shall  not  waste  his  energies  on  quadrupedal  weeds,  when  the 
sun,  Goil  and  attention  which  he  can  bestow,  will  be  as  productive, 
to  say  the  very  least,  of  the  finest  type  of  animals.  In  that  de- 
scription of  enterprise  Kansas  is  destined  to  take  a  very  high  posi- 
tion, and  to  reap  very  considerable  profit.  '- 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find,  for  any  purpose,  better  and  more 
enduring  lands  anywhere  than  the  valleys  of  the  Kansas  and  Ar- 
kansas rivers  afford.  The  soil  is  quick  and  strong,  and  every  crop 
tells  of  the  staying  powers  of  that  rich  agglomeration  brought 
down  by  rains  and  rivers  from  the  uplands  and  the  bluflfs  during 
unnumbered  centuries. 

The  climate  of  Kansas  would  ta.sk  the  powers  of  a  master  to 
give  an  adequate  description  without  overstating  the  virtues  of 
3 


34  Tvttle's  IfisTonr  of  Kaxs.is. 

tlic   roqion.      TIktc  arc  many  vnritilions  of  every  licauty,   but 
thero  arc  some  drawbacks  also  in  tlio  iMOtcoroloj^'ical  dmraetoristica 
of  this  state.     Tlio  heat  sometimes  reaelies  one  liiuulreil  degrees  in 
the  shade,  and  this  to  many  persons  accustomed  to  the  mois.  at- 
mosphere ot  Chicago,  or.  to  some  of  the  cities  of  Michigan,  border 
ing  on  the  lake,  suggests  a  sweltering  warmth,  which  would  jus- 
tify one  in  dressing  like  a  Sandwich  Islander,  or  in  basking  in  the 
shade  like  the  Neapolitan  /((...^(n-o/H;  incapable  of  work,  unless  it  is 
labor  to  eat  fruit  and  some  jn-eparation  ot  maccaroni,  and  able 
only  to  appreciate  the  doke  far  nknte,  "the  delicious  do  noth- 
ing." as  these  unique  idlers  phrase  their  indulgence.     Men  who 
bave  lived  in  Kansas  can  tell  quite  a  different  story  ;  the  air  ia 
dry  and  clastic  at  those  seasons,   until  there   seeuis   to   be   no 
pressure  upon  the  vital  column,  or  only  just  sufTieient  to  bold  one 
to  the  earth.     Tlu^se  who  in  Chicago,    when  tbo  tberinometer 
stood  at  9(3"  or  C7"  could  bardly  draw  their  reluctant  limbs  after 
thorn  in  tbe  moist  not  air,  and  were  in  danger  of  destroying  their 
wbole  sui^ply  of  paper  collars  every  day,  in  an  insane  attempt  to 
look  frigid,  can.  liarcUy  dream  of  the  exhilarating  character  which 
belonfrs'to  the  air  of  Kansas  when  tbe  register  shows  a  range  of 
from  80'  to  100°.     The  Cbicagoan,  who  will  oblige  us  by  remain- 
in.r  on  the  stage  for  purposes  of  contrast,  may  realize  within  one 
day  in   ibc  middle  of  summer,  almost  tbe  extremes  of  change 
which  a  resident  in  Kansas  will  be  called  upon  to  endure,  from 
tbe  earliest  day  in  spring,  to  the  last  in  the   autumn,  until  the 
children  be<nn  to  calculate  the  -.lumber  of  days  before  old  Santa 
Klaus  wiir  descend  the  hospitable  chimney,  with  his  presents 
touched  with  a  rime  of  frost.     The  sufferer  in  Chicago  can  hardly 
casp  out  over  night,  his  customary  laudation  of  the  metropolis 
of"  the   -reat  northwest,   so  intense  is  the   oppression    of  that 
warmtb,\nd  when  he  finds  his  pillow,  his  first  care  is  to  throw 
off   every   coverlet  save   the  linen  sheet,   and   still   the  small 
hours  of  morning  are  well   nigh  run   out,  before  he  falls  into 
1  fitful  doze,  from  which  he  is  awakened  by  a  dream  of  arctic 


1  UUZ.C,     lHJiii      .....V...     ,,,.11.  1 

riL'ors  to  find  the  breeze  from  tbe  lake  blowing  half  a  gale 
into  Ihe  open  window,  and  himself  praying  in  vain  for  just  an 
hour  more  of  the  broiling,  sweltering  air  of  yesterday.  The 
days  of    summer  in  Kansas  are  bright   and  full  of  sunshine. 


beauty,  but 

(;liiiractori:itica 
Ircd  (U'groeri  in 
-)  tho  inoii-u  iit- 
I'higun,  bonier 
fl\  would  jus- 
biiskiug  in  tlio 
)rk,  unless  it  is 
roiii,  and  ablo 
iious  do  noth- 
lee.     Men  who 
tory  ;  the  air  is 
,'ni3   to  bo   no 
ent  to  hold  one 
3  thermometer 
tant  limbs  after 
lestroying  their 
pane  attempt  to- 
iliaracter  which 
ows  a  range  of 
c  us  by  remain- 
lize  within  ono 
smcs  of  change 
to  endure,  from 
tumn,  until  the 
)eforc  old  Santa 
ith  his  presents 
eago  can  hardly 
:  the  metropolis 
ression    of  that 
are  is  to  throw 
still    the  small 
re  he  falls  into 
dream  of  arctic 
ing  half  a  gale 
vain  for  just  an 
esterday.      The 
all  of  sunshine, 


Gesesal  Demcjuptk  H 

but  it  is   the   brl-rJitncsH  of  Italy,  with   tti     s«me  df^    fjluo  sky, 
hardly  fli-ckod   by  a   pa>*.sing  cloud.     The      -at  that  i.^  described 
by  Dickens  in    Litif,-  /)„rritt,  in  his  pen  and  ink   skou-li  of  Mar- 
seilles,  is  a  matter  of  theory  to  the  rosidcnt  in   Kansas,  unless  ho 
lias  traveled.     Ko  hccs  nt  homo  no  quivering  of  the  hot  air  ns  it 
rises  from  the  heated  roads,  like  the  radiating  warmtli  of  a  kiln. 
The  air  is  warm  for  liim,  hut  he  concludes  that  lOU"  in  the  sliudo 
is  not  a  had  experience  after  all,  when  it  is  followed  by  cool  ninlita 
with  almost  the  regularity  of  clock  work,  and  the  sleeiu'r  tinds  no 
dilli'Mdty  in  enduring  a  fair  average  of  bed  clothes.     Then  again 
his  winter  is  not  a  severe  and  arctic  freeze,  any  more  than  his 
summer  reminds  him  of  the  torrid  zionc.     He  cannot,  in  fancy 
even,  travel  during  the  seasons  from  the  burning  sides  of  llecU 
to  an  unpleasant  coldness,  cast  away  upon  an  iceberg.     Ilis  tran- 
sitions come  slowly  from  the  topmost  range  of  summer  to  a  win- 
ter temperature,  only  on  rare  occasions  falling  below  zero.      The 
workman  whoso  calling  must  be  pursued  in  the  open  air,  seldom 
sulfers  from  coup  de  solell  in  the  summer,  or  from  frostbite  in  the 
winter.     The  farmer  can  pursue  his  avocation  through  the  live 
}f>ng  year  with  abundant  profit,  without  experiencing  the  vicissi- 
tudes  and  extremes  whicli  wait  upon  his  neighbors  in  Iowa  or 
Illinois.     There  is  one  drawback  in  this  climate  which  the  young 
people  occasionally  make  an  occasion  for  murmuring;  the  merry 
sleigh  bells  are  not  heard,  and  of  course  the  delightful  parties, 
which  can  face  a  snow  storm  with  delight,  must  find  other  provo- 
cations to  hilarity,  but  the  farmer  does  not  complain  of  a  climate 
in  which  the  plow  will  run  through  the  soil  during  ten  months 
of  the  year.     December  and  January  are  the  winter  months,  and 
in  some  seasons  ice  eight  inches  thick  is  formed  during  that  season 
of  cold,  but  more  generally  the  range  is  from  four  to  six  inches, 
and  some  years  there  is  no  ice  worth  storing.     Spring  comes  with 
February,  and  the  trees  are  soon  in  bud,  ready  to  burst  into  the 
garment  of  green  which  is  so  grateful  to  the  eye,  so  full  of  prom- 
ise for  mankind.     The  cold  days  have  just  Ijeen  sufRciently  severe 
and  frequent  to  make  the  vernal  season  more  delightful,  but  the 
fact  that  sleighing  is  not  the  fashion,  says  emphatically  that  the 
winters  are  mild  by  comparison  with  the  rigors  endured  in  other 
states.     The  absence  of  haze  from  the  atmosphere  is  a  subject  of 


S8 


TvrTl.hfn   lUsTUHY  OF  K.iNSAS. 


I 


coimiioiit  aiiioii^'  tiiivoltTH  ;  llu'  air  biiiigs  every  object  witliin  tlie 
raiiKo  i>i  hiyhl  elear  up  into  view,  and  at  tiiiics  it  appeuiH  as  though 
it  wero  piK^-sible  to  perceive  refracted  to  our  lino  of  vision  things 
whicli  arc  bcU)W  the  line  of  the  horizon.  Wo  do  not  nunui  to 
cimvry  tliat  the  Kata  Morf-inia,  wliich  can  he  ween  at  tiniea  on  lia 
coa.Ht  of  Cahd)ria,  is  ever  pre-t.-nted  to  the  eyes  of  the  Kansas  resi- 
dent at  home  ;  the  refraction  referred  to  hIiow.s  no  reversal  of  tho 
object,  but  it  is  as  though  the  encircling  air  raised  up  a  picture  of 
every  object  in  .lilu  by  some  occult  power  whicli  our  knowledge 
of  the  law  of  sight  will  not  enable  us  to  grasp.  Tlic  clear  air  of 
Kansa.s  gives  an  iinpiession  of  nearness,  when  ga/,ing  at  distant 
objects,  which  is  another  result  of  its  dryness,  becauso  incu  necea- 
snrily  compare  the  present  with  the  past,  and  all  their  conclusiona 
in  this  respect  arc  arrived  at  by  remcnd)criiig  llie  moist  media 
through  wliich  they  saw  everything  in  less  favored  localities. 

'I'lic  wimls  are  very  strong  in  Kansas;  perhaps  the  vapor  which 
loads  the  •iiuKisphcro  in  some  states  is  due  to  the  softer  airs  in 
which  tho  earth  is  lapped,  but  there  are  nuuiy  regions  in  which  a 
kind  of  fog  is  almo.st  always  present,  although   ihc  winds  come 
occasionally  with   the  force  of  a  hurricane.     Tho  want  of  forests 
in  Kansas  has  been  already  referred   to,  and  of  course  the  baro 
prairie  oilers  no  abating  force  to  the  gales  which  sometimes  sweep 
over  the  lan<l.     Groves  are  springing  up  now  in   many  places 
which  seemed   to  be  permanently  bare,  lincc  the  lircs  once  annu- 
uily  prevailing  have  been  beaten   back  by  tho  growth  of  settle- 
ment, and  farmers  arc  planting  trees  with  very  good  judgment,  in 
dilTcrcnt  parts  of  the  country.     Perhaps  the  state  government 
would  do  well  to  give  such  matters  their  careful  .supervision  also. 
The  cool  breezes  of  the  summer  nights  arc  pleasant  as  well  as 
profitable  to  tho  sleeper,  but  the  strong  winds  may,  and  probably 
will   be,  moderated  by  tree  culture,  and  other  means  which  it 
would  bo  tedious  to  particulari/c  here.     Certain  it  is  that  wind 
und  rain  can  be  largely  governed  by  circumstances  which  arc  under 
man's  control,  although  the  simoom  and  the  cyclone  in  their  fury 
bear  him  down  as  the  reed  is  bent  in  a  tempest     The  cultivation 
of  hedges  is  a  step  in  the  right  direction.     The  records,  so  far  as 
they  extend,  abundantly  show  that  rains  fall  with  greater  fro- 
quency  and  with  less  violence  in  Kauoas  of  late  years,  than  was 


■  I  I  UIU 


Okskha l  hhscuii'Tioy. 


«T 


A'illiin  the 
fta  though 
iun  things 
t  juoau  to 
lU'ti  oil  iio 
iiiisiis  ruai" 
real  of  tho 
|iic'tiirc  of 

<ll()\vlL'ilgO 

ik'iir  air  uf 
at  distant 

[liCll  llt'COd- 

oncUisiona 
iiist  media 
lilies. 

ipor  wliiuh 
tor  airs  in 
in  w!ii(;h  a 
nnds  conio 
;  of  forests 
iQ  the  bam 
UK'S  sweep 
liny   plaees 
once  annu- 
h  uf  settle- 
dgment,  in 
;ovci'nnient 
vision  also. 
;  as  well  aa 
d  probably 
IS  which  it 
■?  that  wind 
h  arc  under 
1  their  fury 
cultivation 
Js,  so  far  aa 
greater  fre- 
•s,  than  was 


tho  oxporionon  f)f  tho  older  settlers  when  tlicy  locited  themselves 
in  tiiis  territory,     '['lie  number  of  rainy  days  durinj^  the  year  in- 
creased within  three  years  from  about  sixty  days  to  nini^ty,  speak- 
itij,'  in  round  nnml)ers,  ancl  this  by  steady  accretion.     Sneh  a  fact 
taken  alone  would  be  too  narrow  to  bo  assumed  as  a  bnsis  for 
rl>asoning,  but  wdieti  it  is  considered  tliat  all  tho  facts  of  f)ur  timo 
tend  to  the  same  result,  and  that  our  coinpletest  obsei'vations  posi- 
tively demonstrate  tho  power  of  tree.H  over  rainfall,  wdiil(>  they 
more  than  suir^rest  that  railroads  and  telegraph  wires  wield  an  in- 
flu(Miee  on  tin'  freipieney  :ind  duration  of  cleetrie  disturbances,  it 
will  be  .sen  that  we  are  juslilii'd   in  relying  upor\  tho  increase  of 
rainy  days  during  three  years  of  close  observation,  as  part  of  tho 
phenomena  which  prove  that  man  is  slowly  accnmidating  power 
over  the  elements,  by   the  observation  of  tho  jihenoiuena  of  lui- 
ture.     Wlii'n  the  Aformon  leader,  Ibigham  Yourig,  led  his  follow- 
ers into  the  valley  of  tho  Salt  Lake,  encamping  at  the  foot  of  tho 
Wahsateh    mountains,  just  where   tho  city   of  Salt   Tiako   now 
stands,  he  j)romised  his  disciple^  i  miracle,  and  to  this  day  they 
believe  his  promi.se  was  fuHillc'l.     The  Great  Salt  lake,  a  mass  of 
water  ajiparently  without  an  mtlet,  except  by  means  of  eva])ora- 
tion,  had  accumulated  the  salts  of  tho  earth  in  that  region  during 
unnumbered  years,  as  every  stream  and  spring  brought  with  it  to 
tho  lako  some  mineral  in  .solution.     When  the  sim  drew  up  its 
.supplies  to  make  rain,  only  the  pure  vai)or  roso  to  form  the 
cloud,  the  .salt  must  need.s  remain  behind,  being  too  ho.ivy  to  be 
vaporized  by  that  simple  process  of  attraction,  and  ceaseless  rep- 
etitions of  the  operation  of  the  same  attractions  and  repulsions, 
during  all  the  centuries  that  have  elap.sed  since  tho  lake  .system 
extended  across  tho  continent,  and  gave  to  this  body  of  water  its 
outlets  toward  the  ocean,  such  as  lake  Erie  and  lake  Michigan 
now  enjoy,  have  resulted  in  making  the  Gioat  S.ilt  lake  as  full  of 
mineral  substance  as  the  name  implies.     The  continuance  of  sim- 
ilar causes  through  more  extended  periods  would  have  resulted, 
it  is  probable,  in  filhng  the  valley  with  a  mnh  bed  .-'uch  as  the 
crust  of  the  earth  has  many  examples  of ;  but  to  pursue  that 
question    further  would    lead    away  from    our    present    topic. 
Mr.  Brigham   Young  had  spent  much  time  among  the  Indians, 
and  although  a  man  of  very  moderate  attainments,  he  has  excep- 


f  , 


38  TuTTLifs  HisroitY  of  Kansas. 

tional  shrewdnesg,  so  that  when  he  heard  from  the  red  men  the 
axiom  of  the  tribes,  that  "The  pale  face  brings  his  ram  with 
him,"  he  could  liave  had  very  little  dilFiculty  in  compi-ehending 
the  natural  law,  under  which  the  fact  referred  to  by  the  Indians 
must  be  explained. 

The  red  man  had  allowed  fires  to  sweep  over  the  country  year 
after  year  unchecked,  if  not  caused  by  his  operations,  denuding 
the  prairies  of  every  tree  and  bush  and  blade  of  grass  over  thoa- 
eandsof  square  miles,  leaving  the  soil  a  blackened  waste  untd  the 
grass  roots  by  mere  force  of  vitality  would  once  more  place  a  robe 
of  emerald  upon  the  earth.     Where  such  fires  did  not  occur,  and 
the  primeval  forests  raised    their   heads  to  heaven   asking   for 
clouds  and   rain,  there  was  only  one  obstacle  to  careless  and 
thriftless  denudation,  the  laziness  of  the  savage  and  the  imperfec 
tion  of  his  tools.     When  the  white  settler  came  to  the  land  to 
make  his  home,  his  first  care  would  be  to  isolate  Lis  homestead, 
as  completely  as  he  might,  from  the  probability  of  being  swal- 
lowed up  in  prairie  fires.     That  isolation  meant  protection  for  the 
forest  which  was  always  trying  to  make  head  against  the  de- 
stroyer.    Examine  the  patch  of  grass  under  your  feet  and  you 
will  find  not  only  grass,  but  shrubs  of  a  thousand  kinds,  in  min- 
iature, trying  to  find  room  for  expansion.     Ten  thousand  trees  are 
browsed  down  in  a  day  by  domesticated  animals.     Millions  of 
trees,  that  have  never  risen  more  than  a  span  in  height,  are  liable 
to  be  eroded  by  the  pettiest  fire,  and  still  nature  maintains  her 
ceaseless  effort  to  cover  the  soil  with  forests.     The  white  man 
assists  nature,  because  he  has  his  iiome  to  protect,  his  wife  and 
little  ones,  his  Lares  and  Penates  to  defend.     The  crops  in  the 
earth,  the  fences  around  his  farm,  the  grain  in  his  store,  the  fur- 
niture in  liis  dwelling*,  the  stock  grazing  around  him,  are  all  pre- 
cious possessions,  and  fire  is  his  direst  enemy.     He  bends  all  his 
enercies  to  avoid  conflagrations.     The  season  of  the  year  havmg 
come  in  which  fires  are  most  to  be  dreaded,  he  selects  a  day  on 
which  the  wind  or  the  lack  of  wind  favors  the  operation,  and  he 
burns  a  broad   protecting  line  around  his  home  and  farm,  far 
enough  away  to  minimize  the  danger,  carefully  beating  out  the 
last  embers  of  the  utilized  flame.     When  the  settlement  grows, 
the  protected  area  increases  until  the  prairie  becomes  almost  as 


in  iljUIW  |l>iHi>jB(WW 


General  DEscsiPTioy. 


39 


■ed  men  the 
s  rain  with 
ipreliending 
the  Indians 

iountry  year 
IS,  denuding 
3  over  tlioa- 
ste  until  the 
place  a  robe 
)t  occur,  and 
asking   for 
careless  and 
;be  imperfec- 
tbe  land  to 
s  liomestead, 
being  swal- 
;ction  for  the 
vinst  tbe  de- 
feet  and  you 
inds,  in  min- 
5a  nd  trees  are 
Millions  of 
;bt,  are  liable 
naintains  her 
le  white  man 
,  his  wife  and 
crops  in  the 
5  to  re,  tbe  f  ur- 
n,  are  all  pre- 
bends all  his 
e  year  having 
ects  a  day  on 
■ation,  and  be 
and  farm,  far 
;ating  out  tbe 
ement  grows, 
rnes  almost  as 


safe  as  the  city.  Then  from  the  willing  soil  the  earth  once  again 
gives  out  its  teeming  forests,  this  time  to  find  a  better  welcome,  so 
that  thousands  of  square  miles,  which  were  annually  blackened 
by  desolation,  are  now  groves  and  forests  of  considerable  size, 
making  the  air  salubrious  by  the  breathing  of  their  myriad 
leaves,  claiming  moisture  from  the  passing  cloud  and  feeding  tbe 
springs  and  rivulets  with  murmuring  streams.  The  trees  planted 
by  settlers  are  but  a  small  item  compared  with  the  immense  for- 
ests jilanted  by  nature  which  grow  up  under  his  protection.  This 
then  is  one  of  the  ways  in  which  "  the  pale  face  brings  with  him 
his  rain."  When  Lesseps,  the  great  French  engineer,  commenced 
his  great  canal  work,  his  first  coup  was  to  plant  trees  along  tliQ 
line  of  his  operation,  and  before  his  work  had  been  completed 
those  trees  were  making  a  pasture  land  of  the  desert,  bringing 
down  rain  upon  the  parched  sands,  and  holding  the  fluent  earth 
together.  Brigham  Young  knew  enough  to  be  aware  of  the  open 
secret  which  would  enable  him  to  modify  the  forces  of  nature, 
and  he  promised  his  disciples  to  work  a  miracle  by  the  means  at' 
his  disposal.  The  margin  of  the  lake  proved  that  the  body  of 
water  was  diminishing,  as  comparatively  recent  high  water  marks 
were  indicated  by  deposits  of  various  salts  upon  the  beach.  His 
miracle  was  to  consist  of  an  increase  of  that  body  of  water. 
The  disciples  heard  and  believed,  waiting  only  for  the  realization 
which  they  were  snre  would  come.  They  carried  out  the  orders 
■which  were  duly  made,  that  every  man  should  plant  trees  upon 
his  allotted  ground.  Orchards,  when  fruit  trees  could  be  ob- 
tained, but  trees,  whether  fruit  trees  or  not  The  streams  that 
came  down  cool  and  clear  from  the  mountains  were  carried 
through  channels  in  every  street,  and  shade  trees  were  planted  in 
convenient  locations,  until  the  whole  valley  resembled  a  park  and 
a  garden.  Where  streams  bad  run  into  swamps  and  morasses, 
trenches  were  dug,  and  the  unprofitable  land  converted  into  first- 
class  pasture,  additional  acreage  moreover  for  trees.  "  The  pale 
face  brought  with  him  bis  rain,"  because  he  used  the  means  ne- 
cessary for  that  purpose  and  the  result  was  just  as  inevitable  as 
that  the  punka  of  the  East  Indian  and  the  fan  of  the  civilized 
American  woman  should  give  coolness  to  the  heated  brow. 
Years  passed  and  the  work  of  drainage  was  slowly  going  on. 


do 


TcrTLifs  IIisroRY  of  Kaxsas. 


rains  became  more  and  more  frequent  within  the  basin  of  the  Salt 
Lake,  and  tliere  being  few  swamps  now  to  arrest  tlie  natural 
course  of  the  falling  waters,  the  Salt  Lake  slowly  expanded 
toward  its  old  bounds,  actually  increasing  in  depth  from  ten  to 
twe^vo  feet  over  its  whole  area.  The  miracle,  to  the  accomplish- 
ment of  which  Brigham  Young  stood  pledged,  is  now  pointed  ta 
by  old  Mormons  as  an  accomplished  fact,  and  few  of  the  rank 
and  file  of  the  faith  are  sufficiently  cultivated  and  informed  to  be 
aware  that  there  was  not  an  atom  of  nuraclc  in  the  whole  trans- 
action. The  iron  road  and  the  wires  and  telegraph  poles  which 
now  traverse  the  continent,  from  Maine  to  the  Golden  Gate,  have 
doubtless  assisted  in  the  same  direction,  and  in  every  state  the 
processes  of  protection  and  cultivation,  sensibly  and  insensibly 
carried  on,  have  tended  to  make  rains  more  frequent  and  more 
gentle,  just  as  the  experiences  of  the  state  of  Kansas  exemplify, 
consequently  we  are  not  building  upon  a  narrow  and  insecure 
basis  when  we  claim,  from  the  facts  referred  to,  the  changes  which 
"  are  manifest 

In  Kansas  and  all  over  settled  America,  the  change  of  climate 
and  of  temperature  progresses.  The  earth  is  fed  with  rain  and  it 
answers  with  herbage  and  flowers,  with  trees,  springs  and  rivers, 
which  maintain  coolness  and  freshness  in  the  air.  Arrest  the 
process  of  tree  planting  and  protection,  employ  the  axe  of  the 
•woodman  to  denude  an  area  of  country,  and  you  find  the  answer 
to  the  insane  proceeding  in  wells  without  water,  springs  that  have 
run  dry,  creeks  that  have  no  rivulet,  meadows  with  a  dry  and 
stunted  grass,  the  whole  earth  feeling  its  way  back  again  toward 
the  primeval  desert,  where  the  slowly  oxidized  rock  could  not 
sustain  the  simplest  vegetation.  Tliis  is  not  theory  alone ;  it  is  the 
outcome  of  applied  science  proved  by  instances  which  are  his- 
torical in  cause  and  in  effect.  The  rain  drop  is  the  first  great 
factor  in  civilization,  nay,  even  in  life  itself.  The  rain  pelted 
traveler,  in  rubbers  and  overcoat,  with  his  umbrella  turned 
■wrongside  out,  and  his  hat  a  wreck,  may  have  some  difficulty  in 
realizing  the  poetry  of  the  position,  but  once  safe  at  home  and  his 
mind  aglow  with  the  exercise  forced  upon  him,  he  can  see  much 
better  how  that  ocean,  which  has  probably  never  increased  nor 
decreased  an  iota  since  earth  and  sea  came  into  their  present 


General  Description. 


of  the  Salt 
the  natural 
expanded 
from  ten  to 
accornplish- 
T  pointed  to 
jf  the  rank 
armed  to  be 
vhole  trans- 
poles  which 

Gate,  have 
iry  state  the 
[  insensibly 
it  and  more 
!  exemplify, 
nd  insecure 
mges  which 

e  of  climate 
I  rain  and  it 
!  and  rivers, 
Arrest  the 
axe  of  the 
I  the  answer 
gs  that  have 
1  a  dry  and 
gain  toward 
k  could  not 
)ne;  it  is  the 
lieh  are  hia- 
e  first  great 
rain  pelted 
rella  turned 
difficulty  in 
orae  and  his 
an  see  much 
icreased  nor 
iheir  present 


forms,  has  sent  those  rain  drops  on  errands  of  mercy,  which  are 
but  the  reduplication  of  similar  operations  which  have  gone  oa 
since  this  world  came  out  of  chaos.  lie  can  see  then,  that  nearly 
all  of  the  herbage  upon  which  his  cattle  are  fed,  nearly  all  of  the 
grain,  fruits  and  vegetables  which  come  to  his  own  table,  are,  in 
the  main,  utilized  rain  drops.  When  he  pursues  the  subject  a 
little  further,  he  finds  he  is  little  more  than  a  few  buckets  of  rain 
water,  some  lime  and  a  handful  of  other  ingredients  himself,  save 
the  divine  essence  which  has  made  the  race  one  from  its  earliest 
recorded  act,  and  which  gives  to  his  strangely  compacted  brain  his 
memorj'.  The  solid  looking  man  becomes  positively  astounded, 
as  he  reflects,  that  of  the  less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds 
that  make  up  his  bulk  and  weight,  more  than  ninety  pounds 
consist  of  water.  There  may  be  too  much  rain  in  a  particular 
locality,  but  the  rain  drop,  even  in. profusion,  is  better  than  the 
desert  in  which  no  blade  of  grass  can  flourish,  no  living  thing 
exist  There  is  another  reason  for  greater  coolness:  When  rain 
falls  upon  a  soil  never  broken  by  the  plow,  it  finds  a  surface 
hard  and  matted  together  by  the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere,  the 
hoofs  of  animals  and  the  continually  interlacing  roots.  Over 
such  country  the  rain  passes  without  permeating  the  earth,  and 
the  cooling  influence  is  lost  almost  entirely.  The  husbandman 
comes  upon  that  land  and  his  plow  speedily  destroys  that  close 
matting  of  roots.  The  harrow  completes  the  work  commenced 
by  the  plow,  and  the  atmosphere  reduces  the  broken  clods  to 
powder.  The  rain  falling  now,  sinks  into  the  soil,  fills  the  sub- 
soil, which,  like  a  sponge,  may  be  charged  with  water,  and  over  the 
whole  area  the  process  is  going  on,  which  i.«  applied  when  a  water 
pitcher  of  porous  ware  is  covered  all  around  with  a  damp  cloth, 
u  kind  of  refrigeration  proceeds  on  a  grand  scale,  because  a  moist 
surface  is  always  an  evaporating  surface,  and  that  coolness  is  the 
climatic  change  which  we  find  progressing  side  by  side  with 
settlement.  Rain  would  come  more  readily  upon  such  land  than 
upon  an  arid  soil,  because  the  coolness  condenses  the  cloud  into 
drops  where  heat  would  rarefy  it  into  lighter  vapor.  The  num- 
ber of  springs  in  the  state  of  Kansas  is  known  to  be  much  greater 
than  formerly,  for  the  reason  that  the  earth  is  now  the  receptacle 
of  rain  instead  of  its  thoroughfare  only,  and  that  the  rains  come 


:  ,iii*iiii»!*%i(**ar»' 


42 


Tuttle's  History  of  Kansas. 


more  frequently.     The  operation  of  tlie  same  law  will  continue 
to  improve  the  rivers  and  streams  as  aids  to  the  manufacturer, 
because  the  water  course  which  ran  full  to  the  banks  during 
vvinter,  and  was  unmanageable  because  of  its  volume,  became  a 
tiny  rivulet  in  the  summer,  or  dried  up  altogether,  so  tha".  the 
mill  was  idle  at  both  extremes,  but  under  the  processes  meidental 
to  .settlement  and  cultivation,  the  earth  becomes  a  never  failing 
reservoir  out  which  nature  can  bring  her  hydraulic  powers  at 
will  to  feed  the  spring,  the  stream  and  the  river,  so  that  the  rush 
is  moderated  at  the  worst,  in  winter  and  in  spring,  and  the  river 
is  supplied  when,  under  the  primitive  rule,  there  wasa  drought. 
"The  pale  face  brings  with  him  his  rain,"  and  his  spring,  and  U3 
river,  and  his  forest,  and  his  plenty  also,  because  he  is  an  mtelli- 
eent  observer  of  the  formulas  upon  which  nature  works,  and  he 
thankfully  acts  upon  the  hints  which  God  gives  him  in  the  reve- 
lation of  seience.     The  end  is  not  yet.     The  thinker  and  the 
worker  of  to-day  are  but  at  the  outer  door  of  the  temple  o 
knowledge,  listening  to  the  words :  "  Knock  and  it  .shall  be  opened 
unto  you,"  and  whether  at  St.  John's  eve,  or  at  any  other  season, 
the  reverent  soul  is  anxious  to  fathom  the  will  of  the  Great 
Artificer  of  the  universe,  for  his  law  is  always  full  of  mercy  for 
the  raec.     Kansas  is  found  among  the  most  productive  of  twenty 
states  in  some  crops,  and  above  the  average  in  all.     The  day  is 
not  far  distant  when  it  will  lead  in  every  respect  as  an  agricul- 
tural state,  and  when,  in  addition  thereto,  it  will  be  ranked  among 
tbe  most  favorable  to  manufactures.     The  state  may  be  said  to 
be  part  of  the  system  which  culminates  in  the  Rocky  mountains, 
and  the  inclination  of  the  surface  toward  the  Missouri  and  the 
Mississippi,  by  the  Kansas  and  its  tributaries  in  one  case,  among 
many  and  by  the  Arkansas  and  its  tributaries  in  another,  is  an 
indicntion  of  a  force  which  can  be  converted  into  wealth,  every 
minute  of  the  day  and  night,  whenever  the  works  are  set  going, 
bv  which  the  whole  world  will  be  made  rich  without  the  opera- 
tion of  the  often  quoted  curse,  which  rests  upon  the  brow  of  man. 
The  rainfall  in  Kansas  is  not  only  more  continuous  and  more 
gentle  of  late  years,  but  it  has  been  demonstrated  by  returns  of 
a  reliable  kind,  only  too  tedious  for  quotation,  that  the  growing 
months  of  the  year,  from  March  to  October,  are  specially  noted 


Hygiesic  CoxDiTioys. 


43 


vill  continue 
iianufacturer, 
)ank3  during 
die,  became  a 
•,  so  that  the 
3CS  incidental 

never  failing 
lie  powers  at 
that  the  rush 
and  the  river 
'as  a  drought, 
pring,  and  his 
e  is  an  intelli- 
vorks,  and  he 
n  in  the  reve- 
inker  and  the 
the  temple  of 
liall  be  opened 
r  other  season, 

of  the  Great 
.1  of  mercy  for 
jtive  of  twenty 
.1.     The  day  is 

as  an  agricul- 

ranked  among 
iiay  be  said  to 
;ky  mountains, 
ssourl  and  the 
ne  case,  among 
I  another,  is  an 
» wealth,  every 
5  are  set  going, 
lout  the  opera- 
3  brow  of  man. 
lous  and  more 
1  by  returns  of 
at  the  growing 
specially  noted 


as  the  season  during  which  rain  more  particularly  falls.  As  we 
have  before  mentioned,  the  spring  commences  in  February  m 
Kansas,  and  the  hard  frosts,  when  they  come,  belong  to  Doccmbcr 
and  January.  The  average  of  rain  in  nineteen  states,  besides 
Kansas,  shows  a  much  smaller  quantity  of  rain  in  tlie  growing 
montlis  tlian  that  recorded  in  Kansas  at  the  corresponding  tune. 
Eastern  Kansas  is  more  rainy  than  the  western  section  of  the 
state,  but  the  observations  of  scientists,  extended  over  many 
years,  leave  little  cause  for  doubt,  that  in  western  Kansas  also 
the  average  of  rain  increases. , 


CHAPTER   II. 
HYGIENIC  CONDITIONS. 

Air  -  Water  -  Soil  -  Timber-  Geology  -  Stone  -  Coal  -  Iron  -  Lead  — 

Tin  —  Petroleum,  etc. 

The  liist  question  that  a  wise  man  will  ask  with  regard  to  a 
new  country,  of  which  he  may  become  a  resident,  will  be,  and 
should  be,  as  to  its  hygienic  conditions.     He  will  ask  for  the  sake 
of  his  children  as  well  as  on  his  own  behalf.     The  old  question, 
"  What  shall  it  profit  a  man  though  he  gain  the  whole  world  and 
lose  his  own  soul,  or  what  shall  a  man  give  in  exchange  for  his 
soul,"  had  a  bearing  on  the  temporal  life  as  well  as  upon  the 
eternal.     There  are  circumstances  in  which  it  becomes  a  noble 
self  sacrificing  nature  to  abandon  life  for  the  sake  of  his  country, 
his  kind,  or  for  the  object  of  his  love;  but  in  choosing  a  home 
for  himself  and  his  family  no  such  occasion  arises.     The  condi- 
tions of  life   in   health  are  of  paramount   importance,  and  he 
would  be  held  little  better  than  an  idiot  who  would,  with  his 
eyes  open,  select  a  location  for  a  home  in  which  ill  health  must 
be  his  companion  all  his  days  until  an  early  death  came  to 
shorten  his  misery.     Sick  men  with  sick  thoughts  are  not  the 
usual  condiments  served  up  to  the  traveler  in  Kansas.     To  those 
who  assume  that  a  Lapland  winter  is  necessary  to  develop  and 


44 


TVTTLK'fi   JllSTOliY  OF  K.IKSAS. 


m 


sustain  vigorous  licaltli,  it  vill  be  useless  to  say  much  in  praise 
of  Kansas;  the  niaximum  of  Wame  is  conveyed  in  tlie  fact  that 
Blei.Lfhing  is  not  the  custom  of  the  state  during  winter,  and  that 
spring  commences  with  February.     The  northern  states  havo  all 
the  superior  advantages  of  frost  bite  upon  exposure,  in  which 
Kansas  can  hardly  ever  compete;  and  then  within  doors,  the  cus- 
tom of  shutting  out  every  current  of  fresh  air,  heating  their  houses 
by  furnaces  in  the  basement,  and  practically  living  in  an  ex- 
panded flue,  with  an  occasional  atmosphere  of  coal  gas  to  breathe 
right  and  day,  an  open  fire  place  treated  as  a  waste  of  coal  and 
caloric,  and  an  iron  stove  the  only  method  for  warming  residences, 
not  provided  with  the  poisonous  furnace,  may  be  remarkably  in- 
vigorating, but  we  would  much  rather  take  our  chances  in  Kansas 
where  such  means  are  in  much  more  limited  application.     The 
nights  in  summer  are  almost  invariably  cool  enough  to  permit  of 
healthful  sleep,  and  the  days  although  warm  arc  not  oppressive. 
There  are  more  instances  of  sun  stroke  in  New  York  city  in  one 
year,  than  have  been  recorded  in  this  state  from  the  days  of  its 
first  settlement ;  and  that  fact  comes  as  much  from  the  superior 
vigor  of  the  population  as  from  the  clearness  and  freshness  of  the 
atmosphere  that  fills  the  lungs  of  the  population,  and  is  the  me- 
dium for  the  transmission  of  the  sun's  rays.     Summer  and  winter 
alike,  whenever  the  weather  permits  of  exposure  without  incon- 
venience from  rain  or  snow,  people  are  accustomed  to  enjoy  their 
leisure  out  of  doors;  and  their  sports  in  the  open  air  are  numer- 
ous and  popular  in  this  state.     The  happy  mean  between  heat 
and  cold,  avoiding  either  extreme,  favors  every  out  of  door  pur- 
suit, and  those  who  understand  the  first  principles  of  "health  can- 
not fail  to  see  that  under  such  conditions,  if  anywhere,  life  may 
be  enjoyed.     Food  of  good  quality,  in  sufficient  quantity  to  sus- 
tain strength  being  supposed,  and  such  clothing  as  will  protect 
the  body  from  undue  exposure,  with  homes  comfortably  secure 
from  winds  and  rain,  it  must  be  perceived  that  exercise  in  the 
open  air,  whether  in  labor  or  in  recreation,  will  supply  to  health- 
ful men  and  women  all  that  is  required  to  maintam  body  and 
mind  in  the  highest  order.     The  blood  enriched  by  necessary 
supplies  of  diet  will  reach  the  heart  in  proper  volume,  wanting 
only  the  action  of  the  atmosphere  to  complete  the  round  of 


m. 


iijmwiur^i|^>|>^M|iiiiWiiiWffMWW^|W 


Hygienic  Conditions. 


45 


ucli  in  praise 
the  fact  that 
iter,  and  that 
ate.s  have  all 
are,  in  which 
loors,  the  cus- 
r  their  houses 
ig  in  an  ex- 
^as  to  breathe 
e  of  coal  and 
ng  residences, 
^rnarkably  in- 
ccs  in  Kansas 
ication.     The 
li  to  permit  of 
ot  oppressive, 
rk  city  in  one 
lie  days  of  its 
1  the  superior 
eshness  of  the 
,nd  is  the  me- 
ler  and  winter 
without  incon- 
to  enjoy  their 
lir  are  numer- 
between  heat 
b  of  door  pur- 
of  "health  can- 
here,  life  may 
lantity  to  sus- 
is  will  protect 
ortably  secure 
xercise  in  the 
)ply  to  health- 
ta.n  body  and 
by  necessary 
lume,  wanting 
the  round  of 


strengthening  and  renewal.  The  brisk  walk  upon  the  breezy 
hill  side  in  congenial  company,  or  participation  in  any  healthful 
sport  that  will  lill  tlie  lungs,  will  establisli  such  contact  as  is  de- 
manded between  oxygen  and  ozone  in  the  atmosphere,  and  the 
blood  which  has  just  returned,  dark  and  venous,  from  making  the 
circuit  of  the  system.  The  blood,  which  with  every  breath  be- 
comes thus  fully  oxygenated,  returns  to  the  heart  a  briglit  arterial 
red,  ready  to  start  once  more  upon  its  rounds,  every  corpuscle 
carrying  its  freight  of  oxygon  to  assist  in  burning  up  the  waste  of 
the  system,  and  in  the  maintenance  of  animal  heat.  "Scholars," 
says  a  sterling  thinker,  "  liave  their  heads  warm  and  their  feet 
cold;"  and  very  generally  he  is  correct,  becau.se  the  scholar  is 
too  often  only  a  book  worm,  accustomed  to  enjoy  the  delicacies 
that  may  bo  found  in  literature,  but  not  in  the  habit  of  applying 
science  to  the  improvement  of  his  own  life.  Persuade  the  an- 
choret of  the  study  to  cast  aside  his  fur  lined  slippers,  abandon 
his  coal  stove  or  his  furnace  for  a  few  hours  every  day,  and  take 
just  so  much  of  exercise  in  the  open  air  as  circumstances  will  per- 
mit, and  there  will  be  much  loss  reason  for  complaint.  lie  will 
eat  his  food  with  a  relish,  and  will  require  no  stimulating  draughts 
nor  sauces;  his  blood  will  dance  merrily,  where  aforetinae  it 
sluggishly  crept;  the  expanding  chest  will  take  its  fill  of  the  best 
air  that  can  be  obtained,  and  there  will  be  no  inducement  to 
crowd  almost  into  the  stove  to  procure  warmth.  The  brain  sup- 
plied now  with  blood  fully  oxygenated,  will  lose  the  febrile 
symptom  which  once  seemed  never  failing,  and  the  sleep  of  such 
a  man  will  improve  with  every  reasonable  increase  of  his  exercise. 
He  will  think  better,  read  better,  eat  better,  and  sleep  better,  in 
fact  the  whole  range  of  existence  will  be  improved  with  his  ap- 
proach to  an  observance  of  the  laws  of  nature ;  and  for  all  such 
reforms  a  temperate  climate  is  best  adapted.  Where  the  summer 
heat  is  exhausting  it  would  be  folly  to  expect  men  to  expose 
themselves ;  and  where  the  thermometer  shows  a  teniperature  of 
40°  below  zero  the  expectation  would  be  just  as  absurd ;  but  the 
climate  of  Kansas  presents  neither  of  these  severe  extremes,  there- 
fore it  is  best  adapted  for  the  perfection  of  health  and  vigor. 

Figures  tend  to  show  that  men  are  healthful,  and  enjoy  the  ad- 
vantages of  exceptional  longevity,  in  proportion  to  their  exercise 


# 


40 


TUTTLEfs  HiSTOIiY  OF  K.iXSAS. 


in  tho  open  air.  It  may  be  assiitncd  that  the  carpenter  and  shoe- 
mnk'or  of  to-day  are  in  tho  average  of  eases,  as  temperate  in  their 
liabits  as  the  farmer,  but  vital  statistics  t(!nd  to  sliow  a  eonsider- 
nblc  per  centagc  in  favor  of  tho  agriculturist.  It  lias  bc^n  ascer- 
tained that  if  one  thousand  farmers  of  the  age  of  forty-tlvo  years 
be  notcil  and  observed,  during  the  ten  years  next  ensuing,  thero 
will  be  precisely  twelve  deaths  among  them,  or  rather  more  than 
one  farmer  of  that  thousand  per  annum.  Tho  observation  has 
been  made  and  rei)eated  in  many  countries  by  statists  of  high  re- 
pute, under  circumstances  which  forbid  the  probability  of  mis- 
take, and  the  results,  with  merely  fractional  variations,  arc  always 
the  same.  That  is  the  probability  of  life  for  the  farming  class 
during  the  decade  innn  forty-live  years  of  age  to  lifty-live.  Turn 
now  to  the  carpenter,  and  it  will  be  found  that  he  with  his  indoor 
oeeu]iation  sustains  an  increase  of  mortality  equal  to  three  on  the 
thousand  during  the  like  term  of  corresponding  ages,  and  tho 
shoemaker  with  his  sedentary  pursuit  presents  an  average  of  six- 
teen deaths  in  the  thousand  during  a  corresponding  period.  The 
main  conditions  of  life  vary  chiefly  among  those  several  classes  in 
the  greater  exposure  to  fresh  air,  of  the  class  that  disj)lays  great- 
est longevity.  Thero  is  a  very  marked  increase  when  the  miner 
becomes  tho  subject  of  investigation.  One  thousand  miners  forty- 
five  years  of  age  will  lose  of  their  number  within  ten  years,  just 
twenty  jiersons  where  the  farmers  lost  twelve,  the  carpenters,  filtocn 
and  the  shoemakers  sixteen,  but  the  circumstances  of  their  calling 
abundantly  explain  the  larger  average  of  death.  They  are  liable 
to  greater  risks  in  going  to^and  returning  from  their  daily  and  night- 
ly toil,  their  habits,  as  a  class,  are  less  temperate  as  well  as  less 
enlifrhtened,  and  far  down  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth  where  thev 
pursue  their  perilous  avocation  they  may  be  crushed  by  falling 
masses  of  rock  or  coal  at  any  moment ;  may  be  drowned  by  a 
rush  of  water  from  abandoned  workings  ;  may  be  poisoned  by  the 
fumes  of  choke  damp  issuing  through  some  accidental  crevice, 
from  the  place  where  the  foul  m;asma  was  imprisoned  in  close 
custody,  by  nature's  forces,  millions  upon  millions  of  years  ago  ; 
or  may  be  burned  to  death  by  the  ignition  of  fire  damp  from  an 
uncovered  flame,  such  as  many  ignorant  men  persist  in  carrying 
when  at  their  work  in  spite  of  all  the  monitions  of  science.     Those 


n 


'-  i   iiMiiirt'y&iwiAiM 


imimmiitmmiKmmlf'tittitmtmKt 


Hygienic  Conditions. 


0 


irpontcr  and  slinc- 
;crnpci';iti!  iii  tlieir 

show  ii  coiisidcr- 
[t  has  bc'jn  ascer- 
)f  forty-tivo  years 
xt  ensuing,  tliero 
ratlier  moro  than 
i  observation  has 
tatista  of  liigh  re- 
i)l)ubility  of  mia- 
ations,  arc  always 
ho  farming  class 
>  lifty-iive.  Turn 
be  with  his  indoor 
al  to  three  on  tho 
ng  ages,  and  tho 
in  average  of  six- 
ling  period.     The 

several  classes  in 
lat  displays  great- 
j  when  the  miner 
sand  miners  forty- 
n  ten  years,  just 
carpenters,  filtocn 
!es  of  their  calling 
They  are  liable 
ir  daily  and  night- 
ie as  well  as  less 

earth  where  they 
rushed  by  falling 
be  drowned  by  a 
e  poisoned  by  the 
iccidental  crevice, 
prisoned  in  close 
3ns  of  years  ago  ; 
re  damp  from  an 
ersist  in  carrying 
f  science.     Those 


arc  but  a  few  of  the  many  exceptional  causes  which  make  tha 
miners  life  especially  full  of  risks,  and  vital  statistics  sliow  how 
far  these  adtlcd  dangers  increase  the  death  rate.  The  puri)npe  to 
be  sorvcd  by  this  limited  quotation  of  figures,  whore  an  endless 
variety  is  ofTcred,  is  to  demonstrate  as  nearly  as  may  be  possible 
witli  a  few  examples,  the  influence  of  exercise  in  fresh  and  whole- 
some air  on  health  and  longevity.  For  many  years  it  was  be- 
lieved that  our  ancestors  enjoyed  greater  longevity  and  better 
health,  as  well  as  greater  strength  than  their  descendants  in  the 
present  day,  but  the  idea  is  now  all  but  universally  abandoned. 
The  armor  which  was  worn  by  picked  men  in  the  highest  civiliza- 
tions of  six  hundred  years  ago  cannot  be  worn  by  the  average 
man  of  to-day,  it  is  entirely  too  small.  The  swords  and  other 
weapons  which  they  used  cannot  be  wielded  by  the  average  man 
of  to-day,  as  the  handles  are  too  small,  and  when  so  far  as  circnm- 
stances  permit,  we  examine  their  houses  without  windows  or 
chimneys,  more  huts  and  kennels,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  recon- 
ciling the  fact  with  our  knowledge  as  to  the  part  which  ventila- 
tion must  play  in  all  such  respects. 

Kansas  can  give  to  its  resident  population  a  climate  in  which 
exercise  in  the  open  air  is  possible  without  serious  inconvenience 
during  three  hundred  days  of  the  year,  and  its  air  is  exceptional- 
ly dry.  There  are  no  marshes  to  exhale  miasma,  no  defaults  of 
<lrainage  to  increase  disease.  So  dry  is  the  air  that  meats  can  be 
kept  without  salting  for  long  terms  and  be  at  all  times  fit  for  use. 
Persons  whose  lungs  are  affected,  or  whose  bronchial  tubes  gave 
them  increasing  trouble  farther  east,  are  in  this  state  very  consid- 
erably relieved  if  not  cured,  more  especially  in  certain  parts  of 
Kansas.  There  are  medical  practitioners  who  assert  that  the  cli- 
mate is  specific  for  asthma,  but  there  are  no  well  established  facts 
to  sustain  that  position,  still  the  circumstances  quoted  in  support 
of  their  theory  go  far  toward  proving  that  Kansas  can  assist  where 
it  may  not  cure.  Kansas  embraces  three  degrees  of  latitude,  con- 
sequently there  is  a  wide  range  of  variation  between  the  northern, 
southern,  eastern  and  western  sectiona  "  The  plains,"  as  they  are 
called,  have  little  rain  by  comparison  with  the  western  slopes  of 
the  Eocky  Mountains,  and  the  eastern  slopes,  although  far  from 
rainless,  are  less  favored  in  that  respect  then  the^west,  but  those 


•!'■ 


1 


liililMllW.WiMiiliiWiiiriilifn 


48 


TvTri.i'fs  JfisToiiy  oy  Kansas, 


foiituro.^,  in  Hotno  form  of  ViifiiUiDii,  an)  common  to  moan- 
tuiiioiM  coiiiilrios.  The  oxplonjrrt  who  havo  returned  within  tlio 
last  ton  .years  from  Africa  after  lindiiig  tlio  soureei4  of  tli'  Nile, 
mention  the  conjuring  tricks  of  the  rain  makers  in  that  country, 
nini  tlio  miserable  superstition  which  accepts  their  Mumbo  .luinbo 
ns  Gospel.  Superstitions  are  very  generally  forms  of  aborted 
knowledge,  and  it  is  probable  that  their  ancestors  were  wise  enough 
to  comprehend  the  practical  means,  by  which  rain  could  bo  in- 
creased in  favorable  r(>gions,  but  the  degeneracy  and  laziness  of 
the  class  in  modern  times  contents  itself  with  necromantic  tricks, 
and  ceremonies,  which,  should  rain  follow  within  a  brief  period, 
will  bo  credited  with  having  produced  the  result,  while  the  ab- 
sence of  rain  is  charged  upon  the  superabundant  sinfulness  of  the 
comnmnity,  or  the  want  of  a  sufliciently  liberal  present  t(j  the  per- 
forii  r.  Men  of  the  priest  class  have  generally  u  way  prei)arcd  to 
cover  every  dilliculty  ;  when  a  Devonshire  parish  clerk  handed  up 
to  the  rector  a  numbei*  of  reciuests  for  prayers,  ho  made  his  commen- 
tary on  every  item,  and  upon  arriving  at  the  note  which  requestcul 
rain  for  the  farmers  in  the  neighborhood  of  Dawl'sh,  the  prayer 
having  been  three  times  repeated  without  result,  ti.o  complacent 
clerk-  observed,  "  The  fools  ought  to  know  'tis  no  use  praying  for 
rain  while  the  wind  stays  in  this  quarter."  Perhaps  there  may 
have  been  some  fault  in  the  rector  who  was  little  better  than  one  of 
the  Japanese  prayer  mills,  for  when  a  lady  of  his  flock  sent  him  a 
note  to  the  efl'cct ;  "  A  mariner  going  to  sea,  his  wife  desires  the 
prayers  of  this  congregation."  The  oflicial  prayer  master  thus 
rendered  the  petition :  "  A  mariner  going  to  see  his  wife,  desires 
the  jirayers  of  this  congregation." 

The  Vegion  in  Kansas  in  which  the  minimum  of  rain  falls  is 
considered  very  favorable  to  persons  suffering  from  lung  diseases, 
and  dyspeptics  find  much  advantage  from  prolonged  residence 
here.  Persons  who  have  come  through  wasting  diseases  in 
different  parts  of  this  state,  and  in  Colorado,  come  here  as  they 
approach  convalescence,  as  the  dry  atmosphere  assists  them 
materially  toward  strength  of  body  and  a  vigorous  circulation. 
Nervous  exhaustion  demands  rest  which  can  hardly  be  found  in 
a  moist  region  without  more  than  compensating  dangers,  hence, 
the  reputation  which  this  state  is  maintaining  for  healthfulness. 


^ 


Hraitwic  Comutios'i^. 


mm  to  mouii- 
■nod  within  tlio 
•es  of  til'  Nile, 

I  tliat  CDUiitry, 
Mumbo  .luinbo 
■ins  of  iiboi'toil 
cro  wise  enough 

II  coulil  bo  in- 
and  lii/.inorts  of 
iniiintii!  tricks, 
a  brief  period, 

,,  while  the  ab- 
infuliioss  of  the 
,'sent  t(j  the  per- 
vay  prepared  to 
lerk  handed  up 
ide  hiscomrnen- 
vhieh  requested 
["sh,  the  prayer 
the  complacent 
use  praying  for 
haps  there  may 
jtter  than  one  of 
lock  sent  him  a 
wife  desires  the 
er  master  thus 
his  wife,  desires 

of  rain  falls  is 
n  lung  diseases, 
)nged  residence 
ing  diseases  in 
le  here  as  they 
e  assists  them 
0U3  circulation, 
lly  be  found  in 
dangers,  hence, 
r  healthfulness. 


Should  some  onteri)risiiig  medical  practitioner  establish  in  this 
region  a  lirst  class  hygienic  institution  for  the  recuperation  of  worn- 
out  bodies  and  minds,  by  plain  food,  good  sleej)ing,  perfect  rest 
from  anxiety,  and  a  minimum  of  drugs,  he  will  make  for  himself 
a  fortune,  and  a  reputation  cijual  to  that  of  Vircent  I'reis.snit/  at 
Orucfenberg,  besides  making  the  value  of  this  country  known  fur 
and  wide  over  the  whole  world.  The  patent  medicine  vendors  who 
in  some  states  absorb  a  largo  share  of  every  man's  earnings  lind 
little  profit  in  Kansas,  so  exhilarating  is  the  air,  and  so  general 
the  tone  of  health  in  the  coininunity.  The  state  e(jmbiiics  tlio 
advantages  of  elevation,  without  being  absolutely  moiinlainous, 
and  even  in  the  lowest  levels,  where  chills  and  fever  were  preva- 
lent in  former  years,  the  progress  of  settlemeiit  and  cultivation 
has  almost  efTaced  the  last  remains  of  the  old  plague.  One  of  the 
essentials  of  health  is  good  water.  Soon  after  the  lirst  settle- 
ment of  Terre  Uautc,  Indiana,  the  river  on  which  tlie  city  is 
situated  fell  considerably,  the  wells  became  exhausted,  or  wore 
very  much  reduced  in  supply,  springs  failed,  and  for  many  years 
the  region  continued  to  be  little  better  than  a  pest  house.  There 
were  other  local  circumstances  which  helped  to  deteriorate  the 
healthfulness  of  the  region,  but  the  want  of  pure  water  for  drink- 
ing purposes  was  the  chief  factor.  Kansas  as  a  whole,  in  every 
section,  east,  west,  north  and  south,  has  good  springs,  good  wells, 
and  good  rivers.  There  are  some  few  localities  in  the  state  on 
the  high  divides,  and  in  isolated  tracts  elsewhere,  where  water 
cannot  be  obtained  without  an  artesian  bore,  but  they  are  few 
and  far  between,  and  in  such  instances  the  supply  of  rain  water, 
which  can  bo  inexpensively  stored  in  cisterns,  will  serve  every 
purpose  of  health,  comfort  and  convenience.  In  the  extreme 
western  sections  of  the  state  there  are  quicksands,  in  which 
.streams  disappear  for  some  miles,  when  they  reappear  in  slightly 
diminished  volume,  and  a  well  sunk  into  such  strata  anywhere, 
must  needs  be  fruitless.  The  presence  of  salts  of  various  kinds 
in  the  earth  in  many  parts,  as  instanced  in  the  bulTalo  wallows, 
where  a  sulphate  of  magnesia  forms  on  the  surface  in  dry  seasons 
'tis  a  white  powder,  renders  it  undesirable  that  settlers  should 
depend  on  surface  water,  necessarily  impregnated  with  such  salts, 
but  a  little  care  in  selecting  proper  spots  for  sinking  will  usually 


i^ 


TvTTiJ:'s  UisToiiv  OF  Kassas. 


60 

result  iu  fi,uli.>«  excellent  well  vvutcr  ^unicient  f-;v|^^P;;n-- 
,,.  nrmv  srcliuns  of  the  country  the  nvcU.  give  ,.>.(.•.  t>  .olt 
:::r;;^;..e.ultof,e..e.ationananU..i;.nt^^^^^^ 

WluMT  liiiRwloMO  Htmlii  teeil    the  wells  the  icsuii  is 
LI:;:,  ^ut  the  w.eMS  peHectly  .holeso,no^  J^^^^^^^^ 
i„,rea.ea   tlio  voUnne  ui  rivers  nnd   Htrciuns,  an.l  H  is  -  '  '  ^ 
:;  :  U^a  .^nn^s  have  beeenne  ot  lato  years  n.ore  ^^^^^^^ 
formerly;  i    ^vill  MUn,  also  us  a  matter  ot  course,  that  tm..  w  11 
no  tlKM.uuUty  of  the  creek  waters,  by  reclucmg  the  qnant  ty 
r      .i      1     .oil  or  by  distributing  them  in  Hueh  a  way  as  thu 
1;       i      be  less   liable  to  eontauunate   springs   and    rnnnu.g 
B^^  '  n      b.a  for  tbe  present,  scMlers  w.U  do  well  to  depend  on 
:r;:h'o  possible,^.nd  in  the  last  resort  on  n.m  w.t^  -- 
in  cisterns.     There  could  bo  no  greater  error  tl   n  tl-t  - 
i^  involved  in  the  statement,  onec  commo.dy  made,  ^l-  tj-^   '^^ 
Heks  water  for  sustaining  stock.     There   ,s  no  country  b  tt.r 
tie         an   that   which    we   have  described,    thrcn,gh  wind 
"m  Is    nighty  strean,s  (low  for  many  hundreds  of  mdes,  fed 
;  '  :i:eraU  >  libutar.es.  and  alnu,st  every  ^^^y  ^-^  ^  ;;- 
.prinus  bursting  through  the  soil  of  the  pra.r.e    n>  ^i    ^ ^^    - 
bave' been  comparatively  arid  until  now,  or  -  y^;-  f     f^ 
oicntlv  bv  passing  rains  to  preserve  the  carpet  of  livmg  green. 
Iv  tm-  1  rs  were  so  circumstanced  that  they  journeyed  ueros 
he  d  w      rs  of  the  several  rivers,  and  remained  unaequa.nted 
vil  \  e  more  pron.inent  topographical  features  of  the  country^ 
T     s^    vho  have  come  into  the  state  to  settle  and  eult.ya te  the 
ih„se  wno  na.  everyway  more  beneficial,   and 

T'^    It  t    r»       of  Ws  subject  dun„g  tl.irty  yea.^,  =o"- 
"1:   n        W    .0    oW^od'suincicut  i„Ior,nation  to  pre 

ex  cathedra  on  m>«t  quKlons,  a,o  •'°''^'  ,  to  venture  an 

"".'■'":  "'yz::^j:rt:^:z  <;riC;  s..«H=red  ve^. 

T:;  J  t.::  -e  »„„»»,.,  ....,r,,,  ^res,  ...ere  are  bel.  a„d 


II 


tutmtui 


iitfitiiiflHii 


IIYOIKSIG  COSJJITIOS'^. 


Si 


ovory  pnrpoxe. 
c.  porffi-tly  >«i>ft 

Ui  ia  of  course 
Sclllcmenl  \\m 
nd  it  is  notice* 
0  coininon  tliiiii 
_',  lluvt  time  will 
ing  llie  (iiiantily 
A\  ft  way  a*<  tliat 
.rs  ami  rnnniiia 
jH  to  di-pmiil  oil 
•ain  water  stored 
tliiin  that  whicli 
ado,  tliat  Kansas 

0  country  better 
,  tlirougii  wliieU 
cds  of  tuilcs,  fed 
lay  there  arc  new 
js  in  spots  wiiiclj 
nly  watered  sufil- 
t  of  living  green. 

•  journeyed  across 
lied  unacquainted 
es  of  tlie  country, 
and  cultivate  the 
re  beneficial,  and 

1  Frenchman  who 
■  York  state,  when 
jd  to  collect  and 
t  three  years,  and 

thirty  years,  con- 
iitormation  to  pro- 
len  who  pronounce 
rom  limited  oppor. 
Tied  to  venture  an 
itry  sheltered  vege- 
there  are  belts  and 


groves  of  timber  of  j^rcat  size  and  ni^o,  but  the  open  country  is 
very  largely  dennde<l,  save  where  new  growths  have  siirung  up 
recently.  'I'lie  eastern  section  of  the  state  is  most  favored  in  thia 
respect,  and  few  farms  in  that  region  arc  more  than  two  miles 
from  bodies  of  timber  sunieient  for  fuel,  fencing  and  building. 
The  quantity  of  stone  available  for  building  purposes  makes 
the  demand  upon  wood  for  the  bettor  class  »)f  resiliences  very 
light  indeed. 

The  western  section  of  the  state  is  less  liberally  endowed  with 
timber,  but  cultivation  and  protection  will  soon  remedy  that  de- 
ficiency, and  meantime  the  railroads  are  bringing  supplies  from 
the  pineries  of  adjoining  and  distant  states,  at  prices  which  mako 
the  defect  on  our  own  hands  hardly  a  misfortune.  The  soil,  where 
treeless,  is  still  fertile,  and  it  is  an  advantage  to  be  able  to  run 
the  plow  through  an  entire  farm,  without  let  or  hindrance. 
When  the  settler  has  concluded  to  his  own  satisfaction,  as  to  th  o 
quantity  of  timber  land  desirable  on  his  estate,  and  the  positions 
best  adapted  to  serve  the  purposes  of  protection,  for  his  home,  his 
cattle  and  his  crops,  he  can  choose  between  allowing  the  native 
timber  to  grow  up  and  supply  his  wants,  and  the  bettor  alterna- 
tive of  planting  just  such  groves  as  will  serve  him  best;  in  any 
case,  the  supply  will  very  soon  be  sufficient  to  meet  his  demands 
for  slielter,  for  consumption,  and  for  beauty.  It  is  noticed  in  this 
state  as  well  as  elsewhere  that  the  wild  grasses  become  modified 
by  the  fact  of  settlement,  even  where  other  vcicties  of  grass  are 
not  introduced.  The  practice  of  curing  and  stacking,  which  has 
been  introduced,  leaves  on  the  earth  a  better  show  for  the  young 
and  tender  shoot,  and  the  wild  hay  cut  and  saved  at  the  proper 
season  contains  all  the  nutritive  properties  of  the  feed  n  their 
best  form.  When  the  grass  is  allowed  to  harden  on  the  land, 
cattle  might  just  as  well  be  expected  to  procure  nourishment 
from  dried  twigs,  and  the  younger  growths  are  choked  in  the 
ground.  Farmers  depend  very  largely  upon  the  wild  grasses, 
which  are  numerous  and  varied,  although  they  are  covered  by 
the  generic  term,  "  prairie  grass."  The  prairies,  in  some  sections, 
will  produce  three  tons  of  hay  per  acre,  without  an  atom  of  ex- 
pense beyond  the  curing  and  stacking,  but  in  some  places  the 
quantity  falls  as  low  as  one  ton  per  acre,  and  the  cost  of  saving 


52 


TUTTLlfs  JllSTOUY  OF  KaXSAS. 


is  in  the  inverse  ratio  to  the  quantity  on  which  the  mowers  oper- 
ate.    The  bloom  of  the  prairies,  and  tlie  scent  of  the  wild  flow- 
ers in  the  air  might  afford  themes  for  a  whole  volume  oi  senti- 
mental poetry.     The  soil  which  can  give  a  larger  average  of  pro- 
duction than  almost  any  other  state  in  the  union,  wherever  due 
care  is  bestowed  upon  the  conditions,  commonly  necessary  to  suc- 
cess, must  be  good,  and  yet  the  natural  roads  of  the  country  are 
more  generally  clear  of  mud  than  such   roads  arc  often  found, 
■where  the  soil  favors  the  occupation  of  the  husbandman.     Some 
men  are  of  course  ready  to  complain  when   they  find  themselves 
on  rare  occasions  ankle  deep  in  mud,  in  the  best  portions  of  Kan- 
sas.   Perhaps  it  would  do  them  good  to  reflect  on  the  two  extremes 
which  they  avoid  in  this  happy  medium,  between  the  black  mud 
on  which  Chicago  is  built,  in  which  men  and  horses  could  at  one 
time  sink  until  they  were  with  difficulty  extricated,  and  the  desert 
cleanness  of  Cheyenne,  which  has  hardly  as  much  soil  as  would 
grow  a  bed  of  radishes,  unless  the   earth   has  been  imported  by 
the  Union  Pacific  lload  from  beyond  Laramie  City,  or  by  the  line 
which  joins  that  railroad  from  Denver,  in  Colorado.     Dwellers  in 
towns  find  refuge  from   such  troubles  in  the  prevalence  of  city 
improvements.     With  few  and  rare  exceptions  the  natural  road- 
ways in  this  state  are  very  good ;  the  heavy  rains  which   used  to 
fall  upon  this  area,  before  settlement  came  to  modify  the  climate 
and  the  pluvial  visitations  have  left  certain  portions  of  the  di- 
vides almost  as  well  adapted  for   driving  or  walking  over  as  a 
graveled  track,  and  except  a  few  of  the  bottom  lands  which  are 
away  from  the  route  of  travel,  there  is  hardly  any  wet  soil  to  be 
found  a  few  hours  after  the  rains  have  ceased.     In  the  cities  lime- 
stone is  being  used  to  Macadamize  the  streets  at  very  little  cost, 
and  in  some  places  Nicholson  pavement  is  being  tried,  as  it  is  be- 
lieved that  wood  will  answer  well  for  roadways  in  this  country. 
The  material  available  for  bridging  the  principal  streams  where 
railroads  are  not  made  will  soon  cover  the  whole  state  with  thor- 
oughfares seldom  equalled  in  a  newly  settled  state,  with  such  ag- 
ricultural and  mineral  wealth  at   the  command  of   its  popula- 
tion.    In  the  foregoing    chapter  we    referred    to    the    strong 
winds    which    prevail    in    Kansas,    and    which    it    would   be 
desirable   to   modify  by    the    cultivation    of    timber.      There 


—  «agii>mnu»ui>ui-H»iMMiB»i  - 


HraiEXic  CoNDirioys. 


68 


iG  mowers  oper- 
f  the  wild  flow- 
/olutuc  oi  senti- 
■  average  of  pro- 
n,  wherever  due 
necessary  to  suc- 

the  country  are 
ire  often  found, 
andman.     Some 

find  themselves 
portions  of  Kan- 
thc  two  extremes 
n  the  black  mud 
rses  could  at  one 
id,  and  the  desert 
ich  soil  as  would 
leen  imported  by 
ity,  or  by  the  line 
ido.     Dwellers  in 
)revalence  of  city 
the  natural  road- 
ns  which   used  to 
lodify  the  climate 
onions  of  the  di- 
ralking  over  as  a 
1  lands  which  are 
my  wet  soil  to  be 
In  the  cities  lime- 
at  very  little  cost, 
>■  tried,  as  it  is  be- 
s  in  this  country, 
al  streams  where 
le  state  with  thor- 
ate,  with  such  ag- 
id  of   its  popula- 
l    to    the    strong 
ch    it    would   be 
timber.      There 


arc  advantages  which  must  not  be  overlooked  in  even  the 
most  disagreeable  features  of  theory  and  practice.  When  earnest 
missionaries  among  the  Kamtschatkians  found  that  their  preaching 
of  eternal  torment,  as  the  punishment  for  sin,  only  resulted  in 
more  flagrant  vice,  they  succeeded  in  ascertaining  that  the  half 
frozen  savages  were  trying  to  secure  a  long  lease  in  perpetual 
lires,  so  that  it  was  deemed  advisable  ever  after  to  denounce  the 
chastisement  of  thick-ribbed  ice  for  transgressors.  The  w?  ids  of 
Kansas  are  plainly  chargeable  with  the  brisk  and  exhilurating 
character  of  the  atmosphere,  and  wherever  it  is  found  necessary 
to  use  wind  power  in  mills  the  supply  is  ample.  When  a  small 
village  in  Scotland,  after  suffering  much  inconvenience  for  want 
of  mill  accommodations,  caused  a  windmill  to  be  erected  it  was 
found  that  the  grinding  power  was  not  sufficient  for  the  desired 
grist,  but  for  some  time,  a  second  mill  was  pooh-poolied,  as  all 
the  wise  men  agreed  that  there  could  not  be  enough  wind  in  a 
small  village  to  drive  two  such  mills.  There  is  no  such  dread  in 
any  part  of  Kansas.  Machinery  can  be  driven,  wells  can  be 
pumped  and  any  number  of  operations  can  be  carried  on  by  wind 
force.  The  quantity  of  coal,  readily  obtainable,  renders  the  wind 
mill  soniewhat  obsolete,  but  there  are  many  regions  in  which  it  is 
convenient  and  profitable. 

There  are  many  exposures  of  bituminous  coal  in  different  parta 
of  Kansas,  and  these  exposures  reveal  the  several  measures  to 
which  they  belong.  The  strata  have  been  fully  mapped  by  sci- 
entists to  ti,3  depth  of  two  thousand  feet,  but  their  calculations 
have  not  been  exhaustively  tested  by  borings,  and  may  not  be  so 
established  for  many  years  to  come.  The  eastern  quarter  of  the 
state  belongs  to  the  carboniferous  system,  in  which  all  the  bitu- 
minous coal  measures  are  found  ;  but  the  upper  carboniferous  pre- 
vails, as  the  lower  carboniferous  only  appears  in  the  southeastern 
angle  of  Kansas.  Besides  coal,  this  measure  contains  limestone, 
sandstone,  marl,  shale,  slate,  fire  clay  and  selenite,  varying  ia 
thickness  in  different  areas,  and  in  some  places  it  appears  that 
different  strata  were  more  or  less  eroded  by  local  causes,  before 
the  next  deposits  were  superimposed.  Borings  alone  can  serve 
the  purpose  of  demonstrating  the  presence  or  absence  of  coal  in 
paying  quantities  in  any  particular  spot,  but  the  outcrop  in  many 


1 


M- 


4 


64 


TUTTLffs  If  IS  TORT  OF  K.iXSAS. 


.;?! 


localities  saves  the  miner  and  the  capita  list  from  risk,  and  it  is 
evident  that  for  all  purposes  of  manufacture,  as  well  as  for  domes- 
tic supply,  there  will  be  enough  coal  for  tliis  community  for  many 
hundreds  of  years.  The  deposit  is  supposed  to  cover  an  area  of 
seventeen  thou  sand  square  miles.  Tlic  coal  beds  worked  in  Kan- 
sas have  not  exceeded  four  feet  in  thickness ;  some  of  the  layers 
are  too  thin  to  be  of  workable  value,  but  none  have  been  found 
to  verify  the  expectations  of  science,  which  pointed  to  beds  seven 
feet  in  thickness.  The  immense  deposits  of  sandstone  and  lime- 
stone known  to  be  present  in  the  strata,  varying  in  thickness,  the 
former  from  live  feet  to  fifty,  and  the  latter  from  one  foot  to  thirty, 
will  give  employment  to  an  immense  aggregate  of  labor  and  cap- 
ital. Magnesian  limestone  and  beds  of  gypsum  abound  toward 
the  west,  in  what  is  known  as  the  upper  and  lower  Termiau  sys- 
tem ;  but  neither  in  that  nor  in  the  Triassic  —  or  new  red  sand- 
stone—  has  coal  been  found  in  such  quantities  as  would  pay  for 
•working.  The  cretaceous  system  ca.uoson  the  eartlvs  crust  at 
this  point  to  the  foot  hills  of  the  Rocky  ISIomil.  os,  covering  the 
whole  western  portion  of  Kansas.     The  fossil.  :  i  cretaceous 

formation  arc  much  valued  by  geologists  in  al.'  ,  ■  :  )f  the  world, 
and  the  strata  in  Kansas  have  contributed  additional  varieties. 
The  soil  which  overlies  the  cretaceous  rocks  is  customarily  good, 
but  in  this  state  it  is  exceptionally  rich,  as  the  loam  contains  lime 
and  organic  remains  in  very  serviceable  proportions.  An  inferior 
description  of  coal  known  as  lignite,  about  three  feet  six  inches 
in  thickness,  is  found  near  Wilson  Creek,  and  from  thence  extend- 
ing on  either  side  it  underlies  a  wide  area  of  country.  It  is  valu- 
able as  fuel,  but  it  cannot  compete  with  bituminous  coal,  either 
for  present  and  immediate  use  or  as  an  article  of  commerce.  The 
Kansas  Pacific  Railroad  Company  used  lignite  as  fuel  for  sonie 
time,  but  it  would  not  give  nearly  so  much  heat,  bulk  for  bulk, 
as  coal,  and  the  waste  was  prodigious.  It  will  supply  local  de- 
mands for  an  indefinite  time,  and  the  quantity  is  supposed  to  be 
much  in  excess  of  present  discoveries.  Salt  is  found  in  very  con- 
siderable quantities  in  this  formation,  and  when  works  shall  have 
been  constructed  to  cleanse  this  valuable  mineral'  from  attendant 
impurities,  there  will  remain  enough  pure  cliloride  of  sodium  to 
supply  all  the  dinner  tables  in  the  United  States  for  the  next  live 


w>i|i«**' 


Hygienic  Conditioss. 


65 


I  risk,  and  it  is 
3II  as  for  domes- 
lunity  for  many 
;over  an  area  of 
worked  in  Kan- 
le  of  the  Uiyers 
lave  been  found 
id  to  beds  seven 
Istone  and  lime- 

II  thickness,  the 
lie  foot  to  thirty, 
if  labor  and  cap- 
abound  toward 

er  Pcrmiau  sys- 
i'  new  red  sand- 
s  would  pay  for 
eartK's  crust  at 
■IS,  covering  the 
'i  1  cretaceous 
t.':'  ■)f  the  world, 
itional  varieties, 
ustomarily  good, 
ain  contains  lime 
iiis.     An  inferior 
e  feet  six  inches 
m  thence  exteud- 
ntry.     It  isvaiu- 
nous  coal,  either 
commerce.     The 
as  fuel  for  sonie 
;,  bulk  for  bulk, 
supply  local  de- 
3  supposed  to  be 
)und  in  very  con- 
works  shall  have 
\\'  from  attendant 
fide  of  sodium  to 
for  the  next  live 


hundred  years  at  least.     The  limestone  strata  in  parts  of  the  cre- 
taceous formation,  run  into  a  pure  chalk,  such  as  underlies  the 
British  channel,  through  which  it  is  proposed  to  construct  a  tun- 
nel connecting  Eiiglan  1  with  France,  and  such  as  appears  in  the 
world  famous  clill",  celebrated  by  Bacon  or  by  Shaksperc,  which- 
ever it  may  have  been  of  the  two  worthies,  to  whom  we  are  in- 
debted for  the  Shaksperc  dramas.      All  these  features  combine 
to  prove  beyond  doubt  that  the  region  now  known  as  the  state  of 
Kansas  was  for  a  prolonged  term  submarine,   and  many  of  the 
most  valuable  properties  now  found  in  strata  and  soil  are  due  to 
that  period  of  submergence,  a  full  consideration  of  which  would 
amplv  repay  the  careful  student.     Tlie  inspired  writer  said  :  "  Of 
making  many  books,  there  is  no  end;"  but  when  the  fullest  in- 
vestigation shall  have  enabled  scientists  to  reveal  the  steps  of  pro- 
gress^from  the  fire  mist   of  the  chaotic  age,  through  a  myriad  of 
changes  to  our  own  era,  his  pages  will  be  the  delight  of  the  think- 
ing world.     Quarries  for  building  stone  and  exposures  which  will 
be°quarried  in  course  of  time  are  very  numerous  in  this  state,  and 
at  least  ninety  parts  in  one  hundred  of  all  the  stone  so  exposed 
consist  of  various  shades  of  limestone,  some  of  which  permit  of  a 
finish  almost  equal  to  marble,  and  will  endure  tremendous  pres- 
sure.    The  sandstone  found  in  those  quarries  is  also  generally  of 
very  good  quality,  and  the  deposits  o£  gypsum  —  covering  sixty 
thousand  square  miles  —  will  become  invaluable  in  the  operations 
of  the  agriculturist,  the  builder  and  others.     There  are  but  few 
faults  in  the  geological  formation  of  this  state,  the  several  strata 
overlie  each  other  as  they  were  placed  in  order  by  natural  forces, 
and  the  contour  of  the  country  has  been  shaped   into  present 
forms  by  streams  and  winds  eroding  and  abrading  the  several 
rocks,  and  disintegrating  their  surfaces  where  they  come  out  on 
the  banks  of  the  rivers,  until  the  rise  from  the  river  bed  of  to-day 
to  the  foot  hills  ot  the  mountain  chain  represent  a  series  of  ter- 
races bearing  each  a  layer  of  soil  composed  of  all  the  qualities 
most  in  demand  among  farmers.     The  settler  upon  the  hill  side 
can  quarry  his  stone  from  the  bed  upon  which  his  fertile  acres 
stand,  and  in  the  process,  if  he  has  an  eye  for  deciphering  the 
hieroglyphics  of  nature,  he  will  read  by  what  wondrous  mechan- 
ism the  rocks  were  made  and  placed  in  situ  preparatory  to  their 


!  , 


i 


S6 


TVTTLlfs  lIlHTOliY  OF  KaXSAS. 


i,;* 


transformation  into  food,  clotliing,  homes,  wealth  and  culture  for 
mankind. 

Extensive  works  arc  now  in  operation  preparing  salt  for  the 
market,  and  in  every  analysis  it  is  demonstrated  that  the  rich 
deposits  of  that  mineral  contain  no  chloride  of  caleuira,  the 
ingredient  wliich  gives  a  bitter  taste  to  salt  generally,  and 
wliieh  with  the  exception  of  the  Kansas  beds  has  been  found  in 
all  the  purest  salts  prepared  for  consumption.  It  is  anticipated 
that  Kansas  will  take  a  very  high  position  in  the  production  of 
live  stock,  and  the  shipment  of  carcasses  and  packed  meats 
in  consequence  of  the  vast  area  of  fertile  land  and  nutritious 
food  available  for  stock,  the  excellent  and  plentiful  supply  of 
water,  and  tlic  superabundant  store  of  salt  available  in  the  pro- 
ces.ses  of  curing.  The  salt  obtainable  in  Kansas  is  especially 
suitable  for  the  manufacture  of  butter,  and  will  assist  to  give  a 
high  character  to  the  produce  of  dairy  farms  in  this  state.  An 
area  more  than  twice  the  size  of  the  state  of  Massachusetts  is 
underlaid  by  coal  in  the  state  of  Kansas,  without  taking  into 
account  the  lighter  formation  known  as  lignite,  and  in  many 
places  these  deposits  are  being  worked,  giving  employment  to 
great  numbers.  Near  Leavenworth  City  a  shaft  has  been  put 
down  more  than  seven  hundred  feet,  and  the  vein  now  in  work  is 
more  thaji  two  feet  thick,  but  it  is  intended  to  sink  the  shaft 
about  three  hundred  feet  lower,  as  it  is  supposed  that  a  layer  at 
least  three  feet  in  thickness  will  be  obtained  at  that  depth.  Even 
the  thickness  now  worked  pays  moderately  well.  Some  of  the 
deposits  are  only  worked  from  the  river  banks  by  a  kind  of  quar- 
rying process,  but  where  the  veins  are  thick,  and  in  some  places 
veins  of  nearly  50  inches  have  been  fou-jd,  the  deposit  is  won  by 
the  more  approved  method  of  sinking  shafts.  Near  Chetopa,  in 
Labette  county,  mining  is  very  extensively  prosecuted,  about 
three  hundred  men  being  steadily  employed  by  one  company  alone, 
and  fifty  carloads  per  day  are  frequently  shipped.  The  veins  vary 
considerably,  the  thickest  being  about  four  feet,  and  from  that 
quantity  the  variation  runs  down  to  twenty-four  inclies,  and  the 
quality  cannot  be  surpassed,  as  the  coal  is  singularly  free  from 
sulphur.  The  supply  of  fuel  in  Kansas  is  abundant  The  next 
requisite  after  coal  for  a  state  aiming  at  greatness  as  a  manufac- 


Hygiexic  Conditioxs. 


VI 


md  culture  for 

g  salt  fo:-  the 

that  the  rich 

calcium,  the 
generally,  and 
been  found  in 

is  anticipated 
!  production  of 

packed  meats 
and  nutritious 
riful  supply  of 
ble  in  the  j)ro- 
s  is  especially 
issist  to  give  a 
bis  state.  An 
iissaclmsetts  is 
ut  taking  into 

and  in  many 
imployment  to 

has  been  put 
now  in  work  is 

sink  the  shaft 
that  a  layer  at 
t  depth.  Even 
Some  of  the 
a  kind  of  quar- 
in  some  places 
)osit  is  won  by 
ar  Chetopa,  in 
secuted,  about 
lomjVany  alone, 
The  veins  vary 
and  from  that 
inclies,  and  the 
irly  free  from 
lilt     The  next 

as  a  manufac- 


turing power,  is  iron,  aiid  in  this   respect  it  is  satisfactory  to 
know  that  there  is  hope  for  Kansas.     The  western  part  of   Kan- 
sas is  supposed  to  contain  immense  quantities  of   iron  ore.     In 
Missouri  iron  ore  is  abundant,  at  a  distance  of  only  one  hundred 
miles  from  the  eastern  border  of  this  state,  and  in  Colorado  only 
three  hundred  miles  from  the  western  boundary,  it  is  available  in 
almost  any   quantity,  consequently  there  is  likely  to  be  a  great 
resource  for  Kansas  also,  in  this  particular.     Many  specimens  of 
iron  ore  have  already  been  obtained  in  different  parts  of  Kansas, 
among  which  was  one  sample  of  brown  hematite  containing  sixty 
percent,  of  iron.  This  specimen  was  procured  from  western  Kansas 
where  it  appears  to  be  anticipated  by  scientists  that  the  largest  and 
best  deposits  will  be  found  in  the  tertiary  strata.  Should  the  supply 
of  iron  ore  or  its  quality  not  be  found  suflicient,  the  presence  of  coal 
will  as  a  matter  of  course  lead  to  the  ores  being  shipped  for  manu- 
facture from  some  region  less  favored  with  fuel.     The  time  is  not 
very  remote  when  immense  forests  were  hewed  do  wn  to  carry  on 
the  smelting  process,  and  iron  works  were  looked  upon  with 
dread  by  large  and  influential  classes,  but  the  discovery  of  the  fit- 
ness of  coal  for  such  employment  has  revolutionized  the  iron 
trade,  and   now  wherever  coal  can   be  cheaply  obtained  as  at 
Chetopa  where  an  immense  deposit  is  reached  at  a  depth  of  only 
a  few  feet,  the  growth  of  a  great  iron  trade  may  be  safely  predict- 
ed.    The  discovery  of  iron  ore  within  the  state  would  give  a 
status  to  its  manufactures  at  once,  supposing  the  quality  to  be  as 
good  as  the  sampl-  of  brown  hematite  already  mentioned  and  the 
quantity  abundant     There  are  lead  mines  in  Kansas  which  were 
probably  worked  by  the  race  which  preceded  the  red  men  in  the 
possession  of  this  territory.     Some  lead  has  been  obtained  in 
small  quantities  in  Linn  county,  Kansas,  but  the  extent  of  the  de- 
posit can  only  be  determined  by  experience,  and  the  Indians  dis- 
play a  great  deal  of  unwillingness  to  assist,  and  jealousy  to  ob- 
serve discoveries  of  minerals.     They  say  that  their  Great  Spirit 
forbids  them  to  help  in  any  such  enterprises.     Probably  their 
sachems  have  told  them  to  conceal  the  mineral  treasures  of  the 
coutitry,  in  the  hope  that  by  such  means  the  march  of  empire 
would  be  delayed.     When  the  Frenchmen  first  landed  at  Du- 
buque to  experiment  on  the  mines,  the  Indians  were  by  no  means 


i 


gg  TuTTU-^f^  HisTonr  of  Kaxsas. 

friendly  to  tl.c  movement,  and  as  is  well  known,  after  the  death 
o    tbo'leader  of  the  white  party,  every  obstacle  was  p.n    n  tl^ 
v^av  of  the  followers  who  would  have  eontmued  their  woil     lor 
Tome    Ion  tin.e  the   Indums    proseeuted  the  undertaking    hem- 
Sves   but  their  ingenuity  or  their  industry  was  soon  exhausted 
"d  alter  that  time  the  mines  were  idle,  until  white  seUlers  came 
;;i:    when  the  mines  were  reopened,  the  red  "-"-^y^^'- - 
ti^ns  resembled  the  dog  in  the  manger,  they  could  not  cat  the 
;;ien^clves.   and  they  were  unwilling  to  let  anybody  else 
Z  tl  ei  •  f  ar  f.r  the  anger  of  their  Great  Spirit  did  not  preven 
thevn  CO  I.^  in  to  carry  away  the  wealth,  which  the  whUe  miners 
had  n  rr:ady  for  removal,  at  the  tin.e  that  they  were  compel- 
J^d  to    nit  the  mine  and  the  settlement  at  Dubuque  by  the  mih- 
1      Osa.e  county  is  said  to  be  the  locale,  of  a  rich  deposit  of 
S  ore  but  the  Indians  who  imply  that  they  know  abou    the 
n  at  .lull  back  on  the  Great  Spirit,  as  their  apology  for  silence 
That  score,  and  it  maybe   many  years  ^efo-/---';^ 
be  made.     Near  the  excavations  in  Linn  county  there  were  del,  i. 
Ih'h  showed  that  the  works  had  been  rudely  prosecuted  many 
Tears  ago,  but  whether  the  mound  builders  were  the  miners,  or 
who  the  operators  may  have  been,  there  are  no  means  of  ascer- 
rininT    The  practical  question  is  of  course  whether  the  mines 
r worth  the  tn^uble  and  expense;  of  working  at  that  po^nt,  or 
ataly  other.     The  only  point  to  be  determined  is  as  to  the  quan- 
1    the  quality  is  known  to  be  good.  Howard  county  is  another 
oeaiion  o\  lea/ore,  and  a  sample  from  the  works  there  showed 
nearly  eightyseven  parts  of    lead  in   one  hundred.     Franklm 
colty  is  also  supposed  to  be  favored,  but  "o^lving  definite    s 
known  and  geolo-'sts  pronounce  against  the  probabihty  of  the 
^etllbeing  found  in  such  quantities,  as  would  pay  for  the  in- 

vestment  of  capital  and  labor.  ,    .        •        •    +t,^ 

Tn  is  a  verv  rare  mineral;  the  number  of  tm  mines  m  the 
world  is  very  small,  but  the  Indians  have,  on  many  occasions,  m 
K.n-  produced  fine  specimens  of  rich  protoxide  of  t^n,  and  as 
^ ";!  ably  evident  that  they  could  not  have  a  temptation  to 
fraud  L  /possibility  of  compassing  a  swindle  xn  this  respect,  rt 
they  desired  so  to  do,  there  is  a  reasonable  probability  that  nature 
iJson     such  surprise  in  store  for  science  and  industry,  whea 


MIWWIIW.J-"-^"'' 


soi^isis^isiwpm* 


..ii  ■ii-i  .-ii''iimii 


after  the  death 
'as  put  in  the 
lieir  wovl;.  For 
ertaking  them- 
3on  exhausted, 
le  settlers  camo 
ien,by  tb'ir  ac- 
lid  not  cat  the 
anybody  else; 
did  not  prevent 
lie  white  miners 
3y  were  eonipel- 
jue  by  the  mili- 
,  rich  deposit  of 
:now  about  the 
ilogy  for  silence 
i  discoveries  can 
there  were  debris 
irosecuted  many 
re  tlie  miners,  or 
>  means  of  ascer- 
lether  the  mines 
;  at  that  point,  or 
is  as  to  the  quan- 
county  is  another 
rks  there  showed 
ndred.     Franklin 
othing  definite  is 
probability  of  the 
1  pay  for  the  in- 
tin  mines  in  the 
nany  occasions,  in 
[ide  of  tin,  and  as 
^e  a  temptation  to 
5  in  this  respect,  if 
lability  that  nature 
id  industry,  whea 


UraiKJiK  CoyoiTioys.  *• 

the  crust  of  the  earth  shall  be  thoroughly  overhauled.     Should 
^vestern  Kansas  reveal  eruptive  rocks  in  any  part  of  its  compara- 
tively untested  area,  it  will  become  more  probable  that  tlic  red 
men  were  honest  in  their  statements.     Meantime  there  are  so 
many  other  lines  in   which  industry  and  capital  may  be  advan- 
tairecHisly  invested  in  tlie  state,  that  we  can  well  alTurd  to  wait 
fc'r  the  soluticm  of  this  problem.     The  presence  of  petroleum  in 
Kansas  is  demonstrated,  but  it  has  never  yet  been  found  m  rpian- 
tities  that  paid  for  working.     >'  'ch  money  has  been  expended  ni 
bovin.'sand  experiments  in  ^i.uni  county,  and  m  nearly  every 
case  oil  was  found,  but  the  greai  returns  necessary  to  pay  for 
operations  at  a  thousand  feet  from  the  surface  have  not  been  ob- 
tained.    Possibly  there  is  a  great  body  of  oil  below  the  coal  meas- 
ures, but  they  lie  deep  in  the  many  districts  in  which  the  oil  has 
come  to  the  surface,  and  it  must  remain  [or  accident,  or  for  asso- 
ciated effort,  expending  a  large  sum  of  money,  contributed  from 
many  hands,  to  settle  the  mooted  point,  by  boring  in  many  differ- 
ent  localities  to  a  depth  of  at  least  one  thousand  feet,  through  the 
strata  which  may  overlie  the  treasure.     Among  the  other  minerals 
which  may  be  developed  in  the  future  of  Kansas,  alum  has  beea 
found  in  combination  with  othermatter,  and  in  some  instances  m 
viure  crystals.     Lignite  is  found  in  two  places  combined  with 
alum  and  about  twenty  miles  west  of  Fort  Riley  on  Chapman  s 
creek,  a  combination  of  lignite,  saltpeter  and  alum  has  been 
found.     The  presence  of  alum  in  such  combinations,  and  in  pure 
crystals,  as  at  Zeandale  and  in  Wabaunsee  county,  on  Mill  creek, 
will  give  to  our  chemical  works,  wherever  they  may  be  estab- 
lished,  great  advantages  in  competing  with  manufacturers  who 
are  obliged  to  calcine  and  pulverize  slate  and  other  mineruls  to 
procure  their  alum.     Hydraulic  cement  has  been  found  in  great 
quantity  in  several  places,  extending  from  the  Arkansas  river,  in 
Cowley  county,  to  within  a  few  miles  of  the  city  of  Lawrence,  and 
it  is  quite  possible  that  one  vast  bed  underlies  the  whole  of  that 
extensive  area.     The  quality  has  been  tested,  and  the  deposit 
Rives  an  excellent  article.     Some  of  it  has  been  under  trial  for 
many  years,  and  it  answers  admirably.     It  is  a  brown  liydrauho 
limestone,  which  extends  over  Leavenworth  county,  and  through 
Atchison  toward  the  southern  and  southwestern  boundaries  ot 


S  -. 


iyaKmWti iiiiifiiniiiiMiiiMi 


ipir 


60 


Ti-TTLKs  History  of  Kaxsas. 


1  \ 


III.' I 


f'lfi' 


the  state.  Mineral  paints,  some  of  wliicli  arc  fire  proof,  liavo  been 
found  Jiniong  tlic  coal  measures  in  many  places,  the  bed  near 
Parkvillo  being  fully  ten  feet  thicl:,  and  it  can  bo  traced  in  the 
Missouri  bUilfs  for  the  whole  distance  from  Wliite  Cloud  to  Wy- 
andotte, extending  up  the  Kansas  river  to  the  city  of  Lawrence, 
and  it  is  also  visible  away  to  the  southeast  at  Mound  City.  South 
of  Mound  City  at  Fort  Scott,  a  similar  deposit  lias  been  worked 
very  advantageously,  and  has  become  an  article  of  commerce.  At 
Osage  City,  there  is  a  similar  deposit  which  occurs  at  a  depth  of 
five  feet  from  the  surface,  the  bed  being  twelve  and  a  half  feet 
thick,  three  quarters  of  a  mile  broad,  and  about  one  mile  and  a 
quarter  in  length.  The  stratum  immediately  underlying  the 
ochre  is  limestone,  after  which  clay  and  shale,  limestone,  slate 
and  shale,  coal  and  fire  clay,  give  a  series  of  valuable  substances 
extending  nearly  thirty-five  feet  from  the  surface  of  the  soil.  Of 
this  deposit  ninety-eight  parts  in  one  hundred  arc  ochre,  the 
remainder,  in  equal  parts,  alum  and  lime.  The  paint  is  largely 
in  demand.  Clay  for  bricks  is  very  plentiful  and  the  manufac- 
tured article  produced  is  admitted  to  be  of  excellent  quality. 
Poor  bricks  would  have  no  show  whatever  in  competition  with 
such  stone  as  may  easily  and  cheaply  be  obtained  in  this  state, 
and  the  fact  that  the  demand  is  considerable  says  everything  that 
is  necessary  to  establish  the  goodness  of  materials  and  workman- 
ship. Fire  clay  is  an  important  item  in  a  state  where  furnaces 
will  become  the  foundation  of  a  vast  manufacturing  power,  and 
it  is  satisfactory  to  know  that  the  supply  is  ample  and  well  dis- 
tributed. Limestone,  as  we  have  already  seen,  constitutes  about 
ninety  per  cent,  of  all  the  rock  exposed  in  the  state  of  Kansas; 
every  farmer  finds  it  underlying  the  soil  of  his  estate,  and  he  can 
easily  procure  enough  for  every  building  necessary  upon  his  farm, 
as  well  as  for  the  manufacture  of  quicklime,  but  usually  he 
encourages  division  of  labor,  and  procures  his  supplies  from  quar- 
ries near  at  hand,  the  article  being  customarily  first  class.  ; 
There  was  a  time  when  the  western  portion  of  Kansas  was  re- 
ferred to  as  forming  a  part  of  the  Great  American  Desert ;  but 
since  that  period  so  many  thousands  of  persons  have  passed  over 
and  through  the  country  so  libelled,  that  it  is  only  necessary  here 
to  say  that  the  slander  has  been  entirely  refuted.     Buffalo,  deer 


«\ 


mti4n'Lmitmm'l^ 


mmi» 


II YG  IE  SIC  CosDirioss. 


n 


roof,  have  been 
,  tlie  bed  near 

0  traced  in  the 
Cloud  to  Wy- 

y  of  Lawrence, 
id  City.  South 
3  been  worked 
;()Uimerce.  At 
s  at  a  depth  of 
and  a  half  feet 
one  mile  and  a 
Lindcrlying  the 
limestone,  slate 
[ible  substances 
)f  the  soil.  Of 
arc  ochre,  the 
paint  is  largely 

1  the  manufac- 
jcUent  quality, 
mipetition  with 
d  in  this  state, 
jverytliing  that 

and  workman- 
where  furnaces 
ing  power,  and 
le  and  well  dia- 
)nstitutes  about 
ate  of  Kansas ; 
ate,  and  he  can 
upon  his  farm, 
)ut  usually  he 
alias  from  quar- 
3t  class. 

Kansas  was  re- 
n  Desert;  but 
ive  passed  over 

necessary  here 
Buffalo,  deer 


and  antelope  grx/.o  and  fatten  in  the  territory  thu«  descnlied,  and 
in  that  fact  we  have  evidence  that  the  land  will  umply  repay  tlio 
enterprise  of  gra.icrs  and  raisers  of  stock.     The  plains  before  meu. 
t.oned  which  com(>rise  an  area  of  fro.n  two  to  three  hu.ulred  nu  es 
in  width  toward  the  south,  and  which  stretch  across  Kansas  north- 
v^ard  into  British  America,  a  distance  of  f.fleeu  hundred  .mlcs  m 
all   are  covered  by  line  pasture,  on  which  cattle  not  only  feed  Imt 
fatten,  the  herbage  ranging  from  three  inchea  high  to  six.      iUo 
.rrass  on  the  plains  is  of  a  singularly  prolitablc  variety,  or,  rather, 
of  several  varieties,  which  would  pay  for  cultivation.     In  some 
districts  outside  of  Kansas,  the  bullalo  grasses  are  found,  growing 
on  lands  which  are  so  'strongly  impregnated  with  alkali,  that  tue 
traveler,  carried  over  the  surface  at  the  rate  of  frofn  twenty  to 
twenty-five  miles  an  hour,  on  the  Union  Pacific  and  other  roads, 
finds  his  lips  parched  and  cracking,  and  his  eyes  becoming  m- 
flamed,  but  there  are  no  such  regions  known  m  Kansas.     Cattle 
cannot  thrive  on  such  lands,  not  because  the  grass  is  wanting  m 
nutrition,  but  because  the  surface  water  is  strongly  unprcgnated 
with  alkali.    When  alkali  lands  are  broken  to  cultivation  and 
properly  treated,  they  give  splendid  crops  of  all  kinds,  as  many 
of  the  saints  in  the  church  at  Salt  Lake  are  well  aware,     ihe 
canons  of  Kanab  have  their  patches  of  alkali,  but  the  Danites,  who 
now  cu  tivate  the  arts  of  peace  in  that  locality,  are  very  prosper- 
ous farmers  notwithstanding.     Buffalo  grass  has  many  peculiari- 
ties which  make  it  of  special  value  to  the  farmer  who  is  interested 
in  stock  and  in  dairy  operations,  but  such  matters  of  detail  will 
more  propeily  come  under  their  appropriate  heads  in  the  further 
prosecution  of  this  "  round,  unvarnished  tale." 

The  fact  is  becoming  apparent  that  stock  raising  will  be  one  o 
the  staple  industries  of  Kansas.  The  lands  which  are  novv  grazed 
by  herds  of  buffalo,  to  the  number  of  many  thousands,  will  neces- 
sarily be  made  available  for  domesticated  cattle,  when  settlement 
has  banished  or  killed  off  the /em  naturae,  and  it  will  then  be 
found,  as  it  is  now  believed,  that  the  short  dark  grass,  with  crisp, 
curled  leaves,  which  practically  cures  itself  upon  the  stem  in 
autumn,  contains  a  very  large  average  of  nourishment  m  its  best 
form,  which  can  be  converted  into  profit  without  cost  by  the  agri- 
culturist, upon  the  very  lands  which  have  been  spoken  of  so 


ifi%fi^**t.  k^iuMucvubHi 


Tun  I'  iihiT'''iffitM»'''^i*i<"»''' 


i? 


1*1 

p 


•«!m><iM 


I 


u 


63  TuTTLtfs  HiffTonr  of  K.is's.nf. 

slightingly  by  cursory  obacrvcrs.  Tlie  land  is  ndinirably  ondowod 
hy  nnturo  for  such  pursuits;  the  stronnis  luv  nutnerous  niid  gen- 
erally fresh  —  the-  Siilino  river  and  the  Solomon  an;  braekish  aloii!? 
only  H  part  of  their  course,  and  iii  the  valleys  of  these  streainrf 
there  are  numerouH  tributaries  to  which  cattle  resort  freely,  and 
which  would  suflice  "  the  cattle  upon  ft  thousand  hills,"  should 
they  come  there  to  slake  their  thirst.  Living  ami  dead,  Kansas 
contains  all  that  is  necessary  for  the  succe.ssfnl  prosecution  of  en- 
terprises in  which  cattle  can  be  converted  into  currency.  Tlic 
soil  holds  moisture,  which,  during  the  vicissitudes  of  an  ordinary 
season,  will  ward  off  Ihc  evil  consequences  of  drought ;  the  win- 
ters arc  hardly  so  severe,  as  a  rule,  as  to  require  that  cattle  should 
be  hou.Jed,  although  the  best  care  is  cu.'-.tomarily  rewarded  with 
the  best  results  ;  the  native  grasses  are  plMtiful  enough  to  sup- 
ply feed  for  all  seasons,  provided  the  farmer  will  preserve  in  the 
autumn  what  he  will  require  for  his  stock  during  the  winter,  and 
"when  the  cruel  war  is  over,"  and  his  beeves  in  the  abattoirs  are 
being  made  ready  for  shipment,  if  it  is  thought  advisable  to  pack 
the  beef,  instead  of  sending  the  earcas.ses  fresh  to  the  nearest  mar- 
ket, Kan.sas  salt,  exceptionally  pure  and  wholesome,  will  aft'ord 
him  the  means  of  cure  without  any  of  the  deleterious  ingredients 
common  in  the  best  .salts  procured  in  other  localities. 

In  the  valley  of  the  Eepublican  river,  there  is  a  great  deal  of 
land  waiting  for  settlement,  but  so  many  persons  have  of  late  had 
their  attention  directed  to  its  good  qualities,  that  before  long  the 
whole  of  that  territory  will  be  occupied.  Some  of  the  settlers  ia 
that  region  write  in  the  most  encouraging  terms  of  their  prospects, 
and  the  beauty  of  the  location  is  a  theme  on  which  they  are 
never  tired  of  expatiating.  They  have  timber  enough  for  present 
needs,  and  the  young  wood  springing  up  in  all  directions  will,  in 
a  few  years,  provide  amply  for  much  more  extensive  settlement. 
They  find  abundant  mill  sites  in  almost  every  section,  as  the  in- 
cline of  the  country  gives  great  force  to  the  several  streams.  The 
fertility  of  the  soil  is  beyond  question,  and  the  fact  that  for  ten 
months  of  the  year,  on  an  average,  the  lands  can  be  handled  for 
cultivation,  gives  to  Kansas  a  very  great  advantage  over  many  of 
the  neighboring  states.  Somp  portions  of  the  plains  are  found  to 
be  particularly  eligible  for  dairy  farming,  as  they  produce  grasses 


-.i^mtmm. 


\y  ondowpd 
IS  nml  gon- 
ckish  along 
leso  stream!* 

freely,  and 
Ha,"  slioukl 
lad,  Katisas 
iti<in  of  en- 
encv.  Tlio 
an  ordinary 
it ;  tlio  win- 
!attl(!  shonUl 
.varded  with 
igh  to  snp- 
serve  in  the 
winter,  and 
xhattoirs  are 
ihle  to  paek 
nearest  mar- 
,  will  afford 

ingredients 

reat  deal  of 
;  of  late  had 
tre  long  the 
10  settlers  ia 
nr  prospects, 
ich  they  are 
h  for  present 
ions  will,  in 
;  settlement. 
1,  as  the  in- 
•eams.  The 
that  for  tea 
handled  for 
iver  many  of 
[ire  found  to 
iuce  grasses 


<mmm» 


Hvd  IK  SIC  CoxniTioss. 


68 


^hich  are  green  all  throu-h  tlio  winter,  and  others  whirh   come 
up  youn.,'  and  sweet  in  Man-h,  upon  which  cattl.;  prosper,  and 
from  which  the  very  hest  results  are  ohtained  in  hutterand  cheese. 
Willi  is  known  in  New  York  state  as  the  early  Juno  grass  has 
its  counterpart  in  this  portion  of  Kansas,  and  when  it  is  young  and 
green  it  is  in  great  favor  v'th  "  the  milky  mothers  of  the  herd." 
Some  of  the  grasses  arc  especially  suited   for  haymaking,  as  tliey 
nlVord  very  nutritious  food  during  the  brief  and  not  very  severe 
winter.     Tlio  region  is  liable  to  severe  storms  at  times,  and  .hiring 
tlu  if  continuance  it  is  an  advantage  fur  llio  eattlo  to  be  able  to 
iind  shelter  in  groves  or  sheds.     Tlie  blue  joint  grass  i-,  found  on 
the  plains  t(^  be  slowly  but  surely  supplanting  the  bulTalo  gras.s, 
and  in  the  fall  there  is  a  variety  of  wild  sage,  which  is  ajit  to  give 
a  somewhat  bitter  taste  to  the  milk  ;  but  as  a  rule  there  are  very 
few  herbs  that  unpleasantly  affect   dairy  produce.     The   river 
water  and  numerous  sprii:-s.  which  here,  as  well  as  elsewhere  in 
the  state,  arc  found  to  be  increasing  in  number  and  volume,  afford 
generally  all  the  water  that  is  required  for  domestic  use  and  for 
stock,  and  the  quality  is  excellent.     Where  such  supplies  are  in 
any  danger  of  failing,  a  well  and  a  windmill,  such  as  readily  can 
be  procured  and  sunk  at  little  cost,  will  give  a  continuous  sup- 
ply of  the  needed  element  for  man  and  beast,  at  all  seasons  of 
the  year.     During  nearly  the  whole  of  the  winter  cattle  will  graze 
upon  the  plains,  finding  quite  enough  food  for  themselves ;  but 
when  snows  come,  as  they  do  occasionally,  it  pays  to  house  cattle 
and  to  give  them  as  much  food  as  they  require,  as  they  readily 
convcrt°liay  into  wholesome  beef,  milk,  butter  and  cheese.     Dur- 
ing the  summer  the  heat  is  not  excessive,  as  the  elevation  of  this 
region  secures  fresh  breezes  and  a  dry,  clastic  atmosphere,  atul  the 
nights  are  all  but  invariably  cool,  consequently  the  dairy  farmer 
has  in  Kansas  very  favorable  conditions  for  his  business. 

A  gentleman,  in  every  way  capable  of  forming  an  opinion  on 
the  several  subjects  on  which  he  writes,  says  that  "  Kansas  can 
grow  good  beef  and  produce  the  very  best  of  cheese,  at  prices 
which  will  enable  that  state,  if  need  be,  to  undersell  every  other 
in  the  market,  while  in  fact  the  quality  of  the  products  brought 
to  market  will  command  the  very  highest  figures  ruling."  The 
same  writer  very  reasonably  concludes  from   those  and   other 


m^t' 


i|iiii^"*i>wW 


64 


Trrn.i:'s  IfrsTonr  nr  K  ass  as. 


>\x 


prem'iKi'H,  tlmt  "  Dairy  fartning  cnuiiut  fail  to  become  one  of  tlio 
mo.st  j»rotit!il)lc  oceiipiitiuus  in  a  state  which  will  have  a  broailcr 
raiij^c  of  oiili  r|iri.so.H  than  any  otlior  state;  in  the  nnion."     'I'lic  old 
economists  used  to  say,  that  "A  man  who  can  make  two  blades 
of  grass  grow  where  only  one  grew  before  is  a  public  benefae- 
tor,"  and  most  assuredly  a  state  which  can  produce  and  feed  two 
cows  at  the  cost  wi.i.'h  will  only   produce  and  feed  one  cow  in 
another  state   must,  otiier  things  being  ecpial,  be  on  the  high  road 
to  fortune.     From  the  Alderney  cow  raised  and  fed  in  Ohio,  the 
average  yield  of  cheese  ia  found  to  be  slightly  in  excess  of  one 
pound  from  ten  pounds  of  milk,  that  weight  being  the  rcprc'^enta- 
tive  of  one  gallon,  and  similar  cows  raised  and  fed  upon  the  buf- 
falo grass  and  the  blue  joint  grass  upon  the  plains   in  Kansas 
will  give  on  an  average  more  milk,  and  from  their  milk,  bulk  for 
bulk,  oneseventh  more  cheese.     The  .settler  will  bear  in   mind, 
that  in  addition  to  these  undoubted  advantages  of  superior  rich- 
ness and  less  cost,  he  has  two  months  longer  in  the  abbreviation 
of  tlie  winter  .season,  during  which  he  can  pursue  his  dairy  avo- 
cation.s  with  advantage.     The  demand  for  dairy  produce  ia  usu- 
ally large  in  the  state  of  Kansas,  and  the  market  has  never  yet 
been  glutted,  fair  prices  ruling  generally.     Ilice  county  is  one  of 
tlie  counties  through  which  the  river  Arkansas  flow.s,  and  the 
region  is  abundantly  drained  and  watered  by  numerous  tributa- 
ries of  the  great  stream  which  empties  into  the  Mississippi,  after 
a  course  of   about  two  thousand   miles.     The  county  is  very 
spanscly  timbered,  but  the  soil  is  very  fertile,  and  there  are  many 
localities  in  this  area  exceedingly  beautiful.     Settlement  is  rap- 
idly advancing  in  many  parts,  and  the  Arkan.sas  bottoms  have 
proved  very  productive  in  corn.     Some  of  the  tributaries  of  the 
Arkansas  are  very  well  timbered,  indeed  wherever  shelter  has 
been  .secured  by  some  local  cause,  timber  is  commonly  plentiful 
all  over  the  state,  and  the  supply  will  go  on  increasing.     The 
valley  of  Walnut  creek  is  one  of  the  favored  spots  in  which  tim- 
ber abounds,  and  it  extends,  with  varying  breadths,  for  about 
one  hundred  miles,  the  bottom  lands  yielding  splendid  crops,  and 
so  far  as  experience  has  yet  gone,  no  one  has  suffered  from  inun- 
dations.    The  timber  prevailing  in  the  district  is  that  indicated 
by  the  name  of  the  creek,  and  some  of  the  wood  is  of  very  fine 


.'«MilWriliiiWr»r-- 


IfyorKxir  Coxnr  tioxs. 


05 


!  one  of  tho 

0  a  biomlcr 
"  Th.-oM 
two  bliuk'H 

ul  food  two 
Olio  cow  in 
0  lii;;li  road 
in  Oliio,  the 
ccesa  of  one 
i'opros<Mit;i- 
1011  tho  hiif- 
in  Kansas 
Ik,  bulk  for 
u"  ill  niiiid, 
porior  rioh- 
ibbivviatioii 
A  dairy  avo- 
ducc  is  usu- 
i  novor  yot 
ity  is  ono  of 
\vs,  and  tho 
ous  tributa- 
issippi,  after 
nty  is  very 
ro  are  many 
iiient  is  rap- 
Dttoms  have 
tarios  of  the 
shelter  has 
ily  plentiful 
iasing.     The 

1  which  tim- 
s,  for  about 
id  crops,  and 
I  from  inun- 
at  indicated 
of  very  fine 


growlli  and  admirably  grained.     Tlio  bulTalo  jrrass  whioh  hixH 
boon  Hcvoral   times  nionticmod  as  very  sweet  and  nutritious  for 
eattlc,  and  whieh  wo  have  mentioned  as  being  supplanted  by  blue 
joint  grass  oil  the  plains,  is  said  to  be  a  peculiar  growth,  whieh 
dies  out  when   the  soil  is  loosened  by  cultivation,  and   immedi- 
ately therouiion  a  bettor  product  comes  to  tho  front,  as  nature  is 
seldom  cijiitent  to  carry  only  ono  arrow  in  her  ipiivor.     y\i\  Dar- 
win, in  his  "Origin  of  Species,"  mentions  many  ins».»nees  whero 
the  .soil  of  a  region   having  been  burnt  ovei,  another  variety  of 
l)laiit,s,  such  as  tho  oldest  inhabitant  had  never  seen  in  that  area 
before,  im!"odiatoly   appeared.     Similar  results   were   ob.sorvod 
wlien  soil  f.  )m  e-iisidorablo  .iepths  was  .spread  upon  the  surfaoo 
of  the  land,  and  n<.  lin  wh  n  the  subsoil  was  brought  to  the  surface 
in  many  ca.ses  ther  ■  were  uistinet  lloia  theretofore  unknown  in  tho 
country,  or  found  only  in  rare  iiistanc   .  at  some  disttuicc,  unless 
the  soil  had  been  disturlicd.     S'  ji  more  curiously  it  apjK'ars,  that 
in  dilferont  loealities  tho  sue  '•-.  i..i  of  varieties  can  be  calculated 
upon  ;ifter  a  few  oxjieriments,  with  very  -reat  certainty.  Whether 
thcso  changes  are  pn/.u  :  d  by  seed.^  hit.  •■:.  in  the  soil  biding  their 
time,  or  whether  tin  .sam..  roots  are  capable  of  .sending  up  varie- 
ties under  diiTorent  circumstances  and  surround;^-    ,  it  boots  not 
now  to  infjuire  ;   tho  one  fact  in  which  we  aro  interested  is,  that 
the  bullalo  grass  when  giving  ])laco  to  the  blue  joint  or  any  other 
variety,  when  tho  conditions  of  growth  vary,  merely  repeats  upon 
our  Kansas  soil  tho  aame  law  of  progression  and  development 
which  lias  been  seen  in  operation  during  the  era  of  observant 
philosophy  in  which  man  has  been  content  to  take  his  facts  a3 
from  God,  and  to  shaiio  his  theories  tentatively  and  reverently  in 
accordance  with  what  may  seem  to  bo  all  that  can  bo  known  oa 
the  sub-'ect.     Men  who  cultivate  on  the  plains  and  elsewhere, 
whercr^:  i-.  j  bulTalo  grass  has  been  tho  staple  pasture,  need  only 
plow  about  eight  inches  deep  and  they  suffer  no  further  intrusioa 
from  the  old  pos.sessor  of  the  soil.     The  plains,  when  treated  in 
thi;i;  way,  may  well  become  the  granary  of  tho  west,  so  rich  is  the 
earth  in  all  the  mineral  ingredients  whieh  stimulate  growth,  re- 
quiring only  plowing  and  irrigation  to  produce  largely  from  any 
seed  that  may  be  committed  to  the  earth.     Texas  cattle  are  a 
considerable  source  of  profit  to  dealers  in  this  state,  and  many 


iwiiriihiii-wiimiiiiim.^- 


it 


i 


gQ  TUTTLl^S  IIlSTOllY  OF  KaKSAS. 

Wo.  a.e  tun.ing  then  -  accoun.  W  «  tl..  with  the 
best  varieties,  ...lainung  that  a  large  P  ofit    esults.     i 
question  have  descended  from  ammals  f  ^^^    ^^  f  ^^^f^^,^^ 
Spaniards,  soon  after  that  time  when  Corte.  and  his  followers 

"  stood  silent  on  a  peak  iu  Darien." 

I„  „,1  tl,o  time  ttat  has  since  elapsed  tbeve  1"- •'"--^'^^f, 

1  ..t-  +i>nf  tlip  ralvcs  were  conaiicu    auu. 

stowc.1  upou  them  ''^'''i'\f2,TJ    m  n,e  rest  o£  tl,eir  Jo- 

braiulc.lat  certam  seasons  ol  the  J ea.    iui  ,,    „  .„  ™ilv 

vclol»nent  has  heen  due  to  natural  -  -"""•  ^"'  "fj^  "  jj 
fl„e'g,-ained  animals,  .ell  worU.y  »'  "-J^"  ;„~  ays  and 
diseases  whioh  are  supposed  to  Wong  to  ^^^  °"'"-'  ,f^j  „,., 
everywhere,  are  not  found  --{j  ^^  ^  ^  I'la  tnder  the 
oontraeted  daring  the  long  »f ''='1'°"' '°"'"'^,.,  m„„,,  p,„fit  is 
lasl>  oi  bruul,  iguorant,  and  ■"1P»"» '    "^"^^  ;,/  „„,,(^i,3,  ,e. 

proeured  by  men,  who  ^^J^^^IZ^^^'^'^.  »'*» 
move  them  to  Kansas,  and  theie  fat  en  ho  ^^^^^^ 

quality  of  thenreat  *-  °^^7-\«  f^^f  plains  will  sumce  for 
this  their  business  say  that  the  Iced  on  ^       ^ 

.1,  their  wants  during  an  -orage  w,ute^  aUhon  b  h  y  ^_^_^ 

-"n"":ait^:r;t;Tgrd'::t':;,^:^  "Sess  some  umore- 

access  to  salt,  ana  pitui,;y       b  ^.-.^   .u^  graziers,  on  an  av- 

.een  aoddent  occurs  '--  '^^^^  °  ^  ^  |;„  .heir  original 
erage,  can  clear  from  fifty  to  ^■^'"^  j  <"     .^^  attendance 

ontlay,  after  liberally  pay.ng  all  •'^V^^^J   ^^y^,  ^„,„„,„a. 

aud  feed,  ^^  ^^^^^^  Je    sIXLcl  to  many  modi- 
ed  such  operations  in  iexas  win  / 

fications  of  such  enterprise  f-  - ^  y^"  J  '^"X"^,;,  „f  ,.„ek  ,„, 

best  breeds  liave  been  "btamed  and  a  veiy  h 

displace  theinferior  cattle  now  handled     Even  the  p 

that  crosses  with  the  best  'Fj;™  ""j       t  Ideby  very 

=r:^:r==::L;;tfbS= 
:— r  ::tdr:arsrry  >Sir:u  --  -f  .eed. 


■.ierp*<»5ft«^™' 


.-lawnjwwiv 


Hygienic  Conditioxs. 


67 


hem  witli  tho 
The  cattle  in 
lexico  by  the 
followers 


)cn  no  care  be- 
corrallcd   and 
3st  of  their  de- 
:liey  are  really 
ivatiou.     The 
tie,  always  and 
'luhiiat,  but  are 
L-land  under  the 
Much  profit  is 
3,  carefully  re- 
3  market,  as  the 

men  who  make 
5  will  suffice  for 
,  they  have  been 

must  have  free 
>ss  some  imfore- 
,zierrf,  on  an  av- 
)n  their  original 
aval,  attendance 
Aiich  has  attend- 
l  to  many  modi- 
e,  until  the  very 
lass  of  stock  will 
ten  it  is  probable 
)ck  will  be  occa- 
;nts  made  by  very 
lodiEying  circum- 
^-five  bushels  of 
n  instead  of  feed- 
peculiar  training, 

pursuits   before- 


hand,  they  are  bound  to  pay  dearly  for  their  experience,  after  they 
have  entered  upon  their  business  in  this  state.  Tlie  squatter  or 
sheep  farmer  in  Australia  has  a  climni-e  wliich  never  demands 
care  for  sheep,  in  the  way  of  housing  or  shelter,  in  winter.  It 
can  hardly  be  said  that  he  has  a  winder  to  contend  with,  as  there 
is  not  a  day  in  the  whole  year  when  water  will  freeze  in  the  open 
air.  Usually  the  temperature  of  the  rainy  months,  June,  July  and 
August,  does  not  fall  below  50  degrees  above  zeri ,  and  58  degrees 
comes  nearer  the  average.  In  that  climate,  with  all  the  udvant- 
ages  incidental  to  an  immense  range  of  country,  so  that  the 
squatter  can  reckon  his  flodks  at  from  fifty  thousand,  to  twice  or 
three  times  that  number,  the  proprietor  of  a  run  must  be  a  man  of 
great  experience  in  the  business,  or  he  must  have  an  overseer 
whom  he  can  implicitly  trust,  if  he  would  avoid  losing  a  fortune. 
Foot  rot  and  scab  will  kill  oii  his  flocks,  or  will  impoverish  them 
and  destroy  the  value  of  their  fleeces,  until  there  will  be  little  or 
no  return  upon  his  capital,  after  paying  the  ex^ienses,  incidental 
to  his  otherwise  lucrative  pursuit.  In  Kansas,  men  who  have 
had  no  experience  at  all  in  the  line,  and  even  boys,  have  begun 
sheep  farming  or  shepherding  on  the  supposition  that  the  person 
who  is  not  known  to  be  fit  for  anything  else  must  be  a  shepherd. 
There  is  no  greater  folly  possible  on  this  footstool.  The  care  of 
sheep  requires  special  training  or  peculiar  aptitude.  A  farmer, 
beginning  with  a  small  flock  and  carefully  studying  their  wants  and 
ways,  can  of  course  gradually  increase  his  number  with  advantage 
as  he  gains  experience,  and  in  the  end  he  will  probably  net  a  for- 
tune, but  if  a  man  proposes  to  enter  upon  such  an  enterprise,  largely 
from  the  first,  without  knowledge  of  a  practical  kind  in  his  own- 
brainpan,  or  in  that  of  some  trusty  assistant,  he  must  be  a  heavy 
loser  in  the  transaction.  The  country  is  well  fitted  for  sheep,  but 
there  is  fitness  required  in  the  manager  also.  Pasturage  is  well 
nigh  boundless  in  this  state,  and  it  is  excellent  as  well  as  plentiful. 
Sheep  crop  the  grass  verj--  close,  almost  eating  down  to  the  recta 
and  in  that  way  they  secure  very  sweet  and  nutritious  food  on  the 
plains.  Many  flocks  have  been  brought  into  Kansas  suffering 
from  foot  rot,  and  have  been  cured  by  the  dryness  of  the  surface 
over  which  they  feed,  partly  in  consequence  of  this  peculiarity  in 
their  method  of  consuming  the  grass,  as  there  remains  no  harbor 


i^ 


.^wiliiiiiHii^ 


iii^  ^r-f^'"'"  ■•*-"■— '"-^  ■'■' 


■  J 


I  .Ll.i  I  W!M  »i.i«l.l'i! „'!".''" 


68  Tuttle's  Uistouy  of  KAXffAS. 

for  heavy  dews  to  rest  in,  and  tboir  systems  recover  tone  on  the 
tn  Sued  soil.     East  of  tl.  ^ississip^  1^>e  a.  .     am^ 
grou.id  very  often  less  drained  naturally,  and  the  sli.ep  p  y 

staic.     xii^i  fi,„  u.Mpf  qpncon  of  inclement  weatnei, 

unices  snow  lies  deep  ou  tlie  grouna,  but  m  any  case,  i 
::«,-,  to  give  s.,cUe.  .ro™  the  -"-.•'"'\-;     ,f  J'  " 
.ought  is  to  be  ean-iod  to  ..s  '"^^'J™^,  ,  J;*  ^le  ven- 
ti„,„„Uieated  ^'-^P --=     '  ^^'^^  ravfi.a'bie  in  western 
K:::;  ri'  y  a  '    a  pel't  a,.aina^e  incidental  U,  thea.ti.ude 

other  --'™V°'1L  the  market  the  railways  are  at  hand 
„,utton,  or  wool,  is  ready  for  the  ma  nee  Colorado, 

.„  .onvey  the  P^oduetJ.  any  V^  ^^^l^^  „,,,  .iae 

•   but  no  such  course  is  neces  ary  m  I^^"^^- ^^  "^  Where  lands 

f:r;i^^:-rcf=^if-ep.rm. 

f  T;i-«lir  tn  'sncceed  as  it  does  and  can  at>ie,  au^ 
mg  IS  not  likely  to  succeeci  ^^^^^  ^^^^ 

re';l:e7:::r  et:=;r:lt  wo„l  ana  the  .naUty 


««»j.  ji^fiuMjiiij-ji  ri^J-?  '/J^BU'l  1' 


Hyoienic  Convtiioxs. 


69 


f  tone  on  tlie 
is  damp,  the 
lecp  pay  the 
iir  a  locacion 
supplied  and 
requisites  for 
Winter  de- 
lating corn  or 
;cetion  of  the 
ye  will  afford 
ment  weather, 
se,  it  is  found 
Id  if  the  profit 
[\  care  of  the 
profitable  ven- 
ible  in  western 
to  the  altitude 
they  fatten  so 

the  butcher  at 
ire  supposed  to 
liat  score.    The 
ntly  little  shel- 
eadily,  and  the 
ater  is  plentiful 
among  sheep  in 
region.     When 
ays  are  at  hand 
.     In  Colorado, 
locks  over  wide 
t  five  miles  per 

when  they  find 
will  stay  longer, 
J  the  soil  yields 
r.  Where  lands 
,nge,  sheep  farm- 
jre,  and  it  is  not 
.  and  mutton  can 
1  and  the  quality 


of  the  meat  are  as  great  if  not  greater  advantages  for  the  (lock 
master.  Sheep  are  liable  to  suffer  from  scab  in  the  winter  unless 
they  are  carefully  tended,  and  one  sheep  so  afflicted  will  commu- 
nicate the  disease  to  the  whole  flock,  but  a  decoction  of  tobacco 
applied  immediately  destroys  the  insect  which  is  the  cause  of  all 
this  trouble.  Experienced  men  say  that  no  man  should  meddle 
with  sheep  unless  he  is  prepared  to  give  personal  inspection  to  his 
flock,  and  then  he  should  not  start  in  with  less  than  from  eight 
hundred  to  one  thousand  in  a  flock.  The  wool  will  then  pay  all 
expenses  and  the  lambs  will  remain  as  clear  profit  There  are  nu- 
merous books  on  sheep  farming  obtainable,  but  one  man  who  had 
gone  into  the  business,  with  a  determination  to  know  everything 
on  the  subject,  found  in  his  catalogue  from  a  New  York  house, 
"Euskin  on  Sheep  Folds,"  he  made  the  remittance,  procured  the 
work,  and  was  disgusted  on  receiving  a  very  artistic  production 
on  church  architecture. 

Mule  breeding  is  found  very  profitable  in  Kansas,  and  the  men 
who  are  most  competent  to  pronounce  on  the  subject,  say  that  with 
a  moderate  capital  wisely  invested  and  carefully  attended  to  in  this 
line,  any  man  can  make  a  fortune  in  ten  years  without  excessive 
labor  or  undue  anxiety.  There  are  but  few  enterprises  in  more 
settled  communities  which,  with  the  same  outlay  in  money  and 
labor,  can  be  expected  to  pay  so  well.  So  much  has  been  said 
about  buffalo  grass  and  prairie  grasses  that  it  may  be  necessary 
here  to  repeat  what  has  been  said  or  implied  in  many  places 
already,  that  tame  grasses,  such  as  blue  grass  and  timothy  or 
clover,  will  flourish  anywhere  in  Kansas ;  and  in  many  parts  of 
the  state  it  is  spreading  rapidly  from  early  experiments  made  by 
traders  among  the  Indians,  and  by  an  old  missionary  to  the 
Shawnees  many  years  ago.  Blue  grass  has  been  found  very  suc- 
cessful indeed.  Osage  orange  hedges  are  rapidly  extending  in 
eastern  Kansas,  making  manifest  improvements  in  the  aspect  of 
the  country,  as  well  as  providing  cheap  shelter  for  stock,  and  pro- 
tection from  their  ravages  on  cultivated  land ;  and  it  is  found  that 
an  impregnable  hedge  of  this  description  can  be  raised  for  fifty 
cents  per  rod  ;  with  this  advantage  over  fencing,  that  it  protects 
against  the  weather,  and  after  being  once  brought  to  perfection, 
it  may  be  said  to  be  a  perpetual  hedge.     But  little  trouble  is 


i,l.ij*.ViUi*»i'.1liiife**F' 


■  •HJIJI^WiH    Jl  HI! 


mm"  !i'ij""W»ifi¥W  -  ■  III', -I 


70 


TuTTLK's  lIlSTOHY  OF  KaSSAS. 


necessary  to  preserve  the  line  of  demarcation,  by  planting  afresh 
in  any  spot  in  which  accident  may  have  damaged  the  enclosure. 
Kansas  is  found  to  be  eligible  as  a  fruit  growing  country;  but 
there  are  vicissitudes  in  every  climate  under  the  sun,  and  it  is  not 
to  be  supposed  that  Kansas  will  be  free  from  them.     The  settler 
has,  of  course,  to  wait  many  years  before  his  apple  trees  will 
bear;  the  world  was  not  built  in  a  day,  and  Home  took  longer, 
so  the  fruit  grower  will  wisely  adapt  himself  to  circumstances, 
make  his  orchards,  and,  while  waiting  for  their  produce,  give  his 
attention  to  small  fruits,  which  arc  almost  invariably  successful. 
AmoiK'  the  most  certain  of  these  we  note  strawberries,  raspberries, 
grapesrblackberries,  and  pieplant  or  rhubarb,  as  safe  investments 
always.     Apples  and  peaches  are  very  risky  fruits  everywhere, 
but  they  are  not  especially  so  here  in  Kansas.     The  profits  on 
grapes  are  very  considerable,  and  when  the  practice  of  rais.n- 
niaking  has  been  matured  in  this  country,  it  will  be  still  more 
advantligeous  to  convert  large  areas  into  vineyards. 

navinc.  thus  honestly  and  fairly  glanced  at  the  general  features 
which  make  Kansas  worthy  of  more  particular  regard,  it  devolves 
upon  us  now  to  look  more  especially  into  details,  in  considering 
the  orowth  of  towns  and  cities,  the  establishment  of  counties  and 
townships,  the  growth  of  agricultural  communities,  and  industna 
enterprises  of  all  kinds,  and  their  influences  upon  the  03sthetical 
development  of  the  state.     The  subject  is  as  broad  as  human 
history,  and  as  deep  as  the  soul  of  man  can  penetrate  ;  but  con- 
scious of  all  short  comings,  we  shall  try  to  present  the  subject  in 
such  a  manner  as  shall  make  it  worthy  of  perusal  for  its  own 
al     tf  not  for  the  style  in  which  it  may  be  handled      The  reader 
wto  has  accompanied  us  so  far  will  have  no  difficulty  in  continu- 
ing  to  the  end.  • 


ra 


,(i.  ! 


4UJU!iU 


Eaiily  IIisTonr. 


n 


)lanting  afresh 
tlie  enclosure, 
country;  but 
n,  and  it  is  not 
1.     The  settler 
)ple  trees  ■will 
3  took  longer, 
circumstances, 
:)(lucc,  give  his 
ibly  successful, 
ies,  raspberries, 
\h  investments 
ts  everywhere, 
The  profits  on 
ctice  of  raisin- 
L  be  still  more 

3. 

general  features 
arcl,  it  devolves 
,  in  considering 
of  counties  and 
?,  and  industrial 
1  the  a3stbetical 
road  as  human 
ctrate ;  but  cou- 
nt the  subject  in 
isal  for  its  own 
ed.     The  reader 
2ulty  in  contiuu- 


CITAPTER   III. 

EARLY  HISTORY. 

The  French  on  the  Missouri -Spanish  Amen itios-Incliun  Warfare- French 
Fortilicalions  — Auieriean  Sultlcnicnt- Mormon  Farm  — Mexican  War- 
Fort  Leavenworth  —  The  GoUl  Fever. 

The  French  government  was  much  more  energetic  in  the  mat- 
ter of  colonization  two  centuries  ago  than  we  find  the  same  power 
to-day.  The  tiobility  of  France,  cut  off  from  trade  by  the  rules 
of  their  exclusive  caste,  could  only  hope  for  distinction  and  wealth 
in  warlike  pursuits,  or  in  the  colonies,  and  war  was  no  longer  the 
lucrative  undertaking  that  it  had  been.  When  the  great  Dugues- 
clin  was  constable  of  France,  an  officer  who  spared  the  life  of  an 
enemy  in  battle  held  him  at  ransom,  just  as  tlie  brigands  of  to- 
day in  sunny  Italy  are  apt  to  do,  and  a  few  prisoners  might  en- 
able a  fortunate  soldier  to  realize  a  competency.  There  was,  of 
course,  a  possibility  that  "the  shearer  might  come  home  shorn," 
if  he  came  home  at  all,  after  an  unsuccessful  raid.  The  chivalry 
of  France  made  little  booty  at  Crecy,  Poictiers  and  Azincourt, 
but  these  were  blanks  such  as  might  come  in  any  lottery. 

The  colonies  were  open  to  men  of  eqm't,  and  the  Baron  La 
Salle  had  displayed  considerable  enterprise  in  penetrating  the  in- 
terior of  the  western  wilds,  long  before  the  states  were  dreamed 
of.  In  the  fall  of  1681,  the  Baron  ascended  tlie  Cliekagon  river 
from  Lake  Michigan  with  four  canoes,  and  making  a  portage  to 
the  Illinois,  found  his  way  to  the  Mississippi.  He  had  reached 
what  is  now  known  as  South  Bend,  and  using  the  portage  at 
Kankakee  — then  known  as  Ilankiki  — had  entered  the  Iliiuois 
valley  eleven  years  earlier,  but  he  now  had  reached  the  Missis- 
sippi along  the  track  explored  by  Father  Marquette,  eight  years 
before  ;  and  his  colony  in  Illinois  continued  without  much  growth 
for  many  years,  his  successors  in  the  work  falling  to  the  level  ol 
their  surroundings.  A  valuable  map  of  Lake  Superior  was  pub- 
lished in  Paris  in  the  year  1672,  under  the  direction  of  the 


72  Tcttle's  IIl^tohy  of  Kansas. 

Fatliersof  tl.c  Society  of  Jesus,  and  the  relations  establislied  with 
ths  Indians  enabled  the  French  to  procure  information  and  aul 
from  tl.c  native  tribes.     The  Mississippi  having  been  reached  by 
Baron  La  Salle  in  1681,  and  having  been  explored  as  far  south 
as  Arkansas  in  1673,  by  Marquette,  it  is  not  wonderful  that,  m 
•the  year  1705,  after  an  interval  of  twenty-four  years  had  made 
the  French  familLv.  vvith  the  red  men  and  their  country,  an  ex.^ 
ploring  party  ascended  the  Missouri  river  as  far  as  the  mouth  of 
the  river  Kansas.     The  natives  were  very  friendly,  as  savages 
usually  arc  when  first  approchcd  by  civilized  men,  and  untd  the 
worst  specimens  of  the  superior  order  have  found  opportunities  to 
poison  and  destroy  the  confidence  of  the  In.rbarians.     For  some 
time  thereafter,  certainly  for  more  than  a  ccuuuy,  the  mtercourse 
then  begun,  continued,  and  a  very  profitable  trade  was  carried  on 
with  the  Indians  by  the  Canadian  voyarjeurs  and  their  employers. 
In  the  year  1719,   fourteen  years  after  the  adventurers  on  the 
Missouri  had  established  themselves  and  their  trade,  the  gover- 
nor of  Louisiana,  M.  Bienville,  equipped  an  exploring  party  un- 
der the  command  of  a  young  ofiiccr  named  Duquesne  to  ascend 
the  Mississippi  river  and  extend  the  dominions  of  the  king,  his 
master.     It  was  the  era  of  the  Kegency  of  the  Duo  D-Qrleans  in 
France,  and  John  Law  was  master  of  the  situation.     The  famous 
Mississippi  scheme,  a  financial  bubble,  was  to  enrich  all  the  world 
and  the  madness  of  Europe  had  extended  itself  to  Louisiana,  only 
what  was  frenzy  in  the  old  country  became  attuned  to  sober  and 
manly  enterprise  on  this  continent.     Defoe,  describing  a  similar 
mania  which  prevailed  in  England  under  the  name  of  the  South 
Sea  Company,  the  last  word  being  changed  to  "bubble    in  his- 

°^^' ^        '     "Some  in  clixnclcstine  companies  combine-, 
1  Erect  new  stocics  to  trade  beyond  the  line ; 

I  With  air  and  empty  names  beguile  the  town,  ^ 

And  raise  new  ciudits  flrst,  then  cry  'em  clown ; 

Divide  the  empty  nothing  into  shares, 

And  set  the  crowd  together  by  the  ears." 

The  Mississippi  company  was  formally  incorporated  in  1717, 
with  exclusive  powers  to  trade  on  the  river  Mississippi  and  with 
Louisiana  on  its  western  bank,  the  expectation  being  that  gold 
and  silver,  and  indeed  all  the  metals,  would  be  found  in  abund- 


■m^Mms^mn^ 


"il    »i||i  IjIB.IiinilLii'     tnKBI'l  illll»liWilHi|IIW 


Emily  JfisToitr. 


n 


jlislicd  with 
ion  and  aid 
reached  by 
\s  far  south 
irful  that,  in 
s  hp.d  made 
mtry,  an  ex- 
lie  mouth  of 
,  as  savages 
nd  until  the 
lortuniticri  to 
;.     For  some 
e  intercourse 
as  carried  on 
ir  employers, 
turers  on  the 
le,  the  gover- 
ing  party  un- 
sne  to  ascend 
the  king,  his 
D'Orleans  in 
The  famous 
all  the  world 
uisiana,  only, 
to  sober  and 
bing  a  similar 
of  the  South 
bble"  in  his- 


n; 


rated  in  1717^ 
iippi  and  with 
ing  that  gold 
nd  in  abund- 


ance, and  tliat  a  very  profitable  trade  with  the  child-lilco  savage 
would  replenisli  the  colfers  of  tlie  nation,  all  but  ruined  by  tho 
■wars  of  Louis  XIV,  and  the  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes. 
John  Law  and  his  scheme  have  been  blamed  far  beyond  their  do- 
merits,  because  the  madness  of  the  time  could  not  keep  within 
bounds  the  expectation  of  business  like  profit     The  scrip  of  the 
company  rose  so  rapidly  in  value,  that  what  had  been  originally 
obtained  for  one  dollar  was  eagerly  purchased  at  $100,  and  cculd 
then  be  sold  within  twenty-four  hours  at  cent  per  cent,  advances, 
day  after  day.     Men  accustomed  to  the  hazards  of  the  gambling 
table  abandoned  rourje  et  noir,  because  it  was  tame  and  unevent 
ful,  to  become  dabblers  in  stock.     The  government  participated 
liberally  in  the  scramble,  the  Regent  breathed  gold  and  dreamed 
hilleii  de  Innique,  and  while  this  charm  was  working  in  Europe,  M. 
Duquesne,  the  young  French  officer,  acting  under  inspiration  ivom 
Paris,  was  commissioned  by  tho  governor  of  Louisiana  to  explore 
the  river  and  the  country,  which  was  to  justify  these  extravagant 
expectation!?.     Thus  it  happened  that  a  military  expedition  on  a 
very  small  scale  ascended  the  Mississippi  as  far  as  the  Sabine 
river,  in  the  year  1719.     The  eventual  collapse  of  the  Mississippi 
bubble,  the  ruin  of  John  Law,  the  absolute  bankruptcy  of  France, 
and  many  other  events  which  the  next  twelve  months  saw  con- 
summated, will  not  affect  our  history,  as  the  conscription  of  men 
levied  in  Paris  in  1720,  to  work  the  gold   mines,  which  had  not 
been  found  in  this  country,  never  came  to  Kansas,  and  this  vol- 
ume is  not  further  interested  in  their  operations,  than  to  show  how 
the  perturbations  of  court  life  on  the  banks  of  the  Seine  brought 
a  gallant  and  successful  band  of  explorers  along  the  Mississippi  to 
wklen  the  domain  of  France.     M.  Duquesne  traveled  westward 
from  the  Mississippi  after  reaching  the  Sabine  river,  until  after 
about  three  hundred  miles  of  rocky,  broken  and  timbered  coun- 
try had  been  passed,  as  nearly  as  he  could  judge  by  what  the 
sailors  call  dead  reckoning,  he  came  to  a  village  of  Osage  Indians, 
not  far  from  Osage  river,  probably  about  five  miles  from  that 
stream.     The  village  contained  about  one  hundred  wigwams,  but 
the  warriors  were  generally  absent  engaged  in  hunting  or  in  war- 
fare.    Other  tribes  were  visited,  the  Pawnees  to  the  northwest, 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles,  and  westward  from  them 


/ 


^^  TvTTLffs  irisTour  OF  ICiysAS. 

„ta„.  tour  In,„>l,ca  a,Kl  lUt,  miles,  a  '■"^'' ^■''"';° 'l^i  l^l^^ 

Tth      .n-crcl.'n,  claimed  tl,e  vvl.ole  co„,>t,-j,by  a  nsl.txV.eh  o! 

r.for:::r::ir.T:ie ....  .o  -Mp,.i  ,...«,,.„, 

„  „-,.e  ot  .l,a.  name  i-^^^'-^'llf^.^J/tl    ."'h":!  -^^^^^ 

The  expectation  of  gold  on  tlic  banivs  oi  t  p,\  ,„i,,,„  and 

.  1  i>„  tl,n  «nme  lioue.     Cortoz  and  i  izauo, 

Vespucci  were  moved  by  the  ban  e  iiojc. 

?:  It  a^d  cl'on  .'heir  voyage  I,om  Sou*  Ameriea  to  Sp- 
F  en°h  eourtiers  and  merehants  would  naturally  assume  that  the 
S^lo  conTineut  was  auriferous  and  argentiferous  and  oven  w.ll  ■ 
whole  coniuie...  andeia,  the  partiei- 

'"  7' ""llr;  :"s tuM  .,  t  ;:    il'sioni.ed  ^^  months  of 

-ri:\re^i;°:nhrn:rrved\^^^ 

r„\;Jlt*X,vesmastersof  the  territory  before  Franeo 

least,  and  to  restnet  the  F'JJ^^  ^„  „„„^  „„  „bjeet  as 

trtmi:;rX>on?rThieh  wonders  .night  he  evoUed 
meie  -^  t^,  „,   _„.  lutle  known  to  modern  times. 

X:rrete:lt^'Sust  the  Freuoh,  it  was  ueeessary  to 


f* 


EMtr.Y  IflSTollY. 


ts 


[\mc,  as  spelt 
and  rivwuecs 
is.     No  gold 
c  P'rcnclunan 
I  in  llio  namo 
^ht,  which,  of 
in  had  not  a 
1719,  on  the 
M.  Duciucsne 
river,  finding 
of  tlio  stream, 
psippi  was  not 
3oluinbus  and 

0  from  the  na- 
•s  of  Amerigo 
f.  and  rizarro, 
in  such  quan- 
3d  l)y  the  reac- 

1  other  English 
he  treasury  of 
idcn  with  gold- 
nerica  to  Spain, 
issumc  that  the 
and  even  with- 
iei  s,  the  partici- 
id  by  months  of 
)  on  the  qui  vive 
I.  Duquesne  be- 
to  the  debatable 
ry  before  France 
ntention  was  to 

against  all  com- 
lie  Mississippi  at 
unds  as  possible, 
inch  an  object  as 
night  be  evoked 
times, 
was  necessary  to 


Bubiacato  the  natives,  by  whom  the  Freeh  party  had  boon  fav- 
o  ed  a^  Z  tribe  of  Missouri  Indians  had  iin,t  to  be  ext.rnnn. 
1      The    Vruvians  atul  Mexicans  had  been  so  easily  overpow- 
::d  b 'a  h  :a;;:i  ^f  .non  in  eaeh  case,  one  portion  of  the  natrv^ 
Ui  .  ^ct  a.niinst  an..ther,  that  the  Dons  wont  to  their  work  with 
^^  r  ^c   CO  :^dence.     'H.o  Pawnees  and  the  Missouris  were  at  war, 
Td      r    1  bono  dillieult  matter  to  form  an  alliance  wth   ho 
;  St    :  1  stroy  the  second,     '-ae  proposition  went  on  memly 
S    \Ltilc  mins  were  found,  the    scheme  su^stcd,  .^^ 
the  allir,native  was  only  delayed  until  they  could  --"^  ^^^-^ 
warriors,  and  then  in  the  night,  within  two  days  from  the  fi  st 
Toposal   two  thousand  braves,  in  their  war  pan.t,  fell  upon  tho 
S  :  nsh  Caravan  and  destroyed  the  whole  body,  except  one  pnes^ 
those  tonsure  probably  saved  him,  and  he  returned  to  banla  le 
:  ::;hrthe  mystery.'  The  Spaniards  had  mistaken  the  v    ago 
of  the  Missouris  for  that  of  the  Pawnees,  and  ha(   re.iue.ted  the 
con  ding  Indians  to  assist  in  the  destruction  of  tl-nr  own  tnbe. 
The  Mirsouris  had  temporized  until  they  cou  d  answer  with   om- 
alawk  and  scalping  knife,  and  the  battle  of  Fort  l^eavenworth,  a 
t^r  in  which  no  combatant  on  the  Spanish  side  escaped, 
x^d    it  possible  for-the  French  to  come  in  as  friends  and  estab- 
"i   h  1     ortification  there,  near  the  banks  of  the  Missouri.    Ijor^^ 
Orleans  was  the  answer  of  the  French  to  the  insolent  and  fatal 
advance  of  the  Spaniards,  and  a  large  force  ascending  the  M.ssis- 
irto  the  Missouri,  then  following  the  Missouri  from  their  juiic- 
made  their  fort;rication  on  an  island  in  .le  last  named  rive, 
above  the  point  at  which  the  Osage  river  discharges  it.elf.     1  lom 
tZZ.  treaties  of  commerce  with  the  Indians  were  earned  on. 
Ind  Mendly  missions  were  prosecuted  which  secured  for  tlie  sub- 
teets  of  Louis  XV  all  the  advantages  they  could  reasonably  de- 
itre     Bou  mond,  the  officer  in  command  at  Fort  Orleans,  leaving 
:    officerTcharge  of  the  island  fortress,  made  a  tour  among   he 
Ldges  of  his  allies  which  continued  from  July  to  November  1  24 
and  his  diplomacy  had  been  perfectly  successful.     That  was     the 
Te  all  ani  end  all  "  of  the  Gallican  expedition,  trade  and  military 
'p  lit  being  the  purposes  of  the  advanced  po^t,  and  .^^^^^ 
Lnt  being  a  matter  entirely  beyond  the  genius  of  the  people. 
The  colony  in  Illinois  was  destroyed,  in  1812.  by  our  forces,  be- 


I? 


m 


TvTTT.tfti   UlSTOHY  OF  KaXSAS, 


cnnsc  tlie  IiidinnH,  lialf  castes,  voyarjeurs,  and  others  who  made  up 
the  village  on  the  banks  of  Peoria  lake,  wcro  known  to  bo  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  enemies  of  the  United  States,  and  Louisiana  liad 
bocoino  A  truM-iean  by  p\irchase  from  France.  Tlic  geni  us  of  I'ranco 
does  not  favor  colonization.  It  makes  Noumea  or  Now  Galedoiiiu 
a  convict  settlement  in  the  I'ucilic,  but  it  is  not  a  colony.  It  sends 
nn  army  into  Algiers,  and  it  roasts  Arabs  in  caves,  where  thoy 
have  taken  shelter,  bnt  it  does  not  colonize  the  country.  It  pos- 
sesses Cayenne,  but  it  is  only  as  a  place  of  terror  for  })olitical 
prisoners,  and  the  idea  of  a  colony,  in  its  best  sense,  has  yet  to 
dawn  on  France.  Wlien  the  purposes  of  the  moment  had  l)een 
served,  a  trading  post  remained,  and  the  men  who  had  initiated 
commercial  relations  with  the  tribes  in  170.">,  carried  on  their 
peaceful  operations  none  the  better,  if  none  the  worse,  for  the 
prci'^ciicc  of  the  Fleur  de  Us  and  the  soldiery  of  the  kingdom  of 
Fro  nee. 

]sinoty-ninc  years  after  that  commercial  invasion,  Messrs.  Clark 
an  I  Lewis,  under  a  commission  from  the  general  government, 
conducted  an  exjjedition  up  the  Missouri  river,  the  lands  along 
which  were  still  almost  a  terra  incognita  to  the  citizens  of  the 
republic,  and  across  the  continent  from  the  head  waters  of  the 
Missouri  to  the  Pacific  ocean.  Where  the  Kansas  river  flows  into 
the  larger  stream  they  made  a  temporary  camp,  and  procured 
plenty  of  game.  They  found  no  white  men  on  their  journey,  but 
near  Atchison  there  were  the  bones,  as  it  were,  of  an  old  fort  and 
village,  remaining  from  the  days  of  the  French  occupation,  and 
at  another  point  a  house  and  a  trading  post,  but  the  men  who  left 
those  signs  had  long  before  passed  away.  The  Indians  were  curi- 
ous and  friendly,  but  they  had  not  been  civilized  by  the  long 
intercourse  their  fathers  had  enjoyed  with  their  F^reneh  allies  for 
very  nearly  a  century.  Major  Long,  who,  in  the  year  1816,  had 
surveyed  the  Chicago  river,  was,  in  the  year  1819,  in  command  of 
a  small  steamer,  the  first  that  ever  plowed  the  waters  of  the  Mis- 
souri along  the  borders  of  Kansas.  That  officer,  with  a  corjos  of 
engineers  detailed  for  topographical  duty,  was  on  his  way  to  the 
Yellowstone,  and  his  duty  did  not  involve  any  action  in  which 
Kansas  as  a  state  is  further  interested. 

The  value  of  the  fur  trade  along  the  Missouri  river  had  been 


who  inndo  up 
to  bo  in  flym- 
Louisiana  had 
liusof  I'ranco 
icvf  CaUiiluniu 
ouy.  It  snnds 
9,  whero  thoy 
ntry.  It  pos- 
•  for  political 
iHt>,  lias  yet  to 
iient  had  heon 
had  initiated 
•lied  on  tlieir 
worse,  for  tlie 

0  kingdom  of 

Messrs.  Clark 
government, 
le  lands  along 
•iti/ens  of  the 
waters  of  tlio 
ver  flows  into 
and  procured 
r  journey,  but 
n  old  fort  and 
cupation,  and 
men  who  left 
ans  were  curi- 

1  by  the  long 
juoh  allies  for 
ear  1816,  had 
1  command  of 
srs  of  the  Mis- 
ith  a  cori^s  of 
lis  way  to  the 
ition  in  which 

iver  had  been 


Early  HtsTour. 


7T 


recognized  for  many  years,  and  tnidors  had  reaped  tnornious 
l)iolits  from  the  tratlic.  During  the  fifteen  years  immediately  pro- 
ceding  tho  cx[)edition  of  Clark  and  Levvis,  tlio  aggregate  value  of 
the  furs  which  were  luiiidhHi  in  St.  Louis  amounted  to  ,'?.">,( )^<i,2i"iO, 
on  a  niodi-nilcly  close  estimate.  The  lirst  wiiite  men  that  occu- 
jiied  the  soil  of  Kansas  to  make  a  living  there  were  hunters  and 
trappers.  The  men  who  were  engaged  in  such  undertakings  dis- 
covered tlio  south  pa.ss,  which  made  the  j(jurney  to  CaliCoriiiu  and 
Oregon  the  easy  po.ssibility  that  it  now  is,  iiisleud  of  coiiipclliiig 
millions  to  endure  the  horrors  of  the  voyage  round  Capo  Horn,  or 
the  still  more  onerous  discomforts  of  the  pa.s.sagc  by  Panama.  It 
is  not  placing  the  ligures  at  all  too  high  to  assert  that  during  tho 
period  from  tiie  expedition  in  1801,  until  scttleriient  rendered  tho 
prosecution  of  tlie  business  no  longer  profitable  in  the  region  nien- 
tioiied,  the  income  from  furs  must  have  a,L;gregated  .>;^12, 000,000, 
and  when  commerce,  agriculture  and  manufactures  came  to  assume 
the  place  which  the  trappers  and  hunters  had  so  long  pos.scssed, 
the  advantage  was  continually  increasing  on  the  side  of  property 
and  comfort. 

From  the  year  1823,  a  trade  with  Santa  Fe  commenced  to  grow, 
the  state  of  Missouri  being  the  starting  point,  and  within  a  few 
years  the  trafiic  averaged  §50,000  annually,  increasing  to  $100,000 
afterwards.  The  general  government  assisted  to  the  extent  of 
surveying  and  establishing  a  wagontrack  for  the  journey,  which 
remains  a  much  frequented  line  of  travel,  especially  interesting 
to  certain  interests  now  flourishing  in  Kansas.  The  Indians  were 
for  a  long  time  inclined  to  be  troublesome  to  traders,  on  their  way 
through  their  territory,  sometimes  to  tho  extent  of  destroying  life, 
and  very  frequently  stealing  property  and  stampeding  cattle,  so 
that  it  became  necessary  to  form  strong  caravans  for  mutual  pro- 
tection, such  as  the  merchants  and  traders  crossing  the  Arabian 
desert  wait  for,  if  they  wish  to  avoid  the  depredations  of  tho 
Bedouins.  The  point  where  the  traders  bound  for  Santa  Fe 
used  to  rally  their  forces,  preparatory  to  a  start,  became  known 
as  Council  Grove,  and  the  vast  assemblage  of  wagons,  mules, 
horses,  oxen  and  their  owners  and  drivers  that  corralled  here, 
afforded  themes  for  novelists  and  sketch  writers,  and  paragraphs 
for  the  press,  which  were  read  all  over  the  states  by  persons 


t8 


T''::Lt.'s  His  WHY  oy  K ass. is. 


Ill'  vrrrtVQ 


i\ 


intorcstcil  in  tlic  nilvonturous  tisido  across  tlic  phuiiH. 
WHS,  lis  ihe  iiiinic  iini-licd,  well  tiinborud,  ami  tlio  iilcntitul  sup- 
ply of  water  for  Htock  wns  also  of  much  impDitancto  in  determin- 
ing the  location,      KansaH  soon   nttrnetcd  attention  as  a  very 
desirable  point  ot  dciiurtiire  for  trudors  (Mij,'iiged  in  this  hiorativo 
tradie.     Independence,  in  the  state  ot  Missouri,  was  tht  piineipal 
depot  from  about  U:\2  to  18-l.S,  but  during  nearly  all  that  time 
Kansas  had  been  growing  into  favor.     Where  Kansas  city  now 
Btands  was  the  site  of  the  tirst  depot  attempted  near  tliis  st!ite,  and 
goods  were  landed  in  IHIM  to  form  part  of  an  e(piipnicnt  for  the 
caravan  to  New  Mexieo.     The  increase  from  that  point  has  been 
steady.and  now  almost  the  whole  of  the  busincssover  thewagon  road 
is  traiwaeted  in  the  stores  at  Kansas  City  and  at  Westport.     This 
has  been  the  ease  almost  entirely  since  the  year  1850.     The  value 
of  the  business  secured  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact,  that  the 
transportation  alone  involved  an  outlay  in  one  season  of  nearly 
$2,000,000,  and   that  in  the  year  1800,  there  wore  nearly  six 
thousand  men,  more  than  two  thousand  wagons,  over  four  hund- 
red and  sixty  horses,  close  on   six  thousand   mules,  and  very 
nearly  eighteen   thousand  oxen   in  the  caravan.     Leavenworth 
rose  into  notice  in  consequence  of  a  fort  being  established  at  that 
point  to  protect  the  interests  of  the  traders  just  mentioned.     The 
cantonment  (jommenced  in  1827,  and  the  name  of  the  city  was 
taken  in  honor  of  the  colonel  of  the  regiment  which  was  stationed, 
here  in  1832.     The  importance  of  the  position  was  more  fully 
recognized  when  the  Mexican  war  broke  out,  because  it  alTorded 
a  remote  base  of  supply  until  the  end  of  that  era  of  hostilities. 
The  gold  fever,  which  spread  all  over  the  world  the  fame  of 
California,  was  still  more  momentous  to  Leavenworth,  because 
the  men  who  proposed  to  reach  the  diggings  overland  naturally 
desired  to  postpone  to  the  last  moment  the  purchase  of  an  outlit 
■which  must  become  an  incumbrance  as  soon  as  the  bargain  had 
been  made  which   transferred   the  goods  of  the  trader  to  the 
shoulders  or  to  the  wagon  of  the  enthusiastic  gold  seeker.    When 
Missouri  became  a  state,  the  general  government  conceived  the 
design  of  removing  the  Indian  race  west  of  the  Mississippi.     "  Go 
west"  young  man,"  was  the  advice  of  Horace  Greeley,  "  go  west 
and  settle  and  grow  up  with  the  place."    Just  such  advice  was- 


iiMi»itif  Hi-iUnrrwii  i\umtt,/mKmiiki 


mfm 


E.iuiY  ItisTonr. 


79 


Tho  grovo 
iitiful  sup- 
1  dctermiii- 

na  II  very 
i  liior.'itivo 
c  principal 

that  time 
s  city  now 
<  st!ltl^  find 
iciit  for  tlio 
it  liiis  been 
wa^onrond 
[)ort.     Tliis 

Tlic  valno 
3t,  tliat  tlio 
1  of  nearly 

nearly  six 

four  hund- 
1,  and  very 
cavcnworth 
?hod  at  that 
oned.  The 
he  city  wa3 
as  stationed 

more  fully 

it  afforded 
[  hostilities, 
tho  fame  of 
•th,  because 
id  naturally 
of  an  outfit 
bargain  had 
ader  to  the 
ker.  When 
nceived  the 
sippi.  "  Go 
y,  "  go  west 
.  advice  was 


tcndi'rc(I  to  tlio  red  men  by  tlio  (government ;   and   llioy  camo 
west,  tribe  after  tribe,  until  about  tlio  year  ISoO,  tho  last  tribe  had 
crossed  tho  MissisHippi,  and  tho  wostorn  country  v.as  literally  antl 
entiioly  in  tlic  hands  of  tlit;  Indians,  ho  eoinpletoly,  that  no  whito 
man  cuuld  make  his  Ikmuo  in  Kansas  without  tlio  eunsent  of  tho 
tribe  or  tribes  upon  whoso  possessions  ho  was  held  to  bo  intrud- 
ing.    Tho  whito  population  was  to  increase  and   multiply  within 
tlie  states;  the  territory  was  to  be  for  the  Indian,  his  heirs  and 
a.'signs,  forever.      "  Man  proposes  but  God  disposes,"  is  the  terse 
pn.vorb  of  the  French,  and  tho  outeome  of  that  intention  illus- 
trates the  fiict.    Nobody  supposed  that  the  Kocky  mountains  would 
bo  crossed  by  hundreds  of  thousands  of  men  and  women  within 
a  few  years,  when  the  first  train  of  emigrants  were  led  toward 
Oregon  by  that  route  in  tho  year  18-1-1.      The  following  year  saw 
the  Mormons  a.sseinbling  near  Atchison  to  commence  their  pil- 
grimage across  the  plains.      They  were  a  prudent  people,  and 
moderately  veil   goneraled.      Atchison  was   the    rallying  point 
for  all  their  stragglers  for  many  years  after  this  date.     Some  of 
their  party,  compelled  to  leave  Nauvoo  on  any  term.s  had  been 
loreed  to  winter  in  Iowa,  facing  an  inclement  season  with  hardly 
any  provision  against  its  trials  and  privations,  forced  to  scrape 
bark  from  trees  to  make  bread,  and  su.ffering  terribly  in  conse- 
quence, many  dying  in  agony  as  the  result;  but  all  that  lived 
wore  under  orders  to  come  on  to  this  point  as  the  rallying  spot 
beft)re  the  final  start  was  to  bo  made.     Salt  Lake  was  to  make 
amends  for  all  cares  and  sorrows.     Tho  streams  flowing  from  tho 
Wahsatch  to  water  a  paradise  of  orchards  and  shade  trees  would 
soon  wash  out  all  signs  of  grief,  when  the  faithful  could  comfort 
each  other,  and  no  Gentiles  would  be  at  hand  to  cause  them  pain. 
The  farm  which  was  established  hero  as  the  rendezvous  of  tho 
saints  is  known  as  Mormon  Farm  still,  and  the  house  which  they 
builded  long  remained  to  prove  that  they  understood  that  kind  of 
business  at°any  rate.     They  had  not  a  great  deal  of  money,  for 
•whenever  they  had  left  a  temporary  settlement,  on  their  way  to 
this   spot,  they  had  been  forced  to  leave  their  improvements, 
.  small  or  great,  for  whatever  price  might  be  offered  by  new 
settlers  who  had  to  rely  on  stout  thews  and  sinews,  rather  than 
on  bank  accounts  and  plethoric  pocket  books,  but  they  honestly 


:* 


^j,:Aill.tUL  1^ 


'1WH^'-H' 


80  Tuttle's  Histoby  of  K^iXSAs. 

(lid  fhcii-  best,  and  it  was  manifest  that   they  meant  to  make 
friends  cvcrj  where  as  their  passport  to  safety  and  to  empire.      _ 
^I'he  year  ISiy  saw  an  immense  gathering  of  troops  at  this 
point,  and  the  commissariat  destined  for  Mexico  was  concentrated 
here  en  route,  and  when  the  celebrated  march  to  Santa  ]  e  was 
xmdcrtaken  by  Gen.  Kearney,  the  plains  of  Kansas  were  the  first 
to  welcome  the  tramp  of  his  soldiery  and  the  music  which  her- 
alded the  way  to  battle.     Kansas  was  now  the  highway  of  the 
nation.     Across  its  prairies  marched  the  troops  that  were  to  win 
honor  in  a  war  which  had  been  commenced  in  a  manner  by  no 
means  creditable  to  our  chief  executive,  but  the  men  who  fought 
and  the  ofTicers  who  commanded  were  not  responsible  for  any- 
thincr  beyond  the  duty  which  they  accomplished,  like  the  heroes 
the/undoubtcdly  were.     Along  this  highway  came,  when  that 
war  had  ended,  the  army  of  gold  miners,  the  bones  of  thousands 
of  whom  were  to  whiten  the  plains  across  which  they  traveled  in 
search  of  wealth.     It  laS  been  estimated  that  ninety  thousand 
pensons  passed  through  or  skirted  Kansas  in  the  two  years,  18i9- 
50  on  their  way  to  the  l^acific  slope,  mostly  stopping  by  the  way 
at  Leavenworth,  St.  Joseph  or  Kansas  City,  to  make  up  parties 
sufficiently  strong  to  defy  the  assaults  of  the  Indians  on  the  way. 
Re-iments  and  armies  miles  long  would  organi;2e  and  start  out 
upon  that  tremendous  pilgrimage.     We,  who  have  only  gone  over 
the  ground  by  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  in  Pullman's  palace 
cars°may  think  that  we  know  something  of  the  discomforts  of 
the  journey,  but  we  cannot  imagine  even  the  beginning  of  their 
hardships     The  journey  which   cost  them  a  week  of  toil  wc 
passed  over  in  luxury  in  less  than  half  a  day,  without  watching 
for  the  stealthv  advance  of  the  Indian,  or  having  to  spend  hours 
in  recovering"  cattle  which  had  strayed,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
meals  which  we  were  able  to  secure  in  luxury  at  Cheyenne  and 
Laramie,  at  Ogden  and  elsewhere  as  a  set  off  to  the  destmy  under 
which  they  were  toiling  along,  bearing  a  burden  of  necessaries 
which  they  were  hourly  tempted  to  throw  away  on  the  track,  as 
thousands  had  done  before  them,  because  of  the  absolute  despair 
and  indifference  which  overpowers  manhood,  m  the  realization  of 
deep  physical  fatigue,  intensified  by  mental  exhaustion.     The 
Mormons,  men,  women  and  children,  who  had  gone  over  that 


to  make 
ipirc. 
)s  at  this 
icentraiod 
ta  ]  e  was 
e  the  first 
vlnch  her- 
'ay  of  the 
3re  to  win 
ner  by  no 
ho  fought 
\  for  any- 
the  heroes 
when  that 
thousands 
traveled  in 
■f  thousand 
;ars,  1849- 
)y  the  way 

up  parties 
n  the  way. 
id  start  out 
^  gone  over 
in's  palace 
comforts  of 
ng  of  their 

of  toil  we 
it  watching 
;pend  hours 
ling  of  the 
eyenne  and 
;stiny  under 

necessaries 
;he  track,  as 
lute  despair 
salization  of 
istion.  The 
e  over  that 


Early  IIistory. 


81 


..round  before  this  army  of  gold  miners,  yoked  to  handcarts  and 
Tn  manv  other  ways  full  of  toil,  facing  the  desert,  as  the  plams 
were  called,  had  endured  more  privations  than  fell  to  the  lot  oi 
ilie  hardy  trooi),  whose  course  we  are  now  observing,  ana  the 
wonder  increases  as  we  consider  the  facts  of  their  journey,  that 
they  should  have  lived  through  it.     Nothing  but  faith,  or  fanati- 
cism, its  most  effective  substitute,  could  have  sustained  them  ; 
as  hun-ry,  ragged,  footsore  and  weary  beyond  the  power  of  words 
to  telC  thcv  came   one   winter   into   the   mountains   and    were 
"  snowed  in'"  without  food  sufficient  to  sustain  life,  if  they  dared 
attempt  the  herculean  task  of  moving  the  heavily  packed  banks 
of  obstruction,  which  snow  plows  and  extra  engines  are  often 
unable  to  overcome  for  days  at  a  time,  on  well  made  iron  roads, 
with  all  the  advantages  of  snow  sheds  into  the  bargain.     They 
would  have  been  possessed  of  sufficient  food,  but  incompetent 
leaders,  who  had  lingered  too  long  by  the  way,  had  encouraged 
if  they  had  not  induced  them  to  leave  food  and  other  essentials 
behind,  taking  only  as  little  as  could  be  made  to  serve  their  pur- 
pose, on  a  forced  march  across  the  salt  plains,  if  they  were  able 
to  proceed  without  a  halt;  and  now  they  were  "  snowed  in,    the 
bleak  canons  towering  above  them  snow-laden,  the  ground  cov- 
ered deep,  so  that  they  could  neither  move  over  the  obstruction 
nor  through  it,  even  though  they  should  abandon  all  their  bag- 
gage    The  prospect  of  leaving  their  bones  in  the  wilderness  had 
not  been  so  cheerless  and  terrible,  as  this  realization  of  death 
^vith  the  fleecy  robe  of  winter  for  a  winding  sheet,  and  strong 
men    more  readily  than  maidens,  sat  down  and  wept.     In  the 
very  acrony  of  their  despair  relief  reached  them.     Brigham  Young 
and  his  council  in  Salt  Lake  city,  knowing  that  the  train  of  erai- 
crrants  were  on  the  way,  had  hourly  looked  for  their  arrival,  and 
when  days  and  weeks  beyond  the  proper  season  of  travel  had 
passed,  and  still  they  came  not,  every  available  man  and  horse  m 
.  the  settlement  was  despatched  with  food  on  numberless  wagons, 
and  with  tools  to  quarry  a  way  through  the  snow,  if  the  sufferers 
could  not  otherwise  be  reached.     It  seemed  a  crowning  mercy, 
.  when  the  voices  of  friends  came  through  the  freezing  air  to  their 
ears  as  they  were  mourning  their  desolation,  and  their  impotence 
suddenly  became  strength.     Beyond  the  snow  there  were  shelter, 
6 


KM! 


t 


g2  Tuttle's  History  of  Kaxsjs. 

und  .-agons  and  food,  and  better  than  all,  loving  friends     They 
IZ  the  snow  with  their  hands,  throwing  it  to    he  side  of  the 
t      k      They  traniplcd  it  unde^-  their  feet  until  .t  became  sohd 
r^^blo  •  then-  shouted  songs  of  joy,  and  they  embraced  each  otha 
r  he  r'deli.-iun,  as  they  heard  the  cries  of  the.r  dehvere  s  even 

t  "e.  The  sceL,  when  they  conld  ^-c  ^  ^  ^^^^^ 
force  hand  to  hand,  face  to  face,  beggars  words.  The  shame  loi 
hum.  Hy  s  overpowering,  when  we  remember  that  the  men  who 
ir^cd  in'that  eirgency,  and  many  of  t^^— ;^;j-;rt 
in  tint  hour  from  death,  were  partunpants,  a  few  ^ears  late  ,  m 

heMlunTin  Meadow  n.assaere,  when  more  than  one  hundred 
u  armed   men,  won.en   and   children    were    treacherously   sho 

d         Idb-^^-^  ^<>  '^^''^  ^"  ^"^^^  blood,  when  they  had  come 

oZ  the  plains  to  Utah,  on  their  way  to  the,r  chosen  home  m  Cal- 

'''S!e  wa.on  route  was  a  lively  scene  in  the  early  days  of  the 
.oW  fever-     Every  "  prairie  schooner"  would  start  for  the  near- 
?s   no  n   f  r  its  loading  at  St.  Joseph,  Kansas  C.ty  or  Leaven^ 
;  ^h  and  having  be^n  freighted,  would  return  tojts  alloUed 
lampin.^  ground  to  abide  the  directions  of  the  commandei.     Tl  e 
po7    lis  us  that,   "Order  is  heaven's  first  law,"  and  rn  a  ruue 
rouc'h  way,  ther    was  order  and  discipline  in  that  eurs.ng,  howl- 
nfcamTThe  roar  of  the  vast  multitude  filled  the  an-,  every 
i Takin.  readv  for  the  cry  which  would  start  them  on    heu- 
.    "  urs^Th:  last  straggler  is  in  his  place,  the  number  .s  comp  ete 
th    l^der  is  on  horseback,  the  prudent  dnvers  are  m  then-  places 
t  word  is  passed  through  the  throng  and  they  are  moving  but 
o  v^st  IS  the  turmoil  in  that  crowd,  that  considoraoly  mo,^  than 
Inl^u    0  n^se.  from  that  time  before  the  monster  of  traffic  has 
iXi      df  and  the  last  wagon  has  got  upon  the  track    Mules 
TelK^ses,  men,  are  on  the  march.     The  schooners  of  the  pra. 
ric  I'u' e  wac^ons    overed  with  double  canvass,  broad  wliee.ed  tu 
";ic  ;;■  ^  e  bng  easier  over  the  sandy  waste,  drawn  by  five  span 
of      n  es  to  on^h  load,  or  six  yoke  of  oxen,  move  le.sare ly  along 
.      d  I  cc  of  about  ;mrty-five  yards  from  each  other,  to  avoid 
Ik    g  n  each  other's  dust,  and  the  m.sic  of  then-  advance  caa 
t til  on  the  otherwise  still  air  many  miles  ahead.     Some  of 
the  d     d     ort  of  gold  miners  have  brought  along  fancy  wagon. 


L..7  iiiiliii<'iii1iriHlr-~'-'" 


as.     They 
lide  of  the 
Tie  solid  as 
each  otlier 
^ere.a  even 
3  relieving 
!  shame  iov 
c  men  who 
ere  rescued 
irs  later,  in 
le  hundred 
•ously   shot 
y  had  come 
ome  in  Cal- 

days  of  the 
or  the  near- 
er Leaven- 
)  its  allotted 
ander.     Tlie 
d  in  a  rude 
arsing,  howl- 
he  air,  every 
lem  on  their 
'  is  complete, 
1  their  places, 
moving,  but 
ly  more  than 
of  traffic  has 
track.  Mules 
s  of  the  prai- 
d  wheeled  to 
I  by  five  span 
;isurely  along 
then  to  avoid 
r  advance  can 
■ad.     Some  of 
fancy  wagons 


TERBITOIilAL  IIisTonr. 


83 


and  light  carriages  which  will  hardly  endure  the  pull  over  the 
salt  bush  plains,  and  it  is  easy  to  see  that  when  the  mountains  are 
reached  they  will  not  be  worth  the  trouble  of   further  hauling. 
Tlieir  dandy  manners  disappear  even  before  their  vehicles,  and  they 
are  not  bad  fellows  at  all  in  spite  of  their  crotchets,  so  that  when 
theca'  iping  ground  is  reached  and  the  wagon  master  halts  the  train, 
there  is  joy  and  contentment  among  the  motley  components  of  that 
singular  gathering.     But  they  have  got  beyond  our  territory  on 
their  journey  and  our  concern  is  for  Kansas  only,  so  we  bid  them 
good  bye  as  they  disappear,  sinldng  below  the  horizon  of  the 
plains,  convinced  that  while  they  keep  together  with  their  staff  of 
cooks,  drivers   and  extra  hands,  added  to  the   pluck,  enterprise 
and  appetite  of  the  throng  of  adventurers,  no  savage  will  dare 
molest  them,  nor  hunger  long  invade  the  sacred  cpigastria  which 
they  bear  onward  to  the  gold  begemmed  mountains  in  which 
some  few  will  find  wealth  beyond  the  dreams  of  avarice,  and  not 
a  few  a  sensation  of  rheumatic  pain  that  will  be  thei)- chief  residu- 
um from  the  gold  fever. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

TERRITORIAL  HISTORY. 

The    Nebraska-Kansas    Bill  —  Pro-Slavery    Manipulation  —  Gold     Miners 
Seeing  the    Land— Tlie  Missouri  Compromise  — Missouri  Customs  — 
Mean    Wliites  —  AriBtocrats— -Lukewaim    People  — Gen.    Atchison  — 
Slavery  in  Kansas  —  The  Irrepressible  Conflict. 

We  have  seen  that  Kansas  territory  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
Indians,  and  that  white  settlers  would  be  intruders  there  unless 
the  native  tribes,  on  whose  lands  they  might  sit  down,  were  con- 
senting parties.  That  was  the  condition  of  affairs  when  the  Ne- 
braska-Kansas act  became  law.  There  was  a  purpose  underlying 
the  action  of  the  proslavery  party,  and  it  was  not  difficult  to  see 
at  what  they  were  aiming  by  such  measures.  The  Missouri  com- 
promise was,  in  principle,  a  limitation  upon  the  power  of  the 
slave  states  to  increase,  but  the  party,  which  should  have  been 


I 


'a!iii»a!tUiJaiiiyAi8iW>i«a;Mwy^ 


F.^^.»ll■lu'ly|■■M:'..■'^W']''J'-■^^"-- 


HIM,J)II_III_!UIJ'.I 


u 


Tvttle's  History  of  Kaxsas. 


bound  by  the  spirit  of  tl.at  arrangement,  was  ab-eady  seeking  to 
abrogate  even  its  letter,  illustrating  for  the  millionth  tune  in  his- 

°  ^  "  Vaulting  amljitiori,  wliicli  o'er  leaps  itsello, 

And  fulls  o'  the  otlier  side." 

Kansas  was  to  be  hermetically  sealed  against  white  settlement, 
unless  the  black  stain  of  slavery  could  be  incorporated  into  the 
act  of  colonization,  and  to  that  end  all  legislation  on  the  side  of 
the  oligarchy,  and  the  social  manipulation  which  they  could  more 
certainly  control,  tended.     Slavery  would  extend  its  borders  by 
all  means.     The  free  states  should  be  "  eribb'd,  cabin'd  and  con- 
fined "  in  perpetuity.     The  press  said  the  country  was  a  desert, 
in   which  wild  cattle  and  Indians  could  barely  exist,  and  there- 
fore there  was  no  opening  in  such  a  territory  for  farms,  towns  and 
cities,  such  as  might  flourish  in  free  states  elsewhere.     The  maps 
were  just  as  emphatic   in  describing  ihe  country  as  valueless. 
Political  parties  wer».  practically,  the  democrats,  who  went  in  for 
slavery  everywhere  and  always,  as  a  peculiar  institution,  heaven 
appointed  for  dark  complexioned  people;  and  the  whigs,  who 
were  afraid  to  express  an  opinion  of  any  kind  on  a  question  so 
debatable.     Polonius,  uncertain  whether  the  cloud  looked  like  a 
whale  or  like  a  weasel,  was  just  their  type  in  that  era  of  whig  de- 
velopment.    The  men  who  formed  the  free  soi^  party  were  alone 
consistent,  but  they  were  as  yet  only  a  handful  in  the  commu- 
rity  and  the  mere  outcry  against  "abolition,"  served  for  a  long 
time  to  answer  all  their  arguments  outside  of  the  state  of  Massa- 
>,husetts     Still  it  was  doubtful  whether  the  tone  of  public  opinion, 
,  uich  could  endure  the  denial  of  the  right  to  memorialize  con- 
gress on  the  subject  of  slavery,  and  which  could  brook  :.  refusal 
on  the   part  of  the  government   to  convey  abolitioui^t  matter 
throucrh  the  post  offices,  might  be  willing  to  allow  the  area  of  the 
slave  owners  to  be  extended  openly,  so  the  manipulators  borrowed 
the  tactics  of  Richelieu,  and  when  the  lion  skiu  would  not  reach, 
they  eked  it  out  with  the  hide  of  the  fox.     For  fully  one  hundred 
miles  beyond  the  limits  of  Missouri,  the  country  was  made  safe 
against  obtrusive  whitn  settlers  of  uncertain  opinions,  by  grants 
to  the  Indian  tribes,  which  were  guarantied  forever  as  the  homes 
of  the  red  raea.     Traders,  misbionaries  and  Indian  agents  were  the 


-  iti'iiffgiT'irtiin ■■^■■^~-- 


T 


■!'  ^.i  11*1  w  ■  II* '  »'i-i^!e^-^f9i^v 


Tkrhitortal  HisToar. 


85 


seeking  to 
ime  in  liis- 


settlement, 
jd  into  the 
,  the  side  of 
could  more 
borders  by 
I'd  and  con- 
;ras  a  desert, 
,  and  there- 
s,  towns  and 

The  maps 

IS  valueless. 

went  in  for 

,tiou,  heaven 

whigs,  who 
1  question  so 
ooked  like  a 
Li  of  whig  de- 
,y  were  alone 

the  commu- 
ted for  a  long 
ate  of  Massa- 
ablic  opinion, 
norialize  con- 
xjok  :•  refusal 
iouiot  matter 
le  area  of  the 
tors  borrowed 
aid  not  reach, 
f  one  hundred 
vas  made  safe 
ons,  by  grants 
•  as  the  homes 
gents  were  the 


only  persons,  except  Indians  and  half  castes  to  whom  the  country 
was  open,  and  they  were  generally  in  the  service  of  the  dominant 
party,  obeying  instructions  which  compelled  them  to  turn  away 
froin  God,  and  to  bow  not  merely  the  knee,  but  body  and  soul  to 
mammon.     Alirisionaries,  agents,  traders  were  owners  of  ^slaves, 
and  they  were  inducing  certain  of  the  chiefs  to  become  proprie- 
tors of  human  chattels,  so  that  slavery  had  become  one  of  the 
institutions  of  Kansas,  in  contravention  of  the  law,  while  the  ter- 
ritory was  yet  closed  against  free  white  settlement     The  elements 
of  growth  were  thus,  so  far  as  adroit  contrivances  could  roll  back 
the°tide  of  time,  made  secure  on  the  side  of  the  proslavery  party. 
We  saw,  in  our  last  chapter,  ninety  thousand  gold  miners  and 
adventurers,  crossing  the  so  called  "  Great  American  Desert,"  and 
these  men  had  among  them  as  good  judges  of  soil  and  position  as 
could  be  found  anywliere  in  the  world.     When  the  men  who 
risked  a  journey  toward  the  Golden  Gate  wrote  back  to  their 
friends  about  the  country  through  which  they  passed,  they  were 
enthusiastic  in  describing  many  parts  of  the  so-called  "Sahara" 
as  a  terrestrial  paradise,  and  in  that  way  one  of  the  barriers  against 
white  settlement  was  broken  down.     Some  of  the  miners  came 
into  tlie  territory  as  settlers  themselves  in  due  time.     The  scheme 
of  aggrandizement,  which  had  been  artfully  prepared,  was  not 
fated  to  win  complete  success,  so  true  it  is  that  the 

"  Best  laid  schemes  of  mice  and  men 
*  Gang  aftagley." 

In  spite  of  all  such  revelations  there  were  very  few  people  in 
the  eastern  states  who  knew  much  concerning  Kansas  in  the  year 
1854  except  that  it  was  somewhere  in  the  region  of  the  setting 
3un,  if  not  indeed  a  trifle  "farther  west."  It  was  now  proposed 
by  one  of  the  representatives  from  Missouri,  in  congress,  that  the 
territory  of  Kansas  should  be  organized  and  settled,  and  about  the 
same  time  that  the  measure  in  cpiestion  was  being  incubated,  it 
was  thought  expedient  to  propose  that  the  Missouri  compromise 
should  be  rep-  xled.  The  language  that  was  then  commonly  used 
among  the  leaders  of  public  opinion  in  Missouri,  concerning  the 
sugge'^tion  that  Kansas  might  come  into  the  union  as  a  free  state, 
betokened  the  most  deplorable  want  of  moral  tone.    Mule  drivers. 


-rmmmmtsmr-s^i^^ 


•ainigl^fWili  (»Jill  Ji !' 


gg  Tuttle's  Histohy  of  Kansas. 

addressing  their  most  obstinate  cattle,  could  hardly  have  excelled 
„  ;:>fanrty  the  phrases  .Inch  were  used  hy  Missouri  o^a^.  m 
addressing  the  mob  on  this  specially  exct.ng  djen.e.     N-then^ 
era  were  called  "nigger  thieves,"  "  vermm  oC  the  '^"  ^^     ;- 
L-thcrn  cattle,"  by  one  of  the  United  States  sen.Uors  for  M.ssou  . 
and  his  words  were  applauded  to  the  echo,     f '^^"f  ^  ^^^ J  f_ 
become  a  slave  state;  that  was  the  und.sgu.sed  resolve  otJUs 
Bouri,  and  Nebraska  was  Kansas  also.     "  Kum.ture,  mul  s  a.^ 
,i..  rs  "  should  continue  the  proi^evties  of  their  possessors  whethr 
thTy  remained  in  Missouri,  or  were  carried  into  the  new  temto.y^ 
.'  Bayonets  and  blood  "  were  invoked  as  a  means  whereby  the  end 
should  be  uccomplished  should  other  means  fad.     The  tune  had 
come  for  the  repeal  of  the  "  Missouri  eomprom.se,    .n  the  mtc,  st 
of  a  brutal  oligarch v,  and  it  was  very  evident  that  the  end  wou  d 
justify  any  m^ans  in  the  then  inflamed  condition  of  M.ssounans. 
Many  allowances  must  be  made  for  the  common  people  who  were 
carried  along  in  the  train  of  such  fiery  and  outrageous   talkers. 
Schools  were  not  only  not  sought  within  the  state,  but  they  were 
rot  allowed,  except  under  .such  restrictions  as  n.ado  them  value- 
less, and  at  least  one  college,  established  in  Iowa,  was  raided  and 
burned  by  the  same  ignorant  rabble,  because  the  instigators  of  the 
outrage  feared  that  education  would  expand  the  muu  s  of  the 
commonaltv,  and  thus  that  the  peculiar  institution  -o".^'^  ^«^"^ 
dan^ered.  \Tust  such  men  as  those  were  they  who  cried  ■    Not 
thTs^man,  but  Barabbas,"  preferring  a  convicted  thief  to  the  Mes- 
siah, and  the  language  of  coinmon  sense  and  sound  reason  were 
hrown  away  upon  them.     Their   passions  inflamed  by  whisky, 
loo  the  only  rules  from  which  no  appeal  could  be  permitted 
The  life  of  any  one  who  would  dare  to  contravene  their  will  and 
^0  their  views  on  their  own  soil,  whether  he  advised  temper- 
ance or  advocated  any  other  system  of  reform,  would  not  be  in- 
Bured  by  any  company  that  meant  to  pay  its  risks  even     hough 
ZULZ  might  be  calculated  to  cover  extra  risks,  and  prop- 
erty was  about  as  safe  there  as  it  might  have  been  if  left  un- 
,  arded  at  the  Five  Points.     Missouri  wa.  "  a,  good  s  ate  to  em  - 
frate  from,"  as  Daniel  Webster  said  of  New  IIampsh:re,  but  it 
dffW  fT  m  the  native  state  of  the  great  lawyer  and  orator  m 
„ect ;  U  was  not  a  good  state  in  which  to  be  born,  if  a  person 


c  excelled 
orators  in 
Northern- 

■th,"  " 

3r  Missouri, 
ska  should 
vo  of  Ilis- 
,  mules  and 
irs,  whether 
w  territor}'. 
rcVjy  the  end 
lie  time  had 
the  interests 
e  end  would 
Missourians. 
pie  who  were 
;ous    talkers, 
ut  they  were 
!  them  value- 
is  raided  and 
iigators  of  the 
minds  of  the 
would  be  en- 
)  cried,- "Not 
if  to  the  Mes- 
1  reason  were 
1  by  whisky, 
be  permitted, 
heir  will  and 
vised  temper- 
Id  not  be  in- 
even   thougb 
ks,  and  prop- 
en  if  left  un- 
[  state  to  emi- 
psh-re,  but  it 
md  orator  in 
rn,  if  a  person 


'<m^ 


TKiiuiroiiiAL  lIisroitY.  m 

could  be  allowed  to  have  a  choice  in  that  particular.  "  I"'latt.cry," 
eaith  Siiakspere,  "  is  an  oil  will  s(jften  tlie  toughest  fool,"  and  that 
maxim  was  acted  upon  by  the  demagogues  who  roused  the  feel- 
ings and  inflamed  the  arrogance  of  the  crowd  in  Missouri  at  the 
time  named.  There  has  been  a  great  change  cfTcctcd  since  that 
era,  and  Missouri  audiences  are  critical  enough  now  as  to  the  matter 
that  is  placed  before  them.  The  baptism  of  lire  and  blood  has 
called  a  new  H])irit  into  existence  ;  but  the  people  still  sulfer  by 
comparison  with  the  populations  in  many  states,  because  schools 
were  so  slowly  permitted  to  diffuse  their  ameliorating  influences 
over  popular  maimer.s.  Tiiere  are  two  ways  in  wliicli  the  popu- 
lace may  bo  improved.  First,  and  best,  by  public  schoolsi  where 
all  classes  may  advance  in  common  toward  the  domains  of  learn- 
ing, science  and  literature ;  and  next,  where  the  school  caimot  be 
brought  directly  to  bear  on  the  class  whose  amelioration  is  sought, 
the  rellex  action  of  good  training  may  do  something.  Had  the 
Mifisourian  gentleman  of  that  day  been  the  chivalrous  personage 
lie  was  assumed  to  be,  his  power  over  the  people  would  have  been 
beneficial,  because  he  would  have  helped  materially  to  create  a 
better  public  opinion.  Neither  of  those  powers  have  come  into 
operation  until  within  the  last  few  years.  The  school  fund  was 
large  enough,  but  it  was  unused,  and  the  language  quoted  from  a 
Missouri  senator  represented,  not  the  drunken  ravings  of  some 
unimportant  personage,  the  accident  of  an  hour,  but  the  deliberate 
utterances  of  a  man  who  served  in  many  odices,  as  major  general 
of  militia,  as  circuit  judge,  as  representative,  and  as  United  States 
senator,  a  candidate,  moreover,  for  the  presidency  of  the  United 
States,  Gen.  Atchison,  who  laid  the  foundati  )n  for  a  much  better 
career  by  graduating  in  Transylvania  university.  The  men  of 
education  in  Missouri  were  obliged  to  pander  to  the  mob  or  keep 
silent,  so  terrible  was  the  menace  under  which  life  and  property 
were  held  in  a  slave  state  such  as  we  are  describing.  The 
rich  Missourians  were  impelled  by  self  interest,  the  law  of  self 
preservation,  to  uphold  slavery,  and  they  were  wise  enough  ta 
know  that  a  law  of  nature  will  not  allow  stagnation  to  coexist 
with  vigorous  life.  Their  policy  must  advance  or  fall,  and  they 
were  determined  it  should  go  forward.  The  glove  of  silk,  which 
covered  their  bauds  occasionally  when  they  touched  affairs  of 


-UliiHW'HiliT"  ['"[-"^[•"•""•■'"■•"-"nTtiTi""'  iiiBiiinr'rvntfwWI 


W^  J I  nil  ■|ill]H"fl 


58  Tuttle's  HisTOKr  of  7v.i.y.s.i5. 

statooraft,  concenlcnl  a  grasp  o[  Btoel  which  couhl  hardly  ho  shaken 
ofE  whiU;  lift!  rotnaii.ca.  Such  men  arc  incxomblo.  iho  poorer 
cla«4  of  wliitcs  in  Missouri  were  obsequious  to  their  wealthy  nei-h- 
hors  to  an  extent  which  it  isdiOicult  for  Americans  to  undcrstancl. 
They  had  learned  to  a  degree,  happily  uncommon  in  this  newest 
and  best  fruit  of  civilization,  — 

"To  bow  the  im'},'nant  hinges  of  the  knco  ^ 

Where  thrill  miglit  follow  fawnius." 

Icrnoranco  was  the  least  of  their  many  vices,  but  it  increased 
them  all,  and  they  were  accustomed  to  be  spoken  to,  and  of,  as 
"aovcrei-ns"    whose  will  must  needs  be  law.     Their  flatterers 
v,crc  not°in  the  habit  of  telling  them  how  many  millions  of  -'sov- 
erei^iis"  the  United  States  contained;  therefore  they  had  con- 
cluded that  liberty  of  conscience  and  of  mental  power  meant  the 
ri-ht  on  their  parts  "to  think  as  they  pleased,  and  to  compel 
everybody  else  to  think  the  same."     The  fact  of  the  people  being 
"sovereicrn"  must  be  a  claim  for  wider  culture  and  more  exten- 
sive knowledge.     The  poor  unlettered  peasant  in  Europe,  but 
fewdecn-ees  above  the  recently  liberated  Russian  serf,  and  very 
little  i3,ovethe  Vveu.\^  sans  cu^ntte  at  1789,  might  remain  mhis 
besotted  darkness  without  immediately  affecting  the  despotism 
under  which  he  lives,  because  his  voice  counts  for  nothing  in  the 
aflairs  of  a  nation,  and  he  has  no  vote  to  cast.     Very  different  i» 
the  state  of  affairs  in  this  country;  the  lad  whose  brain  is  now 
being  prepared  for  the  active  business  of  life,  in  grammar  school 
high  school  and  university,  is  not  only  a  fragment  of  the  universal 
soverei-ntv  himself,  but  he  learns  that  every  other  member  of 
societyls  coordinate  with  him,  and  able  in  an  electoral  sense - 
the  least  informed  of  the  whole  race  on  this  continent,  as  well  a3 
the  wisest-to  neutralize  or  overrule  the  decision,  at  which  ha 
arrives      -  Nohksse  ohUge''  is  the  fine  old  French  maxim,  which 
for  manv  centuries  modified  human  action  among  the  most  pow- 
erful m;n  in  that  country,  when  the  government  was  aptly  de- 
scribed as  "a  despotism  tempered  by  epigrams;      but  in  thiH 
nation  the  nobility  which  should  control  every  human  being  be- 
longs ;ot  to  a  special  class  in  the  community,  but  it  idiei^s  in 
the  body  politic,  and  the  civilization  and  enlightenment  of  our 


TERlilTOniAL  IflSTOllY. 


89 


y  1)0  sliakcn 
Tlio  poorer 
iiltliy  neigh- 
undcrHtiuul. 
this  newest 


it  increased 
o,  and  of,  as 
uir  flatterers 
ons  of  "  sov- 
cy  li'itl  Con- 
or meant  the 
(1  to  compel 
people  being 

more  cxten- 

Europe,  but 
icrf,  and  very 
remain  in  liis 
he  despotism 
lothing  in  the 
ry  different  is 

brain  is  now 
immar  school, 
'  the  universal 
cr  metnber  of 
itoral  sense  — 
ent,  as  well  as 
,  at  which  he 
maxim,  which 
the  most  pow- 

was  aptly  de- 
"  but  in  this 
man  being  be- 
t  it  inheres  in 
enment  of  our 


covorning  fa.nily  docs  not  embrace  only  the  cuUns  ot  the  wisest, 
?he  spirit  of  the  best,  but  it  is,  and  must  be  the  resultant  from 
the  ignora,>ee  and  passion  of  the  basest  soul,  eolhdmg  w.th  the 
macmanimity  of  the  noblest.     That  knowledge  makes  h.m  h.s 
.'brother's  keeper,"  ai>d  in  proportion  to  his  love  for  the  country 
of  his  birth  will  be  his  zeal  and  prudent  effort  to  make  the  collec- 
tive sovereign,  the  whole  people,  worthy  of  the  great  destmy  to 
which  they  are  culled.     He  cannot  ovor,H)wer  the  hydra  headed 
fellow  sovereign  and  hold  it  down,  he  n  ast  instruct,  and  inform, 
and  train  to  the  fullest  realization  of   .•csponsib.lit..s,  as  well  as 
itnportance,  the  man  with  and  by  whom  he  is  to  work  for    ho 
best  aims  of  hu.nanity.     In  Missouri,  during  the  "  i.repvess.ble 
conflict,"  the  best  men  were  compelled  to  remain  silent  spectators 
of  «reat  wrongs,  which  they  were  powerless  to  assuage,  for  many 
years  but  "  verily  they  had  their  reward."     Many  men  from  the 
east  and  north  were  among  the  noisiest  and  most  obstreperous 
demagogues  for  a  time,  just  such  creatures  as  the  mere  camp  fol- 
lower may  easily  become,  but  their  hearts  were  repelled  from  the 
"institution  "  which  they  had  not  been  taught  to  consider  sacred, 
and  when  the  time  came  they  fell  away  from  the  ranks  winch 
thcv  had  only  increased  in  clamor  and  numbers,  not  in  actual  and 
enduring  strength.     The  worst  class  of  all  was  that  which  had 
"defiled  the  ark  of  the  covenant,"  the  men  vowed  to  the  service 
of  the  eternal,  who  had  gone  back  upon  humanity,  refusing 
justice  to  God's  creatures,  turning  away  from  men  and  women,  as 
thouMi  they  could  be  less  than  "  the  least  of  these  my  little  ones, 
and  denouncing,  in  the  language  of  intolerance  an(l  hate,  all  those 
who  presumed  to  say  that  slavery  was  other  than  the  Divme  will, 
findin-  justification  for  their  fanatical  rage  in  the  stringing  to- 
setherof  texts,  irrelevant  to  the  circumstances  in  which  they  and 
their  times  were  placed.     Such  men  gave  the  sanctions  of  religioa 
to  the  wrong  cause,  and  the  spirit  in  which  too  many  of  them 
them  read  their  scrip  .ral  i^ssons,  reminded  one  of 

"  The  selfish  sensual  crew, 
To  carnage  and  th6  koran  given, 
"WIio  think  through  unbelievers'  blood, 
Lies  the  directest  course  to  heaven." 
The  preacher  of  average  abilities  who  was  so  placed  between 


i»iiiw»<'iii''iiiiiii"  "'" — " ''"'"" 


.1  .iiigwr^ 


QQ  Tutti.e's  IIisTonr  OF  Kas'sas. 

two  r.ros,  that  he  must  \,c  untrue  to  his  couHoiencc  or  flml  himself 
Z.n.  ;c<>,.g.,.,tion,may  have  our  sympathy  but  he  c^no 
.hare  our  achmn-.i.n,  if  he  ehose  "  the  llesh  pot.  of  Egyp  ,    mtu  r 
thua  the  higher  law  ;   and  iheic  were  thousands  of  such  men   n 
the  south,  who,  with  a  quaking  of  Ounr  own  hearts,  we.-o   am    o 
n.ake  a  louder  outcry  than  their  neighbors  lest  they  should     em 
to  be  utterin.^  "an  uncertain  sound  "  on  the  dread  isiue  of  their 
generate.      The  very  few  that  were  futhful  found  themselves    , 
turrounded  by  a  menacing  public,  living  under  censure,  secre   y 
applauded  by  a  minority  that  dared  no.  speak,  and  almost  da^^ly 
r  cipicnts  of  some  brutal  message,  which  kept  before  then  o>es 
the  poHsibUity  of  outrage,  perhaps  murder,  from  the  rude  loafer 
class  of  the  population,  who  were  anxious  to  please  the  mo,o 
wealthy  and  refined  of  their  side,  by  doing  deeds  winch  no  good 
man  eould  approve.     The  preacher  so  placed  had  "o  opt.on  bu 
to  leave  the  state.     His  mute  protest  was  practically  without 
avail      His  cliureh  almost  always  had  deserted  him,  and  an  at- 
tempt to  exercise  his  vocation  in  the  streets  might  have  procured 
S  coat  of  tar  and  featlier.s,  but  could  nardly  mich  the  hearts 
of  the  slave  tinctured  populace,  with  whom  it  wa.s  in  vain  he  tried 

'"^  Manfof  the  slave  owning  aristocracy  must  have  dissented  frorn 
the  course  which  the  rabble  pursued,  but  they  were  outnumbered 
by  the  crowd  of  wealthy  men,  inferior  in  mental  endowments 
7hose  riches  depended  almost  entirely  upon  the  --"^-^^^  °^ 
Ivery  and  who  possessed  enough  sagacity  to  be  a.vare  that  an- 
an  a  ways  increasing  area  could  be  obtained  i-  -^  ^^^^J^ 
off  the  slave,  their  raw  material  and  manufactured  article,  the 
basis  of  tbei;  eminence  must  crumble  away  beneath  their  feet 
Such  men  knew,  long  before  Mr.  Lincoln  uttered  the  truism,  tha 
slavery  must  subjugate  the  whole  union,  or  must  be  subjugated 
bv  it    and  they  were  resolved  to  keep  their  side  uppermost, 
"'co    ;  ^hat  eom'e  might,"  hence  the  blatant  talk  about  "  northern 
cttle"  whose  demands  were  to  be  answered  by  'bayonets  and 
bod,"  before  the  new  territory  should  be  adm  tted  to  the  umou 
a    a    ree  state.     Such  were  the  unpromising  elements  of  wnich 
Lety  was  composed  in  Missouri,  and  the  press  was  tA.e  onb^ 
;oweTxLainins'in  the  absence  of  schools  and  church.     The 


iKlllllll  ll!jlf»i 


Tkhhiivuim.  llisroiir 


\)l 


find  himself 
I  ho  cfxnnot 
rypt,"  nit.uer 
such  men  in 
we'o  fain  to 
should  seem 
siuo  of  their 
I  thcinrtclves 
sure,  secretly 
ahnost  daily 
ire  their  eyes 
0  rude  loafer 
ISC  tlie  more 
hi  eh  no  good 
lo  option  but 
Lially  without 
Ti,  and  an  at- 
lavo  procured 
ich  the  hearts 
.  vain  he  tried 

Hsscnted  from 
;  outnumbered 

endowments, 
maintenance  of 
ivvare  that  un- 
which  to  trade 
ed  article,  the 
ith  their  feet 
he  truism,  that 
be  subjugated 
le  uppermost, 
lOut  "  northern 
"bayonets  and 
;d  to  the  union 
aents  of  which 
i  was  the  only 

church.    The 


power  ot  the   newspaper  prcSH  ns  a  ref.,rnun-  agency  .s  vastly 
overrate.1.     The  advertising  sheet  liv.s  only  by  its  aeeeptanco 
anx.ng  the  public,  conse.p.ently  it  ..uu.ot  alb.rd  to  run  counter 
to  pubUe  prejudices  on  any  of  the  great  cpiestions  o    the  day,  uu- 
less  son>c  party  strong  enough  "  to  run  the  .naclnne     assun.es  t  .0 
responsibililv  of  maintaining  the  paper.     Suppose  the  propr.c  or 
ricl>  enougli'lo  dare  public  opinion  in  that  respect,  and  to  utter 
his  thought,  what  could  he  hope  to  accomplish  if  no  .nan  read  his  . 
fulnunations?     In  Missouri,  at  that  time,  he  woul    not  have  had 
to  complain    of    in.liilerence,    for   his   olUcc  would     lave    been 
wrecked,  his  h.,use  burned,  and  he  would  have  been     ";1'1^"  «" 
»rar  -  a.-ross  the  borders.     Ncwsi.ai,ers  are  very  much  like  otuer 
b-        .-<s  ventures,  and  although  some  few  odices  arc  strong  enougH 
to  utter  the  voice  of  conscience  irrespective  of  popular  clamor 
the  great  majority  would  and  must  cry  with  the  crowd,     not   ha 
man  but  liarabbas,"  rather  than  see  a  subscription  lis   d.^'loted, 
the  advertising  columns  empty,  and  the  compositors  feeding  oa 
their  own  pi.     Many  of  the  directors  of  the  press  in  Missouri  were 
not  bad  men,  but  their  views  had  been  shaped  for  them  m  the 
growth  of  a  depraved  sentiment,  in  which  they  had  been  con- 
Lived,  nurtured  and  developed,  and  it  needed  the  strength  of  a 
giant  to  tower  above  such  surroundings.     They  were  chivalrous 
Fellows  many  ot  them,  but  they  were,  unfortunately  for  them- 
selves, and  for  society,  enrolled  under  the  wrong  banner,  hemmed 
"by  circumstances,  and  going  with  the  "  multitude  to  do  evil 
without  malice  prepense  in  their  own  natures,   illustrating   the 
maxim  of  Hood,  that 

"  Evil  is  wrought  by  want  of  thought, 
\8  well  as  want  of  heart." 

Hence  the  popular  sentiment  in  Missouri  was  entirely  on  the  side 
of  the  slave  power.  Gen.  Atchison,  whose  influence  for  many 
years  was  all  powerful  in  that  state,  while  the  Missouri  comprom- 
ise  repeal  was  being  agitated,  was  a  violent  demagogue.  He  is 
older,  and  may  be  wiser,  at  any  rate  he  has  the  discretion  to  be 
silent  now;  but  a  few  words  concerning  him  must  form  part  of 
our  history.  He  was  a  Kentuckian  by  birth  ;  he  became  Missou- 
rian  by  adoption,  having  moved  into  that  state  immediately  after 


II 


It  TuTTufs  Ifisronv  OF  K.ixfiAff. 

quittin-^  tlin  nnivnrsity  in  wliicli  ho  had  grnduati'd.     Lonniiiig  ia 
Bnid  to  soften   inaiinorn,  but  the  young  gmduatc  with  \m  email  it 
marts  hcciuno  itntnt'diiitcly  "no  of  tlu!  most  violent  rcprosontativoa 
of  popular  tliouglit,  or  want  of  tlumglil,  in  tlio  locality  to  which 
ho   had  migrated.     He  was  a  lawyer,  and  ho  had  mastered  his 
brlof,  winning  notoriety,  if  not  fame,  by  liia  inteMiporato  zoal  in  a 
cau8o  which  could  hardly  be  advanced  by  better  m>ri  la.     li-  was 
8ont  to  the  state  legislature  in  I.SIM,  and  again  in  rhe  yrnr  l''<"i3. 
In  the  year  1840,  he  was  defeated,  but  was  soon  afterward  i  made 
n  circuit  judge.     While  in  tho  legislature,  the  young  Kentuekian 
■was  made  iiuijorgcneral  of  a  militia  force,  which  saw  no  service, 
but  which  might  have  been  called  upon  to  act  in  an  Indian  war, 
if  the  war  had  otdy   transpired.     Tho  mle '' general  "  sat  moro 
gracefully  than  his  shoulder  straps,  upon   i-lio  warrior,  and  that 
■vas  tho  only  memento  by  which  the  state  vva^   "vor  reminded  of 
that  time  of  bloodless  strategy,     lie  became  LniU'd  States  yon- 
fttor  in  tho  year  1848,  for  jmrt  of  a'l  une.v})ircd  ti'if.:,  and  contin- 
•ued  to  fdl  the  position  until  1854,  when  ho  was  elt>;led  to  stay  at 
homo.     Popular  sovereignty  was  his  continual  theme  at  the  time 
of  his  defeat,  and  in  proof  of  his  conscientiousness  he  became  for 
eomc  time  one  of  the  most  distinguished  leaders  in  the  disgrace- 
ful proceedings  in  Kansas  which  were  to  have  made  the  rifle  the 
means  of  determining  the  question,  not  wdiether  slaves  should  be 
owned  in  that  territory,  but  whether  any  free  man  should  be  al- 
lowed to  remain  unless  he  could  be  led  to  tho  ballot  as  the  mere 
retainer  and  liege  man  of  the  slave  owners.     Tho  general  had 
been  one  of  the  loudest  talkers  about  bloodshed  and  the  bayonet, 
as  dcsirablti  alternatives  compared  with  Nebraska  as  a  free  state, 
and  he  strove  to  live  up  to  his  declarations.     Missouri  was  re- 
solved that  Kansas  and  Nebraska  should  extend  the  range  of 
slavery  as  well  as  increase  its  voting  power  in  congress,  and  Gen. 
Atchison  was  with  his  party,  or  rather  ahead  of  his  party,  in  all 
the  worst  demonstrations  of  the  time.     It  was  his  aim  to  be  pres- 
ident of  the  union,  and  the  violence  of  his  demeanor  was  consid- 
ered one  of  the  best  planks   in  his  platform,  so  rampant  was 
democracy  in  that  era,  so  dark  was  the  hour  which  immediately 
preceded  the  dawn.     In  considering  the  further  developments  of 
the  Kansas  difficulty,  we  shall  have  frequent  occasions  to  mention 


T»»w«ag*aa»wiwwit«HtiWiwi»i»»g»"» 


rjoaniiiig  is 
'ith  his  emolUt 
cpresontntives 
iilily  to  which 
tna.stortvl  his 
3 rate  zonl  in  a 

ifu^ycnr  l'^"3. 
:crwai(!  I  rnafle 
g  Keutiurkiaa 
aw  no  service, 
m  Tiidiaii  war, 
•ral "  sat  moro 
I'ior,  and  that 
■r  reminded  o£ 
U'd  States  scn- 
:.:,  and  contin- 
;led  to  stay  at 
nc.  at  the  time 
he  became  for 
n  the  disgrace- 
Ic  the  rifle  the 
ives  should  be 
1  should  be  nl- 
ot  as  the  mere 
B  general  had 
d  the  bayonet, 
as  a  free  state, 
issouri  was  re- 
the  range  of 
;ress,  and  Gen. 
is  party,  in  all 
lim  to  be  pres- 
lor  was  consid- 
I  rampant  was 
h  immediately 
Bvelopments  of 
ons  to  mention 


.~J 


•~\m\f^>l'..  .'!HA--V>*»i''^ 


■m 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


y 


A 


<°  Mi.. 


:/. 


K 


1.0 


I.I 


2.5 


!.8 


11-25  11.4   IIIIII.6 


0>J 


Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


~r-^_:,,,,:  v^ss^ssv.zm.jsmmm^^^mfi^^^is^^fl^^^^'^'^^^^^^ 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductlons  historiques 


*■ 


is^s^^^tt»:. 


*6|*r, ■-*>'"''""!!??  rf>At(fpyT ' 


.,,i;u.i>ff.M  **9-nj'^r'r'  '_«^-'■>ftfli'.^jMfJ*^■#'"'V"*W^"  ■"-■""  * • 


TEKiiiroRiAL  History.  w 

the  general,  and  for  that  reason  it  was  necessary  to  introduce  him 
in  due  form.  His  talents  were  not  brilliant,  but  he  possessed  con- 
siderable powers  of  adaptation,  and  lilsC  Falsta{f\  ho  had  "  a  kind 
of  alacrity  in  sinking  "  to  the  level  of  the  class  which  ho  hoped  to 
make  useful  for  his  advancement.  The  general  will  need  no  fur- 
ther  introduction. 

It  is  not  sought  to  make  it  appear  that  the  Missourians  were    , 
worse  than  other  men  similarly  placed  might  have  become.     The 
great  historian  and  philosopher.  Buckle,  lays  it  down  as  an  axiom 
that  there  never  was  a  class  of  men  possessed  of  irresponsible 
power  which  they  did  not  abuse.    Probably  he  was  correct.    The    , 
party  which  disgraced  itself  in  Kansas,  by  such  scones  as  it  will 
fall  to  our  lot  to  describe,  was  too  well  represented  in  congress  by 
the  chivalrous  gentleman  who  felled  Cliarles  Sumner  to  tlie  floor 
of  the  senate.     "  You  do  not  gather  grapes  from  thorns,"  and  it 
is  proverbially  difficult  to  "  make  a  silk  purse  from  a  sow's  ear." 
The  poison  infused  into  the  early  training  of  the  proslavery  party 
rendered  it  impossible  to  make  them  believe  that  abolitionists 
"had  any  rights  which  they  were  bound  to  respect."     We  have 
seen  what  manner  of  men  formed  the  rank  and  file  of  the  Missou- 
rian  force,  and  the  type  of  character  from  which  their  leaders 
would  be  chosen  has  been  glanced  at.     Sir  Walter  Scott's  cele- 
brated etching  of  Dugald  Dalgetty  might  have  been  made  from 
some  of  the  soldiers  of  fortune  who  hated  nothing  worse  than 
"  those  piping  times  of  peace,"  when  their  peculiar  talents  were 
not  in  demand.     Not  only  Missouri,  but  the  whole  of  the  south, 
was  overrun  by  such  gentlemen  at  large,  who  sat  a  horse  as  though 
Centaur  had  been  realized,  and  who  could  have  tamed  the  steed 
that  bore  Mazeppa  across  the  desert     They  had  courage  for  any- 
thing except  soiling  their  hands  with  hard  work,  and  they  had 
no  convictions  of  any  kind  except  such  as  a  judge  and  jury  mi^ht 
have  helped  to  fasten  upon  them.     They  were  "  free  lances  "  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  and  it  happened  that  the  slave  owners  who 
wanted  their  services  were  the  men  with  whom  they  were  nearest 
in  sympathy,  because  they  also  thought  that  it  was  beneath  the 
dignity  of  a  gentleman  to  work.     There  was  just  so  much  in  com- 
mon between  the  man  and  his  master,  and  when  the  oligarchy  of 
the  south  used  such  tools,  it  is  useless  to  pretend  that  they  were 


I 


iitiiiiiiWi 


miae«iMiB«)*><Ml»' ' 


94 


Tvttle's  JlisTonY  OF  ICiyt^AS. 


in  any  considorable  degree  better  than  tl.cir  acts  prove  them. 
They  inav  in  some  instances  have  said  jnca  culpa,  and  have  turned 
froni  tlie'crror  of  their  ways  since  then,  in  which  case  their  mis- 
deeds mav  and  will  fall  into  oblivion,  but  such  deeds  can  never 
he  justified,  and  they  cannot  honestly  and  fairly  be  glozed  over. 
When  ^rissouri,  by  her  representatives  and  senators,  worked  in 
con-res.  in  the  sessions  of  1851-2,  in  favor  of  organizing  Kansas 
territorv,  there  was  a  foregone  conclusion  in  the  minds  of  all  the 
parties \o  that  movement  tliat  slavery  should  be  engrafted  upon 
the  soil.     True  the  Missouri  compromise  should  have  rendered 
it  imixxssible  for  the  party  to  entertain  such  an  idea ;  it  was  morally 
as  well  as  le-ally  wrong,  a  violation  of  the  letter  as  well  as  of  the 
spirit  of  a  deliberate  undertaking  for  value  received.     The  men 
of  the  south  were  unable  to  see  their  way  to  such  an  act  as  Gen. 
Atchison  proposed  ;  it  did  not  seem  possible  that  it  would  succeed, 
and  for  that  reason  the  bill  was  allowed  to  die,  according  to  the 
forms  of  congress.     The  r-onclusion  arrived  at  by  the  slave  own- 
ers and  their  friends  was,  that  it  would  be  better  to  allow  the  ter- 
ritorv to  remain  in  the  hands  of  the  Indians  than  to  risk  the  pos- 
sibility of  its  becoming  a  rallying  point  for  the  "  free  soders,    and 
events  proved  that  they  were  right  in  their  calculation      The 
scheme  was  not  abandoned,  it  merely  changed  its  form  ;  the  i  ro- 
tean  suggestion  came  now  in  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bdl,  coupled 
with  a  definitive  assertion  that  the  Missouri  compromise  must  be 
repealed,  and  that  the  settlers  in  the  state  at  the  time  of  its  organ- 
ization should  be  the  authority  in  the  exercise  of  sovereign  nghts 
as  a  state,  to  determine  whether  slavery  should  be  one  of  the 
institutions  of  Kansas.     The  language  implied  a  choice  on  the 
part  of  the  people;  the  intention  was  that  the  settlers  should  be 
coerced  into  voting  in  favor  of  slavery,  in  the  event  of  their  sov- 
ereicrn  will  inclining  against  the  peculiar  institution.        My  son 
said°a  thrifty  Scotchman,  "get  money,  honestly  if  you  can  but, 
my  son  aet  money."     That  was  the  idea  also  as  to  additiona   ter- 
ritory fo^the  profitable  working  off  of  slave  stock.     Honestly  or 
dishonestly,  it  mattered  very  little  which,   the  end  was  to  be 
attained,   and  the  cry  about  the  rights  of  sovereign  states,  the 
specious  plea  for  popular  sovereignty,  so  taking  at  the  first  glance, 


li 


f;'i>fiiri|yi!>)i'. 


TKliUlTOIilAL  IIisTonr. 


95 


prove  them. 
\  have  turned 
ase  their  mis- 
3ds  can  never 
;  glozcd  over, 
rs,  worked  in 
lizing  Kansas 
nds  of  all  the 
ngrafted  upon 
lave  rendered 
it  was  morally 
5  well  as  of  tlie 
ed.     The  men 
an  act  as  Gen. 
would  succeed, 
jcording  to  the 
the  slave  own- 
)  allow  the  ter- 
:o  risk  the  pos- 
ee  soilers,"  and 
culation.     The 
form ;  the  Pro- 
a  bill,  coupled 
romise  must  be 
me  of  its  organ- 
sovereign  rights 
be  one  of  the 
I  choice  on  the 
ttlers  should  be 
3nt  of  their  sov- 
)n.     "  My  son," 
f  you  can,  but, 
3  additional  ter- 
k.     Honestly  or 
end  was  to  be 
reign  states,  the 
;  the  first  glance, 


was  like  the  dead  sea  aiiplo,  fair  to  look  upon,  alluring  to  the  eye 
of  the  uninitiated,  but  ashes  and  bitterness  witliin. 

Slavery  was  to  be  the  domestic  curse  in  Kan.sas,  as  already  it 
was  the  curse  in  every  one  of  the  states,  which  vaunted  it  as  a 
blessing,  and  on  that  issue  ar.^se  the  "  Irrepressible  Conflict "  once 
int)re  ;  but  this  time  never  to  be  truly  pacified,  even  for  one  day, 
until  the  north  and  south  had  met  in  a  death  grapple,  and  the  race 
which  had  committed  and  allowed  the  crime,  had  rained  blood  upon 
the  dishonored  soil  of  the  union,  and  had  trampled  out  the  wrong 
—  so  far  as  moral  turpitude  can  be  effaced  —  by  one  of  the  most 
stupendous  efforts  that  the  world  has  ever  seen.  The  ^lissouri 
compromise  was  repealed,  and  in  the  fact  of  that  revocation  it 
was  claimed  that  there  had  been  an  understanding  ;  not  an  argu- 
ment in  so  many  words,  but  a  tacit  arrangement  to  the  efTcct  that 
Kansas  would  be  permitted  to  assume  slavery  as  one  of  its  condi- 
tions under  the  constitution.  The  settlement  of  the  question  in 
that  way  was,  to  tlie  Missourian  instinct  and  hope,  reasonable, 
natural,  inevitable,  and  on  that  basis  northwestern  Missouri  com- 
mitted itself  to  the  work  of  organization. 

Geographical  limits  determined  the  views  of  men  very  largely 
then  as  now,  and  perhaps  to  a  greater  extent,  because  the  press 
and  its  supporters  were  narrower,  less  cosmopolitan.  When  a 
very  moving  discourse  had  been  preached  in  an  English  village 
in  which  an  able  orator  had  explained  the  necessities  of  the 
poorer  class  of  his  parishioners,  enforcing  their  claims  utjon  the 
sympathy  and  aid  of  their  wealthy  neighbors,  every  eye  was  wet 
with  tears  in  the  vast  auditory,  save  the  optics  of  one  stolid  far- 
mer, who  listened  with  intelligent  interest,  but  exhibited  no  si^ns 
of  emotion.  After  service  had  ended  the  tearless  man  was  asked 
to  explain  his  immobility,  and  the  answer  was  a  perfect  solution 
from  his  standpoint.  He  did  not  belong  to  that  parish !  Mis- 
souri had  rights,  interests  and  sympathies  within  her  own  borders 
enough  to  close  every  aperture  against  the  ideas  prevalent  in  the 
free  states,  and  it  long  remained  a  mystery  that  any  statesman 
should  doubt  the  perfect  right  of  the  slave  owner,  not  only  to 
his  human  chattels  as  long  as  they  remained  in  his  possession, 
but  also  to  their  restoration  to  his  custody,  should  they  escape 


iiliiiiMMMii«iT»ilMiiMMi«l1l\«ririit»ilitliiWli«fSii1li!ltowi«iW^ 


riliirMiiiiiiiljjiiliiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiMMelMiiaWMig 


90  TuTTLifs  History  of  Kaxsas. 

and  be  vecogni.ed  flying  tlwougli  the  states,  where  slavery  bad 
iKU.i.il  V  becMue  repugnant  to  tbo  law.     The  sacred  nghts  of  prop- 
erty in  that  light  outshone  every  other  consideration,  and  the  peo- 
ple bad  become  so  bounded  by  the  sentiment  prevailing  in  this 
Uion,  that  conscience  as  much  as  self  interest  seemed  to  be  their 
.nttive  power.     Wc  must  give  due  weight  to  that  c.rc.;mstunee 
or  else  we  fail  to  render  justice  to  a  large  class  that  meant  to  be 
honest,  but  could  not  see  their  way  in  the  darkness    ha    pin^- 
vailed,  where  the  press  was  but  a  borrowed  light  at  the  bes  ,  an 
^here  the  lurid  glare  from  many  pulpits  distorte     the   ae^  a  d 
objects  upon  which  they  shone.     The  picture  of  "  JM,  U .  /. 
1  ich  wa   given  to  the  reading  world  by  llobert  Burns,  the  plow- 
n  n  poet  o1  the  eighteenth  century,  had  counterparts  nmun.era. 
ble  among  the  occupants  of  Missourian  pulpits,  and  their  v.o  en 
B  If  suffidency  was  their  best  passport  to  the  hearts  and  minds  o 
their  hearers.     The  mint-marks  of  religion  were  freely  stamped 
upon  every  enormity,  and  the  people  were  thus  strengthened  m 
their  course,  which  however  intrinsically  wrong,  had  fo,  them 
extrinsic  authority,  and  the  highest  pretensions  to  righteousness. 
The  other  side,  with  broader  views  and  a  more  subtle  compre- 
hension of  human  rights,  was  just  as  determined  as  Missouri,  and 
when  the  organization  of   Kansas   first  won  their  favor,  it  was 
with  a  full  understanding  of  the  Missouri  compromise  and  its 
obligations,  which  left  no  room  for  doubt  that  whatever  addi- 
tional states  might  come  in,  must  reinforce  the  free  states  in  con- 
oress  and  lead  the  way  toward  a  proper  solution  of  the  slavery 
problem      The  idea  of  introducing  slavery   into  the  territory, 
althou-rh  it  had  been  carried  into  practice  years  before,  was  never 
mooted  in  congressional  circles  until  the  thirty-third  session  was 
far  advanced,  and  the  suggestion  awakened  the  hot  indignation  of 
almost  every  class  in  the  middle  and  eastern  states.    Many  of   he 
more  prudent  had  doubted  the  wisdom  of  their  extremists,  be- 
cause they  could  see  the  terrible  revulsion  which  must  dislocate 
society,  should  the  great  wrong  be  righted  in  a  precipitate  man- 
ner •  "and  they  were  inclined  to  repeat  the  old  form  of  prayer  in 
their  daily  lives:  "Give  peace  in  our  time,  O  Lord,"  but  they 
could  see  now,  as  never  before,  that  unless  they  could  stamp  out 
slavery  the  black  stain  would  cover  the  whole  union.     Standing 


WIIJ^^»ii>*piHf»- 


TEitinroiUAL  II is  Ton  v. 


97 


e  slavery  liatl 
fights  of  prop- 
1,  uiul  the  pco- 
^-ailing  in  this 
led  to  bo  their 
circi'vmstuncc, 
it  meant  to  be 
ness  that  pre- 
t  the  best,  and 
1  the  facts  and 
'  Jlohj  WiUk';' 
urns,  the  plow- 
arts  innumera- 
id  their  violent 
,s  and  minds  of 
freely  stamped 
trengthened  in 
,  had  for  them 
)  righteousness, 
subtle  compre- 
is  Missouri,  and 
ir  favor,  it  was 
)romise  and  its 
whatever  addi- 
ee  states  in  con- 
n  of  the  slavery 
a  the  territory, 
cfore,  was  never 
bird  session  was 
ot  indignation  of 
3s.    Many  of  the 
r  extremists,  be- 
1  must  dislocate 
precipitate  man- 
orm  of  prayer  in 
Lord,"  but  they 
could  stamp  out 
mion.     Standing 


still  was  no  longer  a  possibility,  and  with  the  alternative  of  a  ret- 
rograde movement  staring  thcni  in  the  face,  they  i)rcpared  for 
aggressive  action.  Their  more  logical  neighbor.s,  who  had  for 
many  years  talked  and  printed  abolitionist  ideas  at  all  hiizards,  be- 
came more  powerful  with  every  step  toward  the  appropriation  of 
the  Nebraska-Kausas  territory  by  the  southern  party.  The  teach- 
ing of  their  lives  was  being  verified  by  outcropping  events,  and  their 
voices  had  now  the  ring  of  prophecy  in  them  when  they  linnicd 
the  inevitable  future,  unless  Kansas  could  be  brought  into  the 
union  with  every  constitutional  guaranty  against  slavery.  Tho 
opposite  sides  were  setting  their  battle  in  array,  natural  allies 
were  drawing  together,  and  there  would  soon  be  a  vigorous  but 
friendly  emulation  for  the  fore  front  of  the  conflict.  Congress- 
ional action  defeated  the  free  labor  party,  but  the  struggle  was 
relegated  to  Kansas  itself,  and  it  became  an  oliject  to  possess  tho 
land  with  men  ready  for  every  emergency.  The  men  who  went 
to  Kansas  upon  that  errand,  did  not  know  until  they  bad  "  set 
their  hands  to  the  plow,"  with  what  completeness  their  antago- 
nists had  prepared  the  way  for  victory,  nor  would  they  have 
turned  their  backs  upon  the  conflict,  even  if  they  had  known 
that  the  act  of  organization  had  been  carefully  elaborated  by  sev- 
eral of  the  ablest  lawyer.'?  in  the  land,  skillful  in  veiling  a  pur- 
pose with  words,  which  yet  would  bear  only  an  interpretation 
exactly  securing  the  object,  of  which  a  casual  reader  would  never 
dream.  They  did  not  know  the  terrible  odds  against  which  they 
fought,  but  they  were  ready  for  any  fate,  save  eventual  defeat. 
They  could  say  even  to  death  itself,  in  the  words  of  Fitz  Greene 

Halleck : 

"  To  the  hero  when  his  sword 
Has  won  tlie  battle  for  the  free, 
Thy  voice  sounds  like  a  propliet's  word; 
And  in  its  hollow  tones  are  heard 
The  thanks  of  millions  yet  to  be." 

Under  the  act  before  mentioned,  slave  property  could  be  held 
in  Kansas,  and  there  was  no  enabling  power  under  which  the  ter- 
ritorial legislature  could  defeat  the  machinations  of  the  slave 
owning  party.  The  people  were  powerless  against  the  wrong 
which  unjust  congressional  manipulation  had  perpetrated,  until 


0g  TuTTLif^  Ilisronr  of  K ass. is. 

the  time -^vhu.h  could  bo  advance.l  ^^  set  b.ek  by  Missouri - 
h.a  nrrivcl,  .hen  the  state  constitution  shouUl  be  ^'•=\';;^'l-        '^« 
president  favored  tl>e  shave  power,  and   >t  rested  vvMth    h  m    o 
nppoint  every   territorial   ollicer.     Missouri  could  send    a  .  k,1o 
population  across  the  dividing  lino  to  locate  claui.s,  and  to  sunu- 
late,  if  not  create  public  opinion.    Shwe  settlement  --  i|  -ady  ^^^^^^ 
cl  imated  in  Kansas,  and  had  been  pushed  forward  u.to  the  t       tory 
for  many  years  in  furtive  but  irresistible  ways  ;  and  against  a  1 
these  agJndes  and  powers  there  eould  only  be  opposed  the  on   u^ 
.ias,u  of  the  free  soil  party,  which  said  in  the  language  o    11    .y 
Wilson,  "The  past  is  yours,  the  future  is  ours;     and  wh.U 
daring  the  ehanSes  of  annihilation  in  a  noble  cause,  addressed  its 
members  in  the  language  of  the  hero : 

«  Strike  — for  your  altars  and  your  Arcs; 
Blrike  —  for  the  gruen  gnives  of  your  sires ; 
God,  and  your  nativo  land." 


CHAPTER   V. 


TERRITORIAL  HISTORY. 

S,°vc,y  Prop.e«..da-Cho„.o  Y«  >>•!.»»>   VcW,|l  Sc,.e-TUe  Dallc 
Hunt  tef.iro  Iho  D««ii - Ugl''  SI"™""  »"=  E""' 

TIME  had  become  an  object  among  men  who  had  >-«*;J  '» 
m*c  Kansas  a  reflex  o!  Missouri,  and  m  eonseqaenoe,  ,.e  fmd 
The  more  active  and  unscrupulous,  including  many  of  the  wea  th- 
cr  r"  cros  ing  the  western  boundary  of  the  slave  state  before 
Kat'territor/was  legally  open  for  -">--«■  ^^'^^^'^ 
tal.e  time  by  the  forelock   There  were  two  purposes  ^  b   s  rv  d 

by  their  precipitancy  ^'^l^l^ZT^^:^^ 


v  Missouri  — 
ramcd.  The 
with  him  to 
jcnd  a  w'.iolo 
and  to  siinu- 
us  already  ac. 
0  the  territory 
d  against  all 
?cd  the  enthu- 
agc  of  lletiry 
"  and  which, 
,  addressed  its 


lepherdiiig  8elcc- 
1  Operaiion  —  The 
crvo— TUe  Dark 


tiad  resolved  to 
quenee,  we  find 
y  of  the  wealth- 
xve  state,  before 
;,  determined  to 
ses  to  be  served 
)f  the  soil  for  its 
•culated  through 
;  the  population 


M  ijiwjiniPlwyilii 


wimmmfm* 


TEitiiiroitiAL  l{isToi; r, 


9fl 


near  at  liatid  had  long  known  the  virtues  of  rncsquit  and  bulTalo 
grass,  and  the  oxcoptional  fi'rtilityof  the  prairies,  plains,  and  bot- 
tom lands  of  Kansas.  The  second  object,  was  for  many  ot  the 
emigrants,  scarcely  less  important  than  the  first,  and  it  was  en- 
forced by  all  the  powers  of  persuasion  possessed  by  the  popular 
leaders,  who  w'ere  found  using  in  the  press,  the  organs  of  their 
party,  and  no  other  press  could  exist  in  Missouri,  sucli  language 
as,  "  Let  every  man  that  owns  a  negro  go  at  once  into  the  territory 
of  Kansas  and  settle,  so  that  our  beloved  northern  br:3thren  may 
have  the  advantage  of  seeking  a  location  further  nortli.  '  Stand 
not  upon  the  order  of  your  going,  but  go  at  once.'  "  Those  who 
came  very 'early  were  able  to  procure  the  best  selections  so  far  ns 
their  journeyings  extended,  but  tlie  whole  country  was  a  garden 
in  the  month  of  May,  when  these  operations  commenced,  as  spring 
opens  in  February  in  this  favored  region.  The  bottomlands  were- 
not  so  much  an  object,  as  the  higher  and  drier  ground,  among  the 
men,  who  really  meant  living  in  tiie  territory,  as  Mis.sourian  exper- 
iences had  made  almost  everybody  wise  as  to  certain  hygienic 
conditions,  but  very  many  who  came  had  no  intention  to  reside 
on  their  claims  ;  they  wanted  merely  to  secure  so  much  territory, 
in  such  places  as  would  in  effect  take  the  eyes  out  of  the  country, 
leaving,  as  they  hoped,  a  residuum  of  unattractive  land,  upon 
which  colonies  from  the  eastern  and  middle  states  would  have  no 
desire  to  settle.  In  many  cases  they  were  content  to  perform  the 
preliminaries  for  the  erection  of  a  cabin,  as  a  colorable  pretext  of 
settlement,  or  they  would  mark  the  chosen  spot  by  driving  stakes 
in  the  unsurveyed  land,  po  that  at  some  future  time  their  inchoate 
rights  might  be  revived,  p-*  a  means  of  profit  in  some  instances, 
and  in  others  to  assist  in  .,  i:'^ying  such  settlers,  as  might  come  in 
the  interests  of  the  free  soil  organization.  The  best  parts  of  east- 
ern Kansas  were  staked,  blazed  and  claimed  in  various  ways,  be- 
fore settlement  was  possible  under  the  law,  but  there  was  an  un- 
derstanding among  the  Missourians,  that  as  between  themselves, 
there  should  be  no  notice  taken  of  such  trivial  irregularities,  and 
when  every  man  had  laid  out  his  estate  upon  his  own  magnificent 
designs,  the  selectors  returned  to  Missouri,  to  abide  the  time,  when 
they  might  become  squatters,  and  begin  to  realize  the  pleasures  of 
Kansas  sovereignty.     The  Indian  title  had  nqt  expired,  and  the 


iiat'iif^i'i  ifi'^"-^~'-'"  >■-  -■■^-"i^'i 


,iriiii.itlii-|r"it-rjimriitfiii 


(j'iiWHJTililillBMm'iaeiiJiiBMt**'^ 


100 


TvTTihfs  Hisrour  of  K..ssas. 


„Ku.vho  were  now  aisrogarding  all  the  guaranties  which  had 
■been  extcndocl  to  the  tribe,  were  the  same  person,  that  hnA  bcu 
^;;ll  heard  nu,st  clan.orou.  in  demanding  the  -.u«^o^ 
Vublic  faith,  by   the  exclusion   of   wlute  settler,  so  long  as    bo 
L.l..n>s  and  their  braves  were  the  principal  defense  ag.jnst  t  a 
forn.ation  of  a  free  state.     There  was  hardly  one  n,an  u.  U .    st  to 
of  Missouri  who  had  not  done  son.ething  .n  the  way  of  s  cuun, 
uclain.  in  Kansas  land,  and  when   parfes  were  formed  to   nako 
tours  of  selection,  it  is  not  wonderful  that  hundreds  coneladca  to     , 
transfer  all  their  possessions  into  the  territory,  winch  was  so  soon 
0  bo  organized.     Men  who  had  been  aceu.ston.ed  to  the   evees  of 
the  Mississippi,  and  to  the  slowly  n.oving  waters  of    he  Missouri, 
o  m    in  th  legion  which  they  now  explored  .swift  llow.ng  rivers 
hundreds  of  mSes  long,  running  between  high  banks,  on  winch 
mills  and  factories  could  bo  erected,  to  use  a  never  waning  su^ 
ply  of  water,  and  they  could  leave   the  exhausted    ands  of   ho 
older  settlement,  for  virgin  prairies  surrounding  such  aids  to  or 
tune,  without  one  sigh  of  regret.     The  parklike  areas,  with  lieie 
and  there  a  few  groves  and  clumps  of  trees  possessed  beauty  such 
as  m  '  it  well  fascinate  the  observer,  and  but  little  examination  was 
nes^ary  to  convince  the  initiated  that  the  sod  would  produce 
crops  of  almost  every  kind  with  such  profusion  as  Missouri  had 
n3  known.     Thus,  many  who  came  only  to  establish  c  aims  re- 
Xd  to  make  homes  in  Kansas,  and  row  that  the  midsuinmer 
riessof  their  first  entrance  has  .^-n  outlived.  U.eya^^^^^^ 
reckoned  among  the  best  citizens  in  tins  state.     Manuactones, 
"«  and  agriculture,  aided  by  free  labor  and  inventive  ski  1, 
h  riong  since  convinced  them,  that  the  true  «1--.  the  only 
G  d  onitts,  whom  it  could  serve  the  purposes  of  -d.zed  men^o 
e^nploy  in  their  undertakings,  are   the  rivers  trained  to  do  their 
biddil  with  never  ceasing  regularity,  the  winds  in  their  circuits 
pepfn"  their  food,  drawing  their  supplies  of  water   and  per^ 
fmg  other  such  desultory  labors,  and  the  steam  engine  which 
; ill  catry  them  against  winds  and  tides  across  the  ocean,  convey 
Tarn  p    duce  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  pump  dry  the 
^L  quarries,  and  morasses,  transport  iron  as  easily  as  man 
Sf  can  convey  straws,  and  increase  the  food  of  human  kii^ 
ty le  easing  and  multiplying  their  labors,  if  only  fed  by  a  few 


•  i" 


I  wliich  liml 
liiit  liail  been 
liiiluimiico  of 

long  aa  tbo 
e  iigoinst  the 
n  in  tlio  sUvto 
f  of  Kocuriiig 
incd  to  inako 

concluded  to 

II  was  so  soon 

I  the  levees  of 
the  Missouri, 
ilowing  rivers 
nks,  on  which 
;r  waning  sup- 
l  lands  of  the 
ich  aids  to  for- 
i-eas,  with  hero 
)d  beauty  such 
lamination  was 
would  produce 
;  Missouri  had 
blish  claims  re- 
he  midsummer 
,  they  are  to  be 
Manufactories, 
inventive  skill, 
iilaves,  the  only 
iivilized  men  to 
ned  to  do  their 
( in  their  circuits 
water,  and  per- 
il engine  -which 
e  ocean,  convey 
pump  dry  the 
1  easily  as  man 
of  human  kind, 
ly  fed  by  a  few 


tmmmmmmmmKm 


TtiuitinmiM.  llisioii v. 


101 


tons  of  carbon  nnd   sunlight  por  day,  whicli   wore  stored   in  the 
bowels  of  tlie  earth,  a  hundred  million  years  ago. 

The  elements  will  \w  our  .slaves  if  we  will  only  u.se  them,  by 
means  of  .^rienec,  and  the  me<;hanieftl  appliancerf  which  liavo 
been  made  possible  by  Hcientille  knowledge.  In  3'jur  room 
as  you  now  write,  there  is  a  l)Utton  in  the  desk  or  in  tho 
wall  witliin  easy  reach  of  your  hand;  it  represents  a  saving 
of  human  labor  equal  to  the  possession  of  many  human  chattels, 
nnd  it  degrades  no  man.  .Nfessengers  waited  in  tlio  ante  rooms 
of  the  great  cmly  a  few  years  since,  ready  to  bo  summoned  by 
the  .stnmdof  the  human  voice,  to  perform  a  duty  which  caused 
perpetual  toil  in  its  continuing  recurrence,  and  which  was  too 
often  inelTective  for  want  of  speed.  See  now  the  way  in  which 
science  has  come  to  your  aitl.  Y'our  ancestors  were  not  persons 
of  distinction  ;  they  were  artisans  and  tradesmen,  nothing  more  ; 
centurii!s  after  "Wamba,  son  of  Witless,  was  the  born  thrall  of 
Cedric  tho  Saxon,"  and  as  his  fool,  was  expected  to  amuse  hi.s 
master  and  owner,  by  tho  antics  of  folly.  Yet  you  po.sscss  in 
that  button  by  your  side  such  a  talisman  as  Richelieu  in  France, 
Charles  V,  in  Spain,  or  Henry  VIII,  in  England,  would  have 
given  a  fortune  to  possess,  as  it  would  have  secured  to  cither  of 
them  a  mastery  over  his  subjects,  or  over  his  enemies,  worth  more 
than  the  discovery  of  the  fabulous  stone,  that  would  change  all 
metals  into  gold.  You  have  also  affairs  of  state,  for  manufactures 
and  great  engineering  works  are  subject  to  your  direction,  and 
the  results  of  your  cogitations  must  be  conveyed  without  delay, 
from  one  side  of  a  continent  to  another,  or  even  on  occasions 
round  the  world.  Richard  III,  in  England,  and  Louis  XI, 
in  France,  had  horsemen  and  stables  of  swift  animals,  waiting  at 
intervals  along  the  principal  roads  in  their  kingdoms,  to  despatch 
important  messages  post  haste,  and  they  were  convoyed  on  an  av- 
erage at  tho  rate  of  seven  miles  an  hour.  You  are  not  a  king, 
but  you  desire  to  send  your  message,  and  having  no  lamp  such 
as  Aladdin  used  to  rub  when  he  wished  the  services  of  tho  genii, 
you  slightly  touch  that  button.  It  is  the  connecting  point  of  an 
electric  bell,  and  it  is  answered  by  your  telegraph  clerk  in  two 
seconds.  Your  instructions  are  given  in  as  few  words  as  will 
eecure  a  full  transmission  of  your  meaning,  and  within  an  hour, 


-  iiiiiifiVirSinli'iiiii"iriif"r6it«'»»MMii>iiiiin 


IM 


TVTTLKS   IllSTuur  Oh'  A'.l.NW.JV. 


you  luvvoyour  answer  from  Ni;w  York  or  from  San  Francisco,  with- 
in Imlf  ft  ilay  your  intcMlions*  arc  comi)n!liuiuloil  imd  rt-poatcd  from 
TftriM,  ViiMUKi,  St.    l'olcr«biirgli  or   Loiidon,  your  conc-<[iomlciiW 
Lttvclnrii  found  iiml  luivo  rci>licd  toyt)ur  coiiiiiiuuiuulioiiH,  witliout 
furlhur  troublu  lluin  u  fow  message  boys  taking  a  saunter  through 
the  Hlreets  of  tho  cai>itals  of  the  worUl.     Willi  such  shivcs  as  the 
elements  waiting  upon  our  every  caprice,  it  socins  a  brutal  fancy 
thai  would  desire  to  hold  our  fellow  nu>n  in  bondage.     The  mas- 
ters of  slaves  are  not  often  i)crsons  for  whom  the  world  is  solici- 
tous, and  where  the  slave  owning  is  the  only  chum  to  distinction 
they  never   can  be.     J'^sop  is  remembered   and  lii.s    fables  aro 
quoted  by  tens  of  millions,  who  do  not  recall  the  fact  that  he  wa.s 
a  poor,  deformed   man  and  a  slave,  but  out  of  a  million  readers 
you   shall   not  find  one  who  will  give  you  the  name  of    /Ksop's 
master,  or  tell  you  of  one  claini  that  he  over  pt)ssessed  to  be  re- 
membered.    But  the  men  who  were  swarming  over  into  Kan.sas 
from   lilissouri    liad    no   such    thoughts   to  interfere    with    tlieir 
movements ;  their  main  idea  at  tho  outset  was  to  shut  out  "  north- 
ern cattle,"  and  '•  nigger  thieves,"  from  tho  territory  aooa  to  bo 
opened  for  settlement,  and  they  sometimes  quoted  an  old  saying 
that,  "  Any  stick  will  do  to  beat  a  dog  with."     The  lands  which 
they  did  not  want  to  settle  would  do  to  hold  against  the  new- 
comers whom  they  were  prei)ared  to  hate,  so  they  "shepherded" 
claims  and  selections,  staking  them  oil'  ami   lying  by  after  dis- 
charging some  petty  duty,  performing  some  inlinilesiinal  labor, 
■which  would  enable  them  to  say  that  they  were  enrolled  among 
the  settlers  in  Kansas,  and  could  speak  like  tho  centurion  of  old, 
"  as  one  having  authority  "  on  matters  pertaining  to  the  future  of 
the  prospective  state.     The  big  talk  which  %yas  indulged  in  on 
Salt  creek,  in  Kansas,  in  June  1854,  innncdi.itely  after  the  Ne- 
braska-Kansas act  became  law,  and  at  many  similar  meetings  in 
various  quarters  in  the  same  terri :.ory,  was  little  other  than  the 
hruium  fuimcn    of  unscrupulous  politicians  who  wished  to  pro- 
duce an  effect  at  a  distance  which   might  deter  the  better  class  of 
people  from  coming  to  the  field  of  emigration  which  they  '  -l  re- 
so^-'.>d   should  be  monoplized  for  the  benefit  of  the  slave  ,.owor. 
T!ie  pretentious  "Whereas"  with  its  designing  and  deceptive 
preamble  had  no  more  weight  with  the  class  which  the  movers 


TKiimrouiA i.  IlisTonr. 


103 


propose!  toalTocl  than  such  blank  cartridgo  dcservwl,  iin.l  tho 
"  thoi-cforo  lu^olvocl,"  fell  poworlos.s.  Wliilo  tho  di.strict  svm 
known  only  aa  tho  Groat  Auiorican  Dosort,  it  was  easy  to  Hhut 
ofl  tho  tide  of  eniigralion,  hut  tho  Califoriiian  oxodus  and  gold 
fovor  disposed  of  that  barrior,  as  tlio  obsorvations  taken  by  tho 
miners  en  routr  to  their  destination  had  gone  broad  east  all  over 
tho  world.  Tho  trado  to  Santn  Ko  was  oonlined  almost  entirely 
umoiig  Missouriuns  and  their  dei)endents,  who  wero  not  likely  to 
publish  among  northerners  tho  results  of  their  experionco.  Many 
of  the  wealthiest  Missoniians  had  amassed  their  gains  in  that  lifo 
of  adventure,  eonse(iuently  they  knew  well  the  country  which 
tliey  licrsistenlly  decried  and  wei'o  determir.ea  to  possoss.  Tho 
ubolitionista  having  had  their  attention  called  to  tho  subject  in 
many  ways,  since  the  debates  in  congress  upon  this  territory  first 
arrested  notice,  there  was  a  largo  and  important  organization 
which  would  not  bo  sileneed  nor  could  bo  deluded,  on  tho  score 
of  the  fertility  and  manifold  advantages  of  Kansas;  and  all  over 
the  country  now  tho  press  teemed  with  lucubrations  on  this  most 
interesting  subject.  Correspondents,  special  and  general,  who 
would  huvo  paid  forfeit  with  their  lives  if  thoy  could  have  been 
identified,  wnHe  from  Missouri  full  particulars  of  all  the  inten- 
tions of  the  oligarchy  and  their  supporters.  Editors,  more  and  loss 
informed,  commented  in  glowing  terms  on  the  latest  items  of  news, 
and  discoursed  on  tho  newly  discovered  charms  of  the  projected 
state.  Abolitionists,  who  had  ventured  into  the  forbiddcai  region, 
wrote  back  us  wiil»  pens  of  flame,  vivid  descriptions  of  events 
which  caused  the  nerves  of  men  to  tingle  as  they  read.  One  per- 
son  who  had  been  brought  to  trial  for  having  taught  a  slave  to 
read,  although  the  accomplishment  h.id  been  conferred,  with  the 
full  consent,  and  at  the  request  of  the  proprietor  of  that  chattel, 
sent  back  into  civilized  society  a  narrative  of  his  perils,  and  a  de- 
seription  of  a  tyrannical  combination  which  aimed  at  overriding 
all  lawbythc'jui-'sdictionof  Judge  Lynch,  and  generally  tho 
public  tone  was  growing  more  and  more  resolute  on  the  question 
of  the  day.  In  the  southern  states  generally,  and  in  ^lissouri 
more  especially,  the  tone  of  the  newpaper  press  on  this  question 
was  vaunting  and  defiant,  and  the  demands  of  the  slave  power 
became  every  day  more  perplexing  to  democracy  in  the  middle 


m 


104  TuTTLpfs  HisTonr  of  Kassas. 

and  enstern  statc^'.     Such  men  ns  Stcpl.cn   A.  Dougliis  could  not 
hveak  away  fn.in  their  old  associations,  sufficiently  to  keep  on  terms 
of  amity  with  the  southern  branch  of  the  vast  party,  which  they 
Bought  to  wichl.  They  were  under  the  necessity  to  apologize  to  eas'- 
ern°democrats  for  concessions  to  southern  feeling,  which  were  not 
large  enough  to  placate  the  men  whom  they  were  intended  to  win  ; 
and  the  press  of  the  world  looking  on  from  a  distance,  in  which 
passion  could  hardly  affect  the  observer,  pronounced  oracularly 
a  thousand  times  within  ten  years,  that  the  union  would  be  de- 
stroyed in  the  death  struggle  between  the  manufacturing  and 
commercial  interests  of  one  party,  and  the  chivalrous  instincts  of 
the  other.  There  was  almost  by  common  consent  on  the  part  of  the 
British  press,  a  conclusion  that  the  spirit  of  the  old  Cavaliers  of  the 
days  of  the  first  Charles  could  be  seen  among  the  gentlemen  of  the 
south,  but  in  that  case  the  courage  and  fortitude  of  the  Roundheads, 
the  brave  old  Puritans,  who  were  the  Ironsides  of  Cromwell  and 
the  Pilgrims  to  Plymouth  rock,  lived  in  the  ranks  of  those  who 
fou'dit  and  won  the  battle  of  freedom  for  the  second  time  on  this 
continent;  and  as  for  the  absurd  worship  of  the  titled  gentleman 
in  which  John  Pull  is  just  a  triHe  too  apt  to  indulge,  it  might  be 
well    if  that  old  worthy  would  remember  a  distich  which  was 
very  popular  among  the  working  class  of  his  countrymen  in  the 
days  of  Wat.  Tyler. 

"  When  Adam  delved  and  Eve  span, 
Where  was  then  the  gentleman  ?" 
The  V7ork=ncr  men  and  their  newspapers  had  no  such  oympatny 
with  the  south,  and  when  Lord  Palmcrston  might  have  been  per- 
suaded to  give  his  adhesion  to  the  proposal  of  Louis  Napoleon, 
to  reco-nize  and  sustain  the  south,  the  tendency  of  the  aristocrat 
was  controlled  and  held  back  by  the  strong  popula.  .  -ament  in 
favor  of  liberty,  which  Britain  had  long  before  given  to  ner  slaves. 
The  Encrlish  operative  is  almost  always  a  republican,  and  only  m 
a  very  moderate  way  a  respecter  of  titles.  For  a  lord  per  se  who 
possesses  no  other  claim  upon  his  regard,  he  has  the  same  feeling 
that  was  expressed  l)y  Burns  in  his  quatrain : 

"  Sec  yonder  Bivkie  ca'd  a  lord,  .  ,.    • 

t      '         Wha'  struts  and  stares  an'  a'  that, 
Tho'  hunners  worship  at  his  word, 
He's  but  a  cuif  for  a'  that." 


ould  not 
on  terms 
ich  they 
;e  to  east  • 
were  not 
\  to  win  ; 
n  which 
racularly 
(1  be  de- 
ring  and 
stincts  of 
lart  of  the 
crs  of  the 
icn  of  the 
indheads, 
awell  and 
hose  who 
ne  on  this 
rentleman 
miglit  bo 
diich  was 
en  in  the 


hjmpatny 
been  per- 
Napoleon, 
aristocrat 
..ament  in 
her  slaves, 
nd  only  in 
ner  se  who 
me  feeling 


TEHniTORFAL  HlSTOIiY. 


105 


The  press  which  represented  that  sentiment  in  England   wag 
true  to  tlie  union,  but  it  had  necessarily  very  little  weight  with 
the  unreading  south,  and  !^^issouri  drifted  on  toward  her  share 
in  the  Kansas  difTiculty.     The  faculty  fjr  organizing  had  been 
cultivated  with  such  effect,  that  it  had  long  been  dangerous  in 
that  state  for  any  man,  wliatever  his  position,  to  show  a  disincli- 
nation for  promoting  their  domestic  institution,  "  to  hint  a  fault 
and  hesitate  dislike"  concerning  the  abominable  crime  of  negro 
slavery;  and  now  that  system  of  organization  was  being  extended 
beyond  ^Missouri  to  cover  and  to  blast  the  territory  of  Kansas. 
The  Nebraska- Kansas  act  had  come  into  operation,  anu  it  was 
time  to  move  if  there  was  to  be  any  substantial  advantage  gained 
by  the  Missourians  in  the  contest  with  their  resolute  opponents, 
the  much  abused  "  northern  cattle,"  of  whom,  in  spite  of  all  the 
bluster  so  long  indulged  in,   the  slave  power  was  very  much 
afraid.     Some  men,  who  had  only  selected  lands  in  the  territory, 
came  now  in  hot  haste  to  occupy  and  improve  their  locations. 
Others,  as  we  have  seen,  came  to  hold  mass  meetings,  and  to 
feign  a  confidence  which  they  could  not  realize  in  the  righteous- 
ness of  their  cause,  and  the  success  for  which  they  were  prepared 
to  hazard  everything.     They  had  learned  that  a  society  had  been 
formed  in  Massachusetts,  which  had  for  its  object,  the  rescue  of 
the  land  from  their  ownership,  and  the  conversion  of  its  fertile 
acres  into  additional  temptations  for  the  escape  of  the  negro  from 
bondage.     They  had  learned  that  the  society  was  already  incor- 
porated with  a  capital  stated  in  millions,  and  they  did  not  know 
how  many  millions,  but  they  were  sure  that  the  capital  would 
be  practically  without  limit,  and  that  the  object,  over  and  above 
'  all  pretenses  of  colonization  and  settlement,  meant  the  establish- 
ment of  "  underground  railroads"  for  the  more  effective  convey- 
ance of  slaves  away  from  their  lawful  masters.     Their  rage  knew 
no  bounds.     Every  syllable  of  information  on  the  subject  which 
could  be  procured  came  tinctured  with  the  passions  and  the  pre- 
judices of  their  leaders,  so  that  within  a  few  weeks  the  tempers  of 
men  had  risen  to  white  heat.     The  press  teemed  with  stories 
every  day,  setting  forth  the  operations  of  the  abolition  party  in 
"stealing  niggers."     The  idea  of  the  negro  stealing  himself  was 
never  mooted.      The  enslaved  race  were  but   "dumb  driven 


■a 


IQQ  Tittle's  History  of  Kassas. 

cattlo"    in  tl.c  estimation  of  tlicir  owners,  and  the  responsibility 
of  tlicir  evasion  must  rest  upon  tbeir  abettors.     In  that  aspect  of 
the  case,  every  emigrant  from  the  free  states  must  be  an  object  of 
susiiicion  until  he  could  purge  himself  to  their  entire  sat.sfact-on, 
but  if  he  came  under  the  auspices  of  any  of  the  various  emi- 
grants' aid  associations,  of  which  they  '  ad  heard,  he  might  be 
shot  down  in  his  tracks,  failing  all  other  means  to  neutralize  him 
or  to  remove  him  from  the  soil  where  he  endangered  their  sacred 
ri.'hts      The  shameful  manipulation  resorted  to  in  congress,  to 
relegate  this  question   to  the  vote  of   the  people,   after  .'very 
jruamntv  for  an  honest  decision  had  been  removed,  was  answer- 
able for"  a  condition  of  aflairs  which  menaced  the  land  with  blood. 
Men  were  coming  into  the  territory,  not  by  tens  and  twenties, 
but  by  hundreds,  soon  mounting  up  to  thousands,  and  the  propo- 
sition was  made,  as  in  the  names  of  "  distinguished  statesmen 
in  Missouri,"  that  the  newcomers  should   "be  met  at  the  very 
threshhold,   and  scourged   back   to  their  caverns  of  darkness. 
Thev  were  to  be  "  met  and  repelled,"  and  the  parties  to  such 
decla-ations  were  not  over  scrupulous  as  to  means.    One  meeting, 
the  t   •  e  of  a  great  many  others  which  convened  under  the  same 
Kcneml  direction,  set  forth  the  reason  for  present  action,  in  the 
assertion,  that  "  Kansas  was  to  be  colonized  by  fanatical  persons 
and   by   "  eastern   and  foreign   paupers,"   who  would   exclude 
«'  citizens  of   slave   holding    states,   and    especially   citizens  of 
Missouri,   from  settling  there  with   their  property    and  would 
establish  a  trunk  of  the  underground  railroad,  where 

thousands  of  our  slaves  shall  be  stolen."  That  was  t^lie  mdict- 
nient  preferred  by  the  slave  owners,  say  rather,  that  was  the 
cartel  of  defiance,  the  declaration  of  war;  for  Jo  an  indictment 
the  accused  person  might  be  expected  to  plead,  whereas  here,  the 
culprit,  for  as  such  he  figured  from  the  first,  could  do  nothing  but 
submit  to  condign  punishment,  unless  he  came  ready  to  do  or 
die  "  in  the  q  aarrel  up<m  which  he  had  entered.  The  action  to  be 
taken  in  the  premises  by  the  Missourians,  was  thus  tersely  stated 
in  one  of  their  own  documents,  approved  by  a  mass  meeting  in 
Clayeountyearlyin  1854:  -'Therefore,  *  *  we  do  resolve, 
that  Kansas  ought  to  be  a  slave  state,  and  we  pledge  ourselves  to 
cooperate     *    *     in  any  measures  to  accomplish  such  ends. 


wmSiBiSiii''  lifliiiiia^ii^^ 


TkiiRiroujAL  History. 


107 


sponsibility 
at  aspect  of 
an  object  o£ 
satisfact'on, 
arioiis  emi- 
le  migbt  be 
itralizc  him, 
their  sacred 
congress,  to 
after  'very 
was  answer- 
with  blood, 
rid  twenties, 
d  the  propo- 
sd  statesmen 
at  the  very 
f  darkness." 
lies  to  such 
3ne  meeting, 
ler  the  same 
iction,  in  the 
cal  persons," 
uld   exclude 
T   citizens  of 
and  would 
*     *     where 
IS  the  indict- 
that  was  the 
n  indictment 
reas  here,  the 
1  nothing  but 
dy  to  "  do  or 
e  action  to  be 
tersely  stated 
iS  meeting  in 
e  do  resolve, 
3  ourselves  to 
.  such  ends." 


mJitinnirm'T    ■ 


They  would  remove  emigrants  peacefully  if  the  intruders  would 
go  upon  the  first  warning,  but,  "  will  yc  nill  ye,"  they  must  go. 
"  Hanging  and  drowning"  were  discussed  as  among  other  "  mea- 
sures," perphaps  tlic  best  adapted  to  such  "  ends,"  as  the  Mis- 
sourian  organization  coritempliited,  and  onicers  were  apy-ointed 
w.Ji  powers  such  as  good  men  wonld  bhuddor  Lu  be  invested 
withal,  for  any  purpose,  to  secure  the  exclusion  of  free  negroes 
from  Kansas,  to  punish  all  abolitionists  immediately.  "  I  am 
ready  to  go,"  said  one  of  the  speakers,  and  he  was  applauded  to 
echo,  "  I  am  ready  to  go  whenever  it  shall  be  announced  that  the 
emigrants  have  come,  and  with  this  right  hand,  I  will  help  to 
hang  them,  every  one,  upon  the  first  tree."  That  was  tho 
pleasant  prospect  and  the  warm  welcome  prepared  by  the  Mis- 
sourians  for  their  northern  brethren.  It  was  almost  enough,  to 
justify  one  in  saying,  with  the  pagans  of  old,  "How  these 
Christians  love  one  another." 

Secret  societies  were  now  originated ;  not  one,  but  many,  but 
all  with  one  object,  to  facilitate  the  removal  of  emigrants,  and  the 
Durjald  DahjeUijs  of  the  border,  at  whom  we  have  already  glanced, 
were  initiated  brethren  and  grand  masters  in  every  such  organiza- 
tion.    "The  piping  times  of  peace"  had  gone  forever,  and  in  the 
prospect  of  war  with  the  emigrants,  they  could  see  long  vistas  of 
glory  for  themselves,  with  just  a  possibility  of  profit  also  arising 
out  of  the  transaction.     Every  society  had  its  different  degrees  ; 
the  mean  whites  could  join  the  grades  which  accorded  with  their 
condition  in  the  body  politic,  and  as  members  of  that  class  they 
were  entitled  to  know  just  as  much  as  the  wealthier  and  more 
interested  grades  thought  that  it  would  benefit  themselves  to  com- 
municate.    Under  such  sanctions  crime  became  very  soon^a  word 
without  a  meaning,  unless  it  meant  "  free  emigration  into  Kansas," 
and  justice  had  but  one  symbol,  "a  livid  wretch  dangling  from  a 
tree."     The  secret  societies  were  to  stand  by  each  other  against  all 
odds.     The  ribbon,  or  other  mark  of  affiliation,  was  to  be  the  all 
sufficient  appeal  for  aid,  and  the  person  denounced  by  one  of  the 
accredited,  must  be  dealt  with  on  the  principle  that  "  dead  men 
tell  no  tales,"  unless  he  could  be  otherwise  made  amenable  to  the 
rule  of  the  slave  power.     Should  it  appear  that  political  action  of 
any  kind  was  to  be  taken  in  the  territory,  the  societies,  having 


4 


108 


Tuttle's  History  of  Kassas. 


their  conlon  of  spies,  would  immcfliatcly  be  informed,  and  there- 
upon the  forces  Mvaihiljle  could  be  mustered  at  the  points  most 
convenient,  ready  to  cross  the  boundary  on  the  day  when  the  poll 
should  b5,tak^i,  to  vole  on  whatever  questions  might  arise  in  the 
interests  of  Missouri.     There  was  no  difhculty  in  rai:;iLif,  funds 
for  such  purposes,  and  their  modes  of  operation  were  effective. 
Should  it  appear  after  all  that  the  free  soilers  could  outvote  them, 
they  were  then  to  prevent  the  poll  proceeding  by  whatever  means 
might  be  available,  and  as  we  have  seen,  the  officials  of  the  terri- 
tory being  all  appointed  in  the  interests  of  slavery,  with  a  knowl- 
edge that  their  instant  decapitation  might  follow  the  most  trivial 
aerof  seeming  disloyalty  to  their  friends,  the  slave  owners,  there 
was  but  little  dango-  that  they  would  forget  "  the  fleshpots  of 
Egypt,"  as  long  "  as  the  ox  knoweth  his  master's  crib."     The 
slavery  propaganda  was  thus  in  order  of  battle,  and  men  were 
able  to  see  how  much  of  liberty  there  was  for  the  white  man 
where  the  peculiar  domestic  institution  was  in  full  sway.     The 
day  was  gone  by  for  quoting  texts  of  scripture  now,  unless  some 
passages  from  the  Old  Testament  could  be  used  to  justify  the 
extremes  of  punishment.     The  five  hundred  priests  of  Baal  who 
had  failed  to  bring  down  fire  from  heaven,  had  been  slain,  under 
the  orders  of  the  man  of  God,  and  every  act  of  murder  was  to  be 
excused  by  that,  or  some  such  reference,  in  which  missionaries  al- 
ways figured  as  God's  weapons,  or  avengers,  and  when  their  prayer 
failed  to  bring  fire  from  heaven  upon  their  enemies,  they  did  not 
hesitate  to  supplement  their  other  abominations  by  cowardly  acts 
of  incendiarism.     The  common  people  were  not  expected  to  un- 
derstand anything,  and  if  ever  there  lived  upon  this  earth  a  man 
whose  daily  life  dishonored  humanity,  that  person  could  be  found 
in  the  "  mean  white."     Often  unable  to  read  or  write,  seldom,  in- 
deed, able  to  think,  never  troubling  himself  further  on  any  ques- 
tion than  to  know  on  which  side  his  employers  would  take  action, 
he  took  his  fill  of  whisky  whenever  the  opportunity  offered,  blas- 
phemed against  the  living  God  by  dishonoring  the  negro,  and  all 
his  friends,  and  stood  ready  upon  the  first  call  to  offer  violence 
to,  or  to  shed  the  blood  of  any  man  who  might  be  indicated  to 
him  as  a  person  inimical  to  the  interests  of  his  masters.     Truly, 
could  the  mean  whites  only  have  seen  it,  their  interests  lay  with 


..SilMrfrfrti 


iiUMiiiiitiiiiilM 


I,  and  there- 
points  most 
hen  the  poll 

arise  in  the 
\\:i\i\<^  funds 
ire  effective, 
itvote  them, 
itever  means 

t)f  the  tcrri- 
ith  a  knowl- 

most  trivial 
)\vners,  there 
3  flesh  pots  of 

crib."  The 
id  men  were 
3  while  man 

sway.     The 

unless  some 

0  justify  the 
of  Baal  who 

1  slain,  under 
3er  was  to  be 
issionaries  al- 
fi  their  prayer 

they  did  not 
cowardly  acts 
pected  to  un- 
s  earth  a  man 
ould  be  found 
te,  seldom,  in- 
•  on  any  ques- 
Id  take  action, 
r  offered,  bias- 
negro,  and  all 

offer  violence 
)e  indicated  to 
isters.  Truly, 
jrcsts  lay  with 


TKimiTOTtlAL  TTlfiTORr. 


109 


the  free  soilers,  a-uinst  whom  they  were  to  operate,  but  a  view  so 
far  sighted  was  beyond  tlieir  powers  of  vision.     They  could  have 
believed  almost  anything  that  the  oligarchy  might  tell  them,  but 
even  though  their  masters  had  told  them  so,  it  would  have  been 
impossible  for  them  to  credit  the  truth  that  the  free  soil  men  were 
fio-hting  their  battle.     They  were  even  more  zealous  tlian  the  bet- 
ter informed,  outstripping  the  commands  of  their  superiors  in  tlicir 
anxiety  to  do  enough.     The  goldsmiths  of  Ephesus  had  an  inter- 
est in  crying,  "  Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephesians,"  but  these  men 
were  as  the  ignorant  rabble  that  swelled  the  throng,  creating  more 
riot,  and  eflccting  greater  ruin  than  the  goldsmiths  themselves. 
When  the  men  who  owned  property  in  their  fellow  men  resolved 
that  "  Kansas  was  of  right,  and  should  be  a  slave  state,"  they 
were  intelligently  pursuing  their  own  immediate  gain,  at  whatever 
ultimate  cost,  because  they  were  striving  to  secure  a  territory  and 
a  state  in  which  tlieir  slaves  could  be  made  more  profitable  than 
they  had  been  for  many  years  in  Missouri ;  but  when  the  "  mean 
white "  associated  himself  with  organizations  formed  to  secure 
such  ends,  he  was  condemning  himself  and  all  his  following,  so 
far  as  his  acts  could  degrade  them,  to  be,  and  to  remain  for  all 
time,  just  such  Pariahs  as  the  mean  whites  then  were,  and  as  ho 
exemplified  when  he  stood  prepared  to  hang  men  for  differing 
from  other  men  in  their  views  as  to  property,  and  for  trying  to 
provide  for  himself  and  his  children  better  conditions  in  life. 
These  miserable  tools  of  the  oligarchy  were  not  long  before  they 
found  means  to  distinguish  themselves  in  the  exercise  of  their  sov- 
ereign will.     A  man  who  had  voted  and  trained  with  the  demo- 
cratic party  from  the  days  of  Thomas  Jefferson  had  come  into 
Kansas  territory  to  settle.     He  was  from  the  neighboring  state  of 
Iowa,  and  he  had  endured  many  opportunities  to  see  slavery  in 
all  its  forms ;  but  having  looked  upon  the  picture  he  was  not  de- 
sirous to  secure  its  presence  in  his  own  household.     When  Iowa 
•was  first  organized,  many  Missourians  were  found  owning  slaves 
in  the  free  territory,  consequently  there  were  few  of  the  earlier 
settlers  in  the  territory  or  state  of  Iowa  who  were  not  conversant 
•with  slavery  by  actual  contact,  or  by  the  daily  conveisation  of 
their  surroundings.     This  man  knew  quite  enough  on  the  subject 
to  be  resolved  that,  whenever  the  time  should  come  for  casting  a 


4 


■I 


Txjttle's  History  of  Kaxs.is. 


110 

vote  l.e  would  rango  himself  against  the  proposal  to  make  Kansas 
us^ivo  state.     Immediately  after  bis  arrival  in  Kansas,  he    .u 
^,::!    ime  ;..ated  by  the  spies  of  the  seeret  organjzaUo..  on   Ins 
lie.,  and^iot  knowing  anything  about  the  insolent  ^  .  .     0    - 
./.'tlJu  would  sit  in  judgment  upon  h.s  --^-^      ^  ^^  ; 
closed  his  views  and  intentions  with  some  freedorn.      il''^^  v^as 
0  o  .d,.     There  was  no  pretense  that  he  was  one  of  the     no.-d,    n 
c    tie  "  but  all  who  were  not  for  them  were  against  them  so  b  -      ^ 
o  e^he  man  eould  build  the  house  whieh  was  to  shelter  Ins  s,  k 
familv  ^e  Ind  been  tried  and  senteneed.     He  must  leave  the 
^'^  ^iU  n   t^entyfour  hours,  or  be  sei^d  up  like  a  eidpn 
wl;.n.d  on  the  bare  baek,  reeeiving  fifty  lashes.     He  was  but 
^::  with  a  siek  family  dependent  upon  him^  and  t  o  e 

legion.     He  had  no  option  but  to  succumb,  and  he  left  the  tern 
tnrv  to  escape  worse  consequences. 

Another  man  was  accused  of  being  an  abolitionist,  ai.d  he  wa. 

Wo^^^M  to  trial     The  only  evidence  against  him  was  that  he  had 

'itU  wtrds  of  sympafhy  to  a  negro,  and  tl^e  witne.  was  t^^^ 

ne.ro  to  whom  the  language  of  sympathy  was  said  to  have  been 

addressed.     Against  any  man,  accused  of  any  other  crime  .ave 

that  o    being  an  abolitionist,  the  testimony  of  the  slave  would 

l.'^  been  nullified  bv  his  color ;  but  the  black  enormity  of  abo- 

IH  on  bridged  every  chasm,  and  the  man  was  convicted  and  sen- 

Iced  wUh  n  the  iLr.     His  hair  was  shaved  from  one  side  o 

SI    irandsodisfiguredhewasallowedtwodayswithinwhich le 

•;  ♦!  .  .n,intrv  or  submit  to  receive  one  hundred  and  fifty 

xCi  bet:^^.^^ 

be   ompl  ted,  a  result  by  no  means  improbable.    Another  man  was 

IcusTd  of  having  allowed  a  negress  to  ride  in  the  same  vehicle 

.1   and  if  he  had  not  justified  himself  by  reference  to  the 

,hnv  vu-tim     Wroncrs  such  as  these  were  of  daily  occurrence. 
^Z^JZl^  held  to  justify  domiciliary  vi,H».  dur- 


lliliillillliiiKiliiilllliWl' 


Like  Kan?a» 
isas,  lit:  li'.ul 
ions  on  this 
i  Vehm  iter- 
anor,  lie  ilis- 
That  was 
le  "  nortlicrn 
them,  so  be- 
liltor  liis  sick 
tst  leave  the 
like  a  culprit 
He  was  but 
nd  they  were 
left  the  terri- 

t,  and  he  was 
IS  that  he  had 
itness  was  the 
to  have  been 
3r  crime  save 
B  slave  would 
)rmity  of  abo- 
icted  and  sen- 
tn  one  side  of 
'ithin  which  he 
idred  and  fifty 
lishment  could 
lother  man  was 
e  same  vehicle 
aference  to  the 
;  their  servants 
uld  have  been 
ily  occurrence, 
iary  visits,  dur- 
n,  which  might 
!  event  of  any 
jrty  and  the  life 
danger.    Many 


TKitRiToniAL  History. 


Ill 


persons  thus  threatened  were  obliged  to  become  parties  to  out- 
rages against  others  in  order  to  acquit  themselves  of  suspicion. 
Such  raids  became  almost  insufferable,  even  in  Missouri,  but  in 
Kan«as  they  were  removed  from  jealous  inspection,  and  the  men 
who  suffered  were  aliens,  so  there  was  less  likelihoo.I  of  local  dis- 
turbances arising.    Before  the  first  day  of  September,  185-i,  so  in- 
tolerable had  the  demeanor  of  the  prosla^fery  societies  beoome,  that 
in  the  city  of  Weston,  in  Missouri,  a  mass  meeting  of  the  citizens 
was  called  to  denounce  the  action  of  the  so-called  "  Platte  County 
Sell  Defen:'ive  Association,"  on  that  day,  on  the  grounds  that  the 
quiet  of  their  families,  the  honor  of  their  sons  and  daughters,  the 
security  of  their  property,  their  means  of  living,  their  lives  and 
their  good  name  were  threatened  by  mob  violence,  having  far  its 
object  the  coercion  of  every  merchant  and  trader  to  make  their 
purchases  only  of  slave  owners,  or  in  cities  in  which  slaves  were 
held,  and  to  compel  every  man,  of  whatever  degree,  to  expend  his 
money  among  those  traders  who  should  be  indicated  by  the  organ- 
ization as  specially  worthy  of  patronage.     The  sauce  that  would 
do  for  the  goose  was  not  found  suitable  for  the  gander.     The 
modes  of  operation  intended  for  Kansas  provoked  such  angry 
protests  in  Missouri  that  the  Platte  County  Association  was  at 
length  absorbed  into  other  societies.     Among  other  demonstra- 
tions, there  was  an  order  issued  that  all  the  blacks  that  were  not 
slaves  should  quit  Weston  city  and  Platte  county,  naming  a  time 
beyond  which  they  could  not  be  permitted  to  remain.     Some  of 
the  more  timid  of  the  poor  creatures  fled  on  the  first  intimation, 
but  the  citizens  would  not  allow  the  ukase  to  be  enforced.     The 
order  was  repeated  twice,  and  on  the  last  occasion  the  would-be 
rulers  came  down  in  force  to  compel  obedience.     The  public  pro- 
test was  treated  as  of  no  account,  but  there  was  a  final  appeal 
which  could  not  be  so  lightly  put  aside.     The  armed  rabble  came 
in  force  to  the  confines  of  the  town,  as  brave  as  such  persons  are 
apt  to  be  while  there  is  no  enemy  in  view ;  but  when  they  learned 
that  the  men  who  had  denounced  them  in  public  meeting  were 
also  prepared  to  riddle  them  with  rifle  bullets  rather  than  permit 
the  city  to  be  raided,  there  was  a  brilliant  retrograde  movement, 
and  the  negroes  were  no  further  menaced.     Some  colonists  had 
arrived  at  the  place  where  the  city  of  Lawrence  now  stands,  and 


•i 

-ii 

9. 


1 


112 


Tuttlk's  IfisTonr  of  Kassas. 


in  the  absence  of  better  slicker  tliey  had  providcLl   tbcmselvca 
with  tents,  within  which  the^  rested  from  their  labor.-!.     Here  wa3 
UM  opportunity  for  the  negro  expellcrs  to  try  their  courage  upon 
white  nuMi.     There  was  no  doubt  that  they  had  now  found  their 
])n)per  antag.Miists,  regular  free  soilcrs,  and  men  who  meant  busi- 
ness.    One  of  the  tents  had  been  pitched,  so  it  was  claimed,  upon 
a  lot  which  had  been  selected  by  a  Missourian,  and  that  afforded 
a  plea  for  an  advance  in  force.     Tlic  mode  of  operation  had  long 
since  been  defined ;  it  only  remained  to  reduce  theory  to  practice. 
The  emigrants  had  come,  the  trees  wore  at  haml,  and  "'a  long  rope 
and  a  .short  shrift"  would  have  ended  that  pha.se  of  the  difiicnlty, 
but  that  there  was  just  a  possibility  that  the  invading  force  might 
find  themselves  at  the  wrong  end  of  the  prescribed  rope.     Tho 
I^Iissourians  came  down  with  colors  flying,  with  all  the  panoply 
of  war  and  whisky,  with  wagons  conveying  their  commissariat 
and  theuLselves,  with  rolling  drum  and  shrieking  fife,  and  to  the 
number  of  one  hundred  they  encamped  themselves  on  the  other 
side  of  a  ravine,  and  sent  their  pursuivant  to  command  the  emi- 
grants to  remove  the  tent  which  it  was  said  was  standing  upon  an 
allotment  which  one  of  their  party  had  selected.     The  tent  must 
be  removed,  and  if  the  emigrtints  did  not  comply  with  the  demand, 
their  as.«ailants  would  remove  it  themselves.     "  Touch  our  prop- 
erty at  your  peril,"  was  the  effective  reply.     The  fire  eaters  did 
not  wish  to  monopolize  the  glory  of  an  encounter,  so  they  ex- 
tended the  time  within  which  the  removal  might  be  effected  until 
the  next  morning.     The  emigrants  were  not  inclined  to  trust  the 
enemy  during  an  armistice  so  mysterious,  so  they  stood  to  their 
arms  all  night,  and  their  pickets  kept  vigilant  watch  on  the  enemy. 
With  morning  there  came  a  reinforcement  of  fifty  men  to  the 
Missouriuns,  making  their  force  one  hundred  and  fifty,  while  the 
emigrants  could  muster  sixty  men  all  told.     The  time  was  now 
exte°nded  until  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon;  but  at  that  hour  the 
abolitionists  must  leave  the  territory,  bag  and  baggage,  never  more 
to  return  to  its  emerald  sward.     The  hour  came,  but  the  men  were 
not  on  the  march ;  they  were  ready  for  business,  but  not  that  kind 
of  business.     They  had  gone  through  their  drill  in  front  of  their 
tents,  and  they  handled  their  weapons  like  fellows  who  knew  ex- 
actly "  where  they  would  do  the  most  good."    Two  o'clock  came 


mmmt 


tliomselves 
Here  was 
Liragt;  upon 
ouixl  thuir 
iR'iint,  bnsi- 
limed,  npoa 
lat  atTorded 
n  had  long 
to  practice. 
'  a  long  Yo\)0 
le  difliciilty, 
force  might 
rope.     Tho 
he  panoply 
omniissariat 
,  and  to  the 
3n  the  other 
lid  the  emi- 
ing  upon  an 
le  tent  must 
the  demand, 
3h  our  prop- 
e  eaters  did 
so  they  ex- 
jffected  until 
to  trust  the 
ood  to  their 
)n  the  enemy, 
men  to  the 
ty,  while  the 
me  was  now 
that  hour  the 
e,  never  more 
the  men  were 
not  that  kind 
Tont  of  their 
?ho  knew  ex- 
o'clock  came 


TF.niiiToniAL  UisTonr. 


113 


aiul  with  it  another  herald  extending  the  time  for  thirty  minutes 
only,  and  unless  they  were  then  ready  to  inarch  double  (piick, 
"war  to  the  knife  "  would  be  the  only  alternative.  Tlie  emi- 
grants did  not  scare  in  the  least,  and  the  tents  were  still  standing 
wlicii  the  fatal  tlprty  minutes  had  expired.  "Too  late,  too  late, 
ye  cannot  cnlcr  now,"  sings  Tennyson,  but  the  brave  Missourians 
were  not  quite  so  unrelenting.  Tlicy  had  the  strength  of  giants, 
but  the  mercy  of  lambs,  and  a  further  extension  of  time  was  ac- 
corded unasked.  The  tent  could  be  moved  within  an  hour,  and 
all  would  yet  be  well.  When  tho  latest  exten.sion  of  time  had  been 
disregarded,  their  patience  was  exhausted.  Tliey  determined  to 
parley  no  longer  with  the  occupants  of  the  offending  tent.  All 
that  could  be  asked  on  the  score  of  forbearance  had  been  allowed  ; 
every  man  looked  to  his  weapons  ;  the  indomitable  troops  sur- 
veyed the  foe,  as  brave  men  only  can  look  upon  an  enemy  that  in 
a  short  time  will  be  seen  no  more.  A  few  words  of  consultation 
and  command,  and  the  Missourians  advanced  pas  de  clutnjc — to 
their  wagcjns,  leaving  the  enemy  in  possession  of  the  Held,  and 
amused  by  their  threat  that  within  one  week  they  would  return 
a  thousand  strong  to  obliterate  the  colony.  A  man  of  poetic  in- 
stincts and  good  memory,  who  was  one  of  the  patient  sixty  en- 
camped that  day  upon  the  tented  field  of  Lawrence,  said,  with 
sad  emphasis,  as  he  gazed  upon  the  wagons,  which,  with  their 
whisky  soaked  occupants,  were  being  driven  back  toward  the 
frontier  of  Missouri: 

"  The  king  of  France,  with  forty  thousand  men. 
Marched  up  the  hill,  and  then  marched  down  again.' ' 

So  true  it  is  that  hi.story  repeats  itself,  and  what  a  sovereign  of 
France  did  in  the  eighteentli  century,  the  sovereigns  of  Missouri 
ecliiised  in  the  third  quarter  of  the  nineteenth. 

The  men  who  had  repelled  the  first  invasion  of  Kansas  had 
chosen  whom  they  would  serve.  They  were  not  waifs  and  strays 
driven  hither  and  thither  by  the  surroundings  of  the  hour,  but 
men  filled  with  a  great  purpose  and  resolved  to  abide  the  issue. 
They  had  seen  the  other  side,  had  rejected  it,  and  the  threatening 
manifestation  had  disappeared  like  the  morning  mist,  like  that 
Satan  that  tempted  Christ  in  the  wilderness.     They  did  not  sup- 


1^1 
r 


mmasmmi^^* 


211  TUTTLffs  IIlffTonV  <)l'  A'l.V.sMS. 

pose  tluil  all  llu'  i.rosluvcry  party  consisted  of  men  of  tliat  niouUl, 
but  ti.rv  l.a.l  iinv.'.l  tlieir  n.iiKls  tor  deadly  eonllict.  should  need 
urisc.  The  tlu.uyl.t  if  not  the  words  nf  the  old  rhymer  oecurs 
ocousionallv  to  every  resolute  soul  wlu:u  petty  d.iVieallios  bc.ot 
u  eourse  already  I'l^nned  and  entered  upon  for  an  end  worthy  ol 

pursuit:  ,         ... 

*  "TciiiliTly,  yi>u  I'liicli  ft  iii'tllc, 

Ami  ii  sfmcs  yoii  fur  your  pftlns. 

lim  f,'riisi)  it,  likf  II  iiuiii  ill' niclllc, 

Ami  il  sol'l  as  silk  runuiiiis." 

Those  men  had  -rasp.'d  their  nettle  in  the  same  spirit  ns  that 
whioh  had  erstwhilos  animated  the  eiti/.ens  of  Weston,  and  pre- 
cisely the  same  results  had  followed.     The  nettle  that  wouM  have 
hurt  its  surronndinjrs  ni..m  more  gentle  treatment,  shrunk  away, 
like  a  sensitive  plant,  from   ruder  and  more  muscular  eontact. 
The  hand  of  marau.lers  that  could  assault  men,  in  detail,  threaten 
them  with  stripes,  or  with'  hanging  on  the  nearest  tree,  if  they 
were  old  and  defenseless,  had  found  that  there  were  men  in  then- 
own  cities  who  would  not  submit  to  further  pressure,  an.l  now 
they  bad  ascertained  that  the  emigrants  from  the  eastern  states 
had  the  ]iith  and   marrow  of  true  manhood  which  could  compel 
respect.     ^Phc  forces  of  Mammon  which  in   his  own  day  John 
Milton  had  described  in  his  unrivalled  language,  had  not  greatly 
chan-ed  their  plan  of  operations.     Still  the  garish  light  of  day 
abashed  thorn,  and  sober  courage  did  not  draw  forth  their  better 
qualities,  they  shone  best  in  the  dimness  of  twilight,  or, 

"When  nigl>t 
Darkens  the  sncets,  then  wantlcr  forth  the  sons 
Of  Belial,  flushed  with  insolence  and  wine." 

The  rabble  had  chosen  whom  they  would  serve,  and  the  slave 
power  would  find  in  them  thews  and  sinews  when  better  brain 
assumed  direction.  The  intellects  of  more  favored  regions  must 
ueeds  supply  that  want  in  the  ranks  of  the  oligarchy  before  "  the 
atmosphere  of  Kansas  would  be  darkened  by  their  negroes. 
Such  men  as  Stephen  A.  Douglas  could  stand  by  them  up  to  ^ 
worse  outrages  than  had  vet  been  committed;  and  adopted  sons 
in  various  grades  were  to  assume  the  direction  of  their  airair.s, 
supplyin--  mental  power  only,  while  the  slave  power  gave  the 


Iiiit  mouUl, 

liollld  IK'oJ 
nor  ocoui'rf 
ilti(,rt  Ix'iet 
[  wurlliy  of 


pirit  as  that 
m,  and  pre- 
would  have 
rank  away, 
lar  oniituct. 
[\il,  threaten 
tree,  if  they 
men  in  their 
re,  ami  now 
astern  states 
Mild  comy)el 
n  day  John 
\  not  greatly 
li^ht  of  day 
their  bettor 
or, 


ind  the  slave 

better  brain 

regions  must 

Y  before  "  the 

cir  negroes." 

them  up  to 

adopted  sons 

their  alluirs, 

wer  gave  the 


TF.niiirniiiA r,  Ifisro/i r. 


115 


impulse  vvhieh  continuously  aur;.'('(l  on  iukI  on  toward  final  disrup- 
tion, when  tnany  of  th(!  ablest  minds  war|>c(l  to  that  service, 
fretted  by  the  eoiise<inenecs  of  their  errors,  had  been  ubainloiieil 
on  the  mareh,  and  had  perished  unwept  by  either  side.  It  is 
iicecssary  to  be  forever  on  the  alert  to  avoid  8tt)oping  to  tho 
wrong  expedient  for  the  way  back  is  full  of  toil  and  shame,  and 
the  consoipieiiees  of  error  are  crushing  to  tho  soul  of  the  thinker. 
The  thought  comes  down  from  the  Cireek  ;  the  expression  only  iij 
moderii : 

"Tli()iii,'li  llic  inills  of  Olid  grind  slowly, 

Y(.'t  tlicy  ;rriii(l  (■xccciliiiij:  sniiill; 
Tlioiigli  Willi  iiiiticncc  Ilf  Htiiiuls  waiting, 

Willi  exiictnesji  grinds  Ho  nil." 

This  was  tho  darkest  hour  in  tho  dark  days  of  tho  union 
There  were  millions  halting  between  two  opinions,  darkening 
counsel  with  words,  all  but  leagued  with  tho  destroyer;  only  a 
few  here  and  there  had  made  their  choice.  The  violence  and 
intimidation  which  hail  prevailed  so  long  where  the  friends  of 
slavery  were  in  the  ascendant  had  never,  until  now,  been  prop- 
erly revealed  to  tho  free  states  in  all  their  native  enormity ;  and 
it  was  ncctessary  that  the  revelation  should  bo  complete.  There 
are  but  few  minds  capable  of  hating  a  theoretical  wrong;  and 
good  honest  hate  is  one  of  the  virtues  of  humanity.  Wrong 
must  become  embodied  in  act,  and  be  brought  homo  to  persona  in 
whom  wo  are  interested,  before  we  fully  perceive  how  hideous  are 
its  proportions.  Tho  men  of  tho  eastern  and  middle  states  were 
now  being  aroused  to  complete  wakefulness  on  that  score.  Their 
sons,  brothers  and  friends  were  being  assailed  daily  by  the  op- 
pressors of  the  negro,  and  every  letter  which  came  from  the  terri- 
tory told  them  of  domiciliary  visits  and  high  handed  outrages 
against  free  men  who  wished  only  to  live  in  a  free  state.  The 
man  who  is  at  the  proper  moment  ready  to  fight  is  the  benefactor 
and  peacemaker  in  society,  but  he  must  be  well  informed  as  well 
as  resolute,  "We  owe  great  obligations  to  our  fighters.  The  time 
and  the  spirit  as  well  as  the  action  were  inopportune,  when  Peter 
smote  oflf  tho  ear  of  one  of  the  custodians  of  Christ;  but  the 
Ma.ster  said,  "I  come  not  to  bring  peace  into  tho  world,  but  a 
sword."    That  is  for  all  time  the  function  of  him  who  would 


k 


110  TvTTUfs   IllSVOIiY  or  IC.ISSAH. 

iiitHMliico  iiecU'il  n'forins.     llo  is  rcitaiii  U.  liiul  iIh>  «Kl  wayH 
nilwoni,  }fL  wim'titicd  by  ou.siom  for  iiuiiiy  iniiulH,  until  tho  most 
trivial  variation  costs  nlnumt  u  proiligious  otTort,  nncl  nn  atlciiipt 
to  grutlo  till!  track  ufreslj  hus  all  llio  ti-rrors  of  a  rovolutioii.     Tho 
ilflViiilcrs  of  oUl  iiU'HS  an!  not  nnidy  to  ronicinbcr  that  tlioro  was 
a  tiiiu!  wlion  tho  thoughts  now  crystal li/,wl  into  orlhoaoxy  wcro 
hclcroaox  innovations;   and  tlioy  light  for  tho  ancient  faith,  as 
they  aro  pleaso.l  to  call  it.  in  precisely  tho  same  si)irit  which  ani- 
inate.l  th.-  liuiuisition.     Tho  yielding  souls  of  somu!  men  shrink 
from  the  coniliet,  which  then  neces>arily  impends  over  society, 
und  hut  f.)r  the  backbone  possessed  by  others,  the  raco  might  fall 
into  tho  tamo  stereotyped  condition  which  wo  soo  oxoinplilicd  by 
"llieheatlumChinoo;"  yet  thanks  to  tho  "  ligiitiiig  souls  "  that 
Hhapc  tho  destinies  of  nations  an.l  of  races;  tho  new  idea  is  boriio 
to  the  front,  the  battle  is  won  for  tho  gooil  old  cause  of  progress, 
and  the  men  who  have  aided  toward  the  end   liavo  fuinUod  tUa 
inner  purpose  of  the  all,  which  says : 

"  Build  thoo  more  stiUely  miinsions,  01  my  soul, 
As  the  Mwil't  seasons  roll, 
Leave  thy  low  vaulted  \)>\nt, 
Let  each  new  temple,  nobler  than  the  last, 
Hhut  thee  from  heaven  with  a  dome  more  vast, 
'Till  thou  at  leiiglh  iirt  free. 
Leaving  thino  outgrown  shell,  by  life's  unresting  sea." 

If  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  had  written  no  words  but  these,  he 
vould  have  vindicated  his  claim  to  bo  considered  a  poet  and  a 
Tirophet  among  the  sweetest  singers  of  our  age,  and  we  may  well 
pause  to  study  his  lesson,  in  "  The  Chambered  Nautilus."     Our 
li.vhtcr.4,  who  championed  innovation,  were  building  "more  stately 
i.ransions"  when  they  vindicated  the  independence  of  the  union 
as  also  when,  later  in  the  work  of  development,  they  conquered 
its  foes  in  the  bloody  strife  which  had  commenced  long  before 
thai  fateful  first  gun  was  fired  at  Fort  Sumter.    They  were  full  of 
the  same  spirit  which  filled  Huss,  Jerome  and  Ziska,  in  Hungary, 
v^hich  possessed  Wyeliffe,  in  England,  and  Savonaro  a,  m  Flor- 
enee,  before  the  mantle  of  command  fell  upon  the  shoulders  of 
Luther  and  Melancthon.     The  fighting  instincts  of  the  grand  old 
.    Puritans,  and  Presbyterians,  were  the  artillery  which  battered 
down  tho  tyranny  of  the  past,  and 


old  wftyB 
I  thu  tnoHt 
111  iillotnpt 
.ion.     Tho 
,  tlioro  wfts 
iloxy  woro 
il   I'ailli,  us 
wliiuh  iiiii- 
null  sliriiik 
■or  souioty, 
I  might  full 
uplilioil  by 
»()iila"  that 
Icii  is  bonio 
)[  progress, 
xllWU'A  tUa 


i^r^-j^M0mim^">'',  ■'-* 


)ut  these,  he 
poet  and  a 
ire  may  well 
tilus."     Our 
more  stately 
i{  the  union, 
y  conquered 
long  before 
■  were  full  of 
in  Hungary, 
ola,  in  Flor- 
shonlders  of 
he  grand  old 
ich  battered 


Tf:iiiiirnniM.  Ifisroin'.  1 17 

"  Fiif  cvrr  aiul  lor  ever, 

A"*  lonjr  iiM  till'  rlvrr  Wnwit, 
Aft  Inii^r  IIS  till'  lii'iirt  liittli  imMMioim, 

As  luiiK  118  IIIV  liulli  woes," 

the  samo  wnik  must  continuf  'o  bo  done  in  the  samo  way,  that 
tho  piirpnsps  of  tho  Supremo  may  bo  fiilllllod,  in  the  di.sc'iithial- 
m(Mit  (if  hiiiiiaii  souls,  The  pruyer  may  bo  (jilercd  as  of  yore, 
"  Father  forgive  them,  they  knew  not  what  they  do,"  but,  tho 
wrong  must  be  biittoi'od  down  without  mercy,  or  rather  the  work 
of  destruction  muft  bo  acciotnplislictl,  in  mercy  to  "  tho  millions 
yet  to  bo,"  wlioso  souls  lie  pent  up  and  dying  iti  tho  shell,  tiie  no 
longer  valuable  form  whidi  li:is  brought  to  the  point  of  birth,  tho 
new  life  which  comes  into  tho  world  only  by  the  death  of  its  pre- 
decessor. The  m^'stery  of  mysteries,  life  itself,  eontains  every 
problem  in  .science,  in  art  and  in  social  being  which  eomcs  to  bo 
fought  out  upon  its  stage.  The  ago  was  shaping  a  wonderful  new 
T)irth,  but  tho  agony  of  travail  east  a  gloom  over  soeiety.  John 
]]rown,  and  sncli  as  he,  realized  an  intense  joy  in  the  perils  of 
that  season,  but  to  millions  the  dark  hour  before  the  dawn  earried 
with  it  almost  tlie  presage  of  death.  Gethsemaiie  was  being  re- 
enacted  in  many  minds,  because  they  feared  that  what  always  had 
been,  always  must  be  ;  that  it  was  tho  destiny  of  mankind  to  seo 

"Ki;;lit,  forovcr  on  tho  sciifroKl, 
Wrong,  forever  on  tlie  throne," 

but  even  while  they  knelt  to  say,  "Father,  if  it  be  thy  will,  let 
this  cup  pass  from  me,"  the  old  coiifidenco  came  back  again,  and 
they  said,  "  Thy  will,  not  mine,  be  done."  The  sweat  of  blood, 
the  weakness  of  flesh,  had  passed  away,  and  they  stood  every  man 
in  his  place,  ready  to  do  and  dare  everything  to  upraise  humanity. 
You  have  stood  on  the  deck  of  the  laboring  vessel,  away  on  tho 
silent  sea,  no  sound,  save  tho  creaking  cordage,  the  straining  plank, 
the  play  of  the  rudder  cliains  as  tho  man  at  tlio  wheel  keejis  tlio 
ship  to  the  course  pvcs'M-ibed,  the  plash  of  the  waves  as  they  come 
up  in  sport  to  dash  against  the  wooden  walls  of  that  heaving 
barque,  the  moaning  ot  the  wind  through  the  distended  canvas  as 
the  graceful  expression  of  the  builder's  art  turns  her  furrow  in  the 
ocean;  and  as  you  have  doubtingly  ca.st -your  inquiring  glance 


'-i^f?gqy**^T'-^ 


118 


TvTTLtfs  His  WHY  of  Id  ss  as. 


11 


upon  the  wild  waste  of  waters,   that  image  of  a  maze  without  a 
plan,  there  has  come  shooting  \\\)  from  the  horizon  the  pale  grey- 
light  of  dawn,  a  tremulous  peneil  stroke  which  says,  "havefai^h; 
the  dark  hour  of  your  trial  has  gone  down  into  the  limbo  of  obliv- 
ion.   Have  faith  ;  the  broad  'ight  of  day  is  coming."     Tlien  as  the 
sounds  of  that  admonition  still  seem  to  be  murmuring  their  ca- 
dence in  your  ears,  you  find  the  pencil  stroke  has  become  a  pow- 
erful sunbeam,  harb'nger  of  the  master  who  is  at  hand,  and  the 
verv  clouds  which  sulfenly  barred  the  coming  of  your  hope  now 
stand  arrayed  in  the  rosy  tints  of  golden  fire  which  already  reveal 
the  day,  before  it  has  come  above  the  line  of  the  sea.     You  have 
seen  and  heard  the  prophecy  of  God  in  the  world,  and  you  see  in 
the  onrush  of  every  wave,  a  new  witness  to  the  power  by  which 
his  will  shall  be  accomplished.     Thus  was  it  also  in  that  ship  of 
state,  in  which  watchfid  men  at  the  wheel  were  obeying  the  dic- 
tates of  a  pilot,  such  as  no  ship  upon  the  ocean  had  ever  seen  ex- 
celled.    The  menacing  waters  might  look  dark  as  Erebus  itself, 
the  thousand  fanciful  forms  might  seem  to  tell  of  breakers  and^a 
hurricane,  in  which  the  mighty  timbers  should  shiver  into  noth- 
ing, and  the  crew  be  played  wich  in  the  billows,  like  snowflakes 
in°the  wind.     But  while  ti'oir  ears  and  their  hearts  were  yet  full 
of  the  sounds  of  portent,  really  describing  to  the  accu.stomed  mar- 
iner the  triumph  over  so  much  of  distance  and  trial,  the  spring  of 
the  yielding  timbers  which  bend  to  their  work  with  a  will,  the 
strain  of  cinvas  and  cordage  truly  fulfilling  a  great  trust,  the 
clank  of  the  mighty  chain  which  serves  for  the  ship  the  guiding 
purpose,  whicb  in  the  human  heart  is  made  invincible  by  a  nerve, 
the  doubt  is  driven  off  from  every  soul  by  just  one  gleam  upon 
the  horizon,  one  peneil  line  of  promise  now  radiating  into  a  thou- 
sand o-leams  of  light,  which  convert  the  clouds  into  an  adornment, 
painttongues  of  flame  upon  the  waves  as  though  a  pentecost  were 
there,  and  soon  the  blessed  light  itself,  the  molten  gold  which 
gives  life  to  the  river  and  fertility  to  the  soil,  comes  forth  to  say, 
"Ye  may  not  look  upon  me,  but  I  come,  and  the  wrongs,  whicli 
only  an  hour  since  seemed  eternal,  are  already  banished  beyond 
the  recalling  power  of  king  or  oppressor."     The  men  upon  their 
farms  in  Kansas  had  passed  into  their  hour  of  trial,  and  were  com- 
ing through  it  into  the  glorious  dawn  of  freedom.     They  had 


3-^-ryf^  J*  - v*" J^  1'Z.^^T  "^  "TV  ' 


!  without  a 
3  pale  grey 
have  faith ; 
JO  of  obiiv- 
riien  as  the 
ig  their  ca- 
me a  pow- 
id,  and  the 
r  hope  now 
cady  reveal 

You  have 

you  see  in 
11"  by  which 
ihat  ship  of 
ing  the  dic- 
ker seen  ex- 
rebus  itself, 
akers  and  a 
ir  into  noth- 

snowflakes 
/ere  yet  full 
5tomcd  mar- 
he  spring  of 

a  will,  the 
t  trust,  the 
the  guiding 
I  by  a  nerve, 
gleam  upon 
into  a  thou- 

adornment, 
mtecost  were 

gold  which 
forth  to  say, 
•ongs,  which 
shed  beyond 
n  upon  their 
id  were  com- 
,     They  bad 


TEunrroiiiAL  History. 


119 


been  failliful  in  a  few  things  ;  they  should  be  made  masters  over 
many.  They  had  seen  their  undoubted  rights  derided  by  brutal 
mobs,  their  properties  made  the  sport  of  incendiary  fires;  they  had 
been  forced  to  light  hand  to  hand,  man  against  man,  in  odds  that 
seemed  overwhelming ;  they  had  seen  their  brethren  and  neigh- 
bors shot  down  in  defending  their  homesteads ;  their  memories 
w(M'e  often  busy  with  mysterious  reminders  of  the  past,  as  tliough 
some  pulsation  of  a  spirit  played  upon  the  subtle  chords  of  the 
soul,  and  challenged  fulfillment  in  another  of  the  great  aims  which 
had  been  all  but  won  by  him, 

"  The  younj?  aiul  stvon.s;,  who  cherished 
Nohlo  lungingsi  for  the  strife, 
J3y  the  roiiilside  fell  aiul  perished, 
Weiiry  with  the  march  of  life." 

Every  death  among  their  comrades  sanctified  the  struggle,  in 
which  so  many  good  men  had  fallen,  and  helped  to  render  it  ira- 
])ossible  that  they  should  ever  turn  their  backs  upon  the  foe. 
Their  light  was  already  streaming  from  the  cast,  not  yet  the  per- 
fect day  shining  down  from  the  zenith,  but  the  penciled  line  of  prom- 
ise. The  word  reache^l  thein  by  every  new  comer  that  thousands 
were  on  the  way,  many  coming  of  their  own  strong  will,  having 
converted  every  vestige  of  property  into  coin,  to  be  spent  in  Kan- 
sas in  building  up  a  home,  which  should  be  a  fortress  against 
slavery,  some  coming  from  Boston,  from  New  York,  some  even 
from  Baltimore,  helped  by  emigrants'  aid  societies  in  such  ways 
as  were  most  likely  to  be  effective,  in  securing  possession  of  the 
lard  upon  which  the  slave  masters  sought  to  imprint  their  curse. 
Every  town  in  the  eastern  states  had  now  some  ramification  of 
those  societies,  which  were  the  nightmare  of  the  south,  and  when 
letters  arrived  from  liome,  there  were  almost  always  words  of 
cheer  fc"  the  sturdy  band  upon  the  fertile  prairies  of  Kansas,  who 
seemed  to  be  rather  standing  in  order  of  battle,  than  pushing  their 
fortunes  upon  the  lands,  or  building  their  homes  in  the  cities, 
where  commerce  would  yet  flourish,  but  every  word  in  their  let- 
ters seemed  to  say  as  in  the  language  of  the  olden  writer,  "  Fear 
not  little  flock ;  it  is  thy  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  thee  the 
kingdom." 


I 


[■upiMi»-'^'»  g' 


120 


TcTTLifs  History  of  Kassas. 


CHAPTER    VI. 
TERIUTOIIIAL  HISTORY. 

(coniinucd.) 

fletrospppti vo  —  Emigrants  Aid  Associations  —  Limits  of  tlirir  Action  —  Van 
rictnrcs  of  Kansas  — Popnlar  Entliusiasm  — WiikMiiiig  the  Circle  — 
Systematic  Advances  — Levy  en  mrt,tse  — Founding  a  City —  Tactics  of 
tlic  Slave  Owners  —  l'roa''''-'ss  ^^  ^'"^  Strll,^■sle. 

WilTT-K  wc  liavo  been  busy  here  in  Kansas  watching  the  pro- 
gress of  events,  not  only  in  the  territory  whose  fate  hangs  in  the 
balance,  but  aeross  the  border  in  the  slave  state  Missouri,  where 
secret  societies  and  defensive  associations  arc  being  organized  to 
control  the  movements  of  colonization   in   the   interests  of  the 
slave  power,  it  was  hardly  possible  to  do  more  than  just  indicate 
by  a  few  jiassing  words,  the  cll'orts  that  were  being  put  forth  in 
Boston,  in  New  Yorh,  in   Connecticut,  in  Washington  and  else- 
where, to  make  Kansas  a  free  state,  by  sending  west  to  occupy 
the  territory,  a  population  that  could  not  be  intimidated  by  even 
the  dread  presence  of  death  itself,  into  compliance  with  the  will 
of  the   brutal  mobs  of  the   proslavery  party.     June   and   July, 
1854,  were  busy  months  among  the  free  soil  organizations,  but 
althoutdi  there  was  a  great  deal  of  talk  among  the  Missourians, 
about  the  lavish  employment  of  money  by  the  manufacturer-cap- 
italists of  the  eastern  and  middle  states,  in  procuring  free  settle- 
ment in  Kansas,  the  actual  work  was  accomplished  rather  by  dif- 
fusing information  than  by  advancing  money.     As  early  as  the 
month  of  March,  1854,  Mr.  Eli  Thayer,  of  Boston,  Mass.,  had 
conceived  the  idea  of  forming  a  vast  emigrants  aid  association, 
which  should  have  for  its  object  the  settlement  of  Kansas  by  free 
Boilers,  as  a  special  and  particular  work,  while  generally  helping 
to  relieve  foreign  immigrants  from  those  vampires,  "  the  runners," 
who  victimized  new  arrivals  without  let  or  hindrance  from  any  or- 
ganization.   The  society  which  Mr.  Thayer  then  proposed  to  estab- 
lish, with  a  capital  limited  to  $5,000,000,  did  not  in  fact  come  into 


M'j>iy*ii^>ii*niiM 


M^iAjili'iiiMTifininr 


■•■u-j'rj'fi"'""itn-''-*-^'^-"-""'— *" 


Vet  ion  —  Pen 
tlic  CMrcle  — 
—  Tactics  of 


ing  the  pro- 
laiiffs  in  the 
;onri,  ■\vhore 
rgaiiized  to 
rests  of  tlio 
upt  indicate 
mt  forth  irk 
m  and  clso- 
t  to  occupy 
tod  b}'  even 
ith  the  will 
and   Jidy, 
i^^ations,  but 
Mipsouriana, 
factnrer-cap- 
r  free  settle- 
ither  by  dif- 
carly  as  the 
Mass.,  had 
association, 
insas  by  free 
•ally  helping 
the  runners," 
from  any  or- 
-»sed  to  estab- 
ict  come  into 


^.s»6^^^KT^  -^SKS^-iTrrr^t^k-^-^^^'^  ..J*.™* 


Territohial  Hihtohy. 


121 


existence,  although  a  charter  of  incorporation  was  procured  from 
the  general  court  of  Massachusetts  in  Ai>ril,  and  the  charter  was 
duly  signed  by  the  governor  of  that  state  on  the  2dlli  of  that 
month,  in  the  year  before  mentioned.  There  were  dilliculties  in 
the  way  of  organizing  the  propo.sed  company,  and  the  scheme 
fell  through,  but  inasmuch  as  there  was  a  society  afterwards 
cstablislied  upon  a  simihvr  basis,  although  with  a  snudler  capital, 
by  the  same  men,  it  wdl  be  worth  while  to  examine  and  con- 
dense for  the  bcnelit  of  our  readers,  the  report,  in  which  the  com- 
mittee which  was  nominated  for  the  work  in  May,  submitted  to 
the  public,  and  to  tlie  society  then  in  course  of  formation,  the 
main  bearings  of  their  movement.  The  document  has  historical 
interest,  because  it  reveals  from  the  best  sources  the  animus 
which  prevailed  in  the  best  informed  circles,  and  the  determina- 
tion with  which  the  conflict  was  to  be  fought  out  to  its  bitter  end. 
It  was  necessary  to  show  lirst,  that  such  a  society  as  the  charter 
was  meant  to  incorporate  ought  to  be  formed,  and  therefore,  the 
stream  of  immigration  across  the  Atlantic  formed  the  preamble. 
The  fertility  of  Kansas  and  the  attractions  oU'ered  by  that  region 
li"ured  next  in  the  programme,  as  the  native  born  citizens  of  the 
Bay  state  were  being  induced  to  look  beyond  Iowa  and  Missouri,  to 
the  unsettled  region  which  public  interests  and  sc.cial  considerations 
rendered  it  desirable  should  be  possessed  by  men  opposed  to  the 
extension  of  slavery.  The  foreign  arrivals  in  the  ports  of  the 
United  States,  during  the  preceding  year,  had  a{.gregated  nearly 
five  hundred  thousand  of  all  ages,  and  it  was  estniated  that  the 
movement  westward  during  the  same  time  had  engrossed  more  than 
two  hundred  thousand,  with  a  reasonable  prospect  of  a  still  larger 
exodus  during  the  then  current  year,  consequently  there  would 
be  no  lack  of  material  upon  which  the  society  could  operate. 
The  cruel  frauds  to  which  emigrants  from  Plurope  were  subjected 
continually  under  the  irrespo'nsible  system,  which  left  the  strangers 
at  the  mercy  of  any  scoundrel  that  would  practice  on  their  igno- 
rance as  to  our  customs,  formed  the  next  item,  and  inasmuch  as 
the  association  was  expected  to  return  a  money  profit  to  its  in- 
vesters,  the  reasonable  implication  followed  that  the  people  to 
be  benefited  could  better  afford  to  pay  honest  friends  for  good 
eervice,  than  to  submit  to  the  speculations  of  the  agents  then  fat- 


■■^tjijajTi 


122 


TcTTijfs  llisrouY  OF  Kashas. 


toning  uiKtn  thcni.  From  tlic  foreiyn  emigrant,  the  transition  to 
tlie  nulivo  born  Amorican  was  of  course  natural,  and  tlie  incon- 
veniences anil  dangers  which  then  attended  iipon  individual  set- 
tlement in  the  west  gave  a  theme  which  touched  hundr^^ds  o£ 
thousands  who  themselves  contemplated  moving  into  Kansas,  or 
who  had  jcceived  word  from  their  friends  in  that  territory  as  to 
the  form  in  which  Missourian  philanthropy  proposed  to  welcome 
free  men. 

To  mitigate  as  far  as  possible,  where  it  was  impossible  to  obviate, 
altogether,  the  frauds,  inconveniences,  accidents  and  dangers  inci- 
dental to  immigration  always,  but  then,  more  especially,  the  society 
bad  been  incorporated  nominally  to  organize  and  systematize  the 
movements  of  the  mass  of  humanity  then  tending  toward  the 
west ;  but,  actually,  could  the  pui'j.oses  of  lAv.  Eli  Thayer    and 
friends  have  been  prudently  stated  in  the  plainest  language,  the 
descriiiLion  of  their   intentions  might  have  been,    to  become  a 
council  of  adv-icc  and  aid  to  the  colonists  who  would  guaranty 
Kansas  against  slavery  in  the  future,  to  unfold  the  designs  of 
their  enemies  and  of  the  enemies  of  the  human  race,  in  that 
matter  of  holding  the  black  race  in  subjection,  and  compelling 
free  settlers  to  submit  to  a  still  more  galling  yoke,  and  to  assist 
so  far  as  means  would  allow  in  making  the  possession  of  the  soil 
by  free  men  a  safe  and  economical  venture.     Then  followed  a 
description  of   the  agencies  which  were  to  be  tentatively  em- 
ployed.    The  capital  of  the  company  was  placed  at  $0,000,000, 
to  be  called  up  in  ten  years  should  occasion  require  the  whole 
amount,  but  no  such  probability  was  anticipated,  and  in  reality, 
when    the  society,   which  came   into  existence   upon  the  basis 
which  failed  to  org.inize  the  first,  the  amount  of  money  expended 
was  very  small  indeed.     It  was  believed  that  the  steady  returns 
to  be  expected  on  an  investment  of  one-fifth  of  the  capital  would 
pliint  a  free  state  and  give  very  substantial  profits  to  investers. 
The  moneyed  man  jier  se  could  not  be  induced  to  see  things  in 
that  way,  and  necessarily  it  devolved  upon  men  who  were  pre- 
pared to  invest  upon  the  principle,  that  "He  that  giveth  to  the 
poor  leudeth  to  the  Lord,"  and  thty  carried  out  the  undertaking 
without  any  considerable  outlay  until  the  end  had  been  attained. 
Among  the  many  societies  projected  and  formed,  this  baud  of 


aiisition  to 
the  incou- 
vidual  stiO- 
iiudr'Als  of 
Kansas,  or 
ritory  as  to 
to  welcome 

to  obviate, 
angers  inei- 
,  the  society 
eniatizc  the 

toward  the 
Miayer  and 
nguage,  the 
)  become  a 
Id  guamnty 
!  designs  ot 
xce,  in  that 

compelling 
md  to  assist 
1  of  the  soil 
,  followed  a 
;atively  em- 

§5,000,000, 
e  the  whole 
d  in  reality, 
•n  the  basis 
3y  expended 
eady  returns 
apital  would 
to  investers. 
see  things  in 
bo  were  pre- 
giveth  to  the 

undertaking 
een  attained. 


this  baud  of 


Ti:uniTO[{iAL  Uistouy. 


128 


men  came  first  to  the  work  and  alone  remained  unt,     Kansas 
became  a  free  state.     The  emigrant  was  to  be  helped  by  being 
protected  from  frauds  on  his  journey ;  reliable  and  eo.nprehensive 
Information  would   gnard  him  in  that  direction,  and  the  sa.ne 
^vatehful  care  would  attend  him  after  his  arrival  at  his  desti- 
nation     Then  followed  the  most  important  item,  like  tlie  post- 
script  to  the  communication  of  a  lady  friend :  the  emigrant  was  to 
be  mainly  protected  by  the  presence  of  neighbors,  upon  whom  ho 
could  reiy  in  any  emergency  which  might  arise,  in  the  certa.nty 
that  he  could  obtain  "combined  assistance,"  and    "division  ot 
labor  ; "  important  considerations  in  a  country  wiiere  hanging  on 
the  nearest  tree  was  the  reward  of  individual  exertion.      1  he  pro- 
teges of  the  association  would  move  in  large  numbers,  hence  they 
would  encamp  as  an  army  of  industry,  with  whom  the  slave 
power  would  not  dare  to  meddle.    The  colonies  so  planted  would 
carry  wit1i  them  the  safety  and  the  other  ameliorating  influences 
^vhlch  attend  upon  the  older  civilizations.      There  would  be  a 
section  of  society  moved  with  its  churches,  schools,  police  and 
press,  instead  of  the  mere  desultory  aggregation  of  atoms  from 
vvhich  these  several  items  of  the  machinery  of  progress  would 
gradually  accrue.     These  designs  were  well  worthy  of  the  care  to 
be  bestowed,  and  in  addition  to  all  these,  the  association  would 
provide  cheaper  transit,   immediate   shelter  upon  arrival,  trust- 
worthy intelligence  as  to  locations,  and  material  aid  in  procuring 
titles  where  no  other  help  would  be  accepted.     Such  an  organ- 
ization might  well  be  an  object  of  dread  to  Missouri,  because 
whether  the  aid  so  proffered  to  the  public  was  accepted  or  not, 
the  old  maxim,  "forewarned,  forearmed,"  came  into  p  ay,  and  the 
people  wlio  went  west  carried  with  them  a  full  knowledge  of  the 
diflieulties  to  be  encountered.     Practically,  it  is  known  that  the 
number  moved  by  the  direct  assistance  of  the  society  was  small, 
but  when  men  wanted  information,  the  offices  of  the  association, 
guarantied  by  the  good  names  which  stood  sponsors    or  their 
Abnegation  of  "  the  world  and  the  devil,"  could  and  did  render 
essential  service  to  the  good  work.     There  were  diminutions  of 
rates  of  travel  as  consequences  of  the  operations  of  such  societies, 
and  the  influence  exerted  made  known  through  the  press  of  the 
eastern  and  middle  states  the  charms  of  Kansas  soil  and  scenery, 


I,  !' 


124 


TvTTLffs  TlisTonv  or  KaS'<as. 


which  wouia  have  ivpai.l  a  crusade,  if  it  had  hooii  necessary,  to 
relieve  the  territory  from  the  domination  of  the  infidoh     ^^  ith 
such  forces  ill  operation,  "Nfissonri  had  no  possibility  of  success, 
in  that  proposal,  to  carry  all   the  emigrants  to  suspense  account 
and  to  leave  the  fruits  of  such  labors  pendant  from  the  Inabs  of 
trees.    There  was  noti.ing  possible  for  the  slave  state  except  such 
overwhelming  defeat  as  many  of  the  more  prudent  citizens  fore- 
saw from  the  lirst.     The  society  was  to  afford  cheap  shelter  to 
emigrants  while  they  were  engaged  in  preparing  homes  for  their 
families.     Steam  saw  mills,  grist  mills  and  other  such  machinery, 
together  with  printing  presses,  were  to  be  forwarded  to  the  settle- 
ments, to  be  leased  to  approved  persons  where  convenient,  or  to 
be   run  by  the  agents  of  the  association  ;   and  wherever  such 
boarding  houses,  mills  and  machinery  might  be  located,  the  com- 
pany would  seek  to  acquire  titles,  but  in  no  other  places;  and  in 
every  instance,  as  soon  as  the  territory  became  a  free  state,  the 
projxn-ties  so  acquired  should  be  sold  and  the  moneys  realized 
therefrom  be  used  in  assuming  similar  duties  elsewhere  in  multi- 
plying free  states.    There  was  a  disinterested  earnestness  in  these 
men  which  looked  horrible  from  a  Missourian  standpoint,  and  it 
is  not  matter  for  wonder  that  rewards  were  oflEered  for  .^^.-^  arrest 
of  LIr.  Eli  Thayer  by  the  organizers  of  secret  societies,  and  that 
the  press  of  the  slave  state  discussed  the  several  modes  of  "hang- 
in-v"  and  "  drowning,"  with  the  purp.^se  of  deterring  further  pro- 
ceedings on  his  part,  but  with  the  effect  of  rendering  human  life 
less  sa°cred  among  a  people  already  too  low  in  social  status  and 
in  moral  tone.     The  activity  of  the  several  agents  was  not  abated 
an  iota  by  such  brutalities  of  expression,  and  when  words  were 
reduced  to  deeds,  in  many  instances,  the  antagonism  which  was 
evoked  would  very  speedily  have  emptied  the  whole  population  of 
the  Atlantic  states  upon  the  territory,  if  it  had  been  found  essen- 
tial, to  conduct  a  migration  of  such  an  immense  force  to  secure 
the  end  desired. 

When  the  barbarian  hordes  came  down  upon  the  cities  and 
the  forests  of  Europe,  in  the  days  of  the  decline  of  the  Roman 
empire,  there  was  not  such  an  overwhelming  force  of  humanity 
back  of  that  emigration  as  now  e-isted  in  the  descendants  of  the 
fiame  races  of  men  in  that  qu,.'-to,-  of  the  globe,  and  they  were 


iiifi  I  iiiMllriitfillllitiil 


iiirWfVii'ii'"'  't'^-' 


^M 


cossary,  to 
1(«1.     iVith 
of  sncceps, 
sc  account, 
he  liiabs  of 
except  such 
i\zens  fore- 
)  shelter  to 
les  for  their 
machinery, 
3  the  settle- 
nient,  or  to 
;vevor  such 
(1,  the  coin- 
ces ;  and  in 
c  state,  the 
!ys  realized 
re  in  tnulti- 
es3  in  these 
oint,  and  it 
tr  i^\'^  arrest 
?s,  and  that 
!s  of  "  hang- 
further  pro- 
:  human  life 
1  status  and 
s  not  abated 
words  were 
1  which  was 
opulation  of 
[ound  essen- 
•ce  to  secure 

3  cities  and 
the  Roman 
)f  hximanity 
dtiiits  of  the 
,d  they  were 


Teuiutouia  l  His  tou  r. 


195 


crossing  the  Atlantic  by  hundreds  of  thousands  every  year.    They 
were  men  inured  to  toil,  hating  shivery,  aecusloiued  to  self  gov- 
ernment, and  capable  of  self  defense.     Give  them  direction  only, 
and  tliey  w(nild  acquire  such  a  hold  upon  the  territui'y  as  in  a 
few  years  would  make  them   irresistible.     The  rill,  the  sli'cam, 
the  torrent  flowed  over  Kansas,  and  Missouri  shrank  back  before 
the  power  which  its  own  fatuity  had  evoked.     The  .spirit^^,  called 
"  from  the  vasty  deep,"  had  answered  with  terrible  emphasis,  and 
they  could  not  be  exorcised  by  any  charm  of  "bell,  book  and  can 
die."     The  society  established  communication  with  the  agencies  for 
German  immigration,  and  by  such  means  the  vast  populations 
which,  in  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era,  overspread  the  old 
continent,  were  made  conversant  with  the  special  attractions  of 
Kansas,  its  loveliness,  fertility,  and  future  greatness,  the  water 
power  in  its  unimproved  rivers,  the  mines  which  waited  only  for 
ex2>loUation,  and  the  climate  which  might  well  seem  a  paradise  to 
the  millions  who  were  invited  to  come  over  and  possess  the  land. 
The  end  to  be  achieved  was  well  worthy  of  an  eflfort,  and  the  vast 
power  which  could  be  moved  for  the  purpose  was  irresistible. 
The  few  that  formed  the  advance  guard  might  be  annoyed  and 
driven  in  upon  the  main  body,  but  when  the  engagement  once  be- 
came general  along  the  whole  line,  God  help  the  assailing  force, 
which  had  brought  down  upon  itself  a  crushing  power,  greater 
than  that  which  followed  Attila,  the  Hun.     Men  moved  west- 
ward by  thousands  every  year,  and  now  the  whole  energy  of  the 
free  soil  party  was  directed  into  the  work,  to  make  the  very  best 
class  of  emigrants  from  the  free  states  settle  in  Kansas.     Societies 
for  mutual  aid  were  formed  in  many  cities,  and  colonies  were  pro- 
jected into  Kansas,  whereby  men  who  had  known  each  other  for 
many  years,  if  not  all  their  lives,  moved  in  concert  to  their  new 
home.     The  discussion  of  rights  and  wrongs  in  congress  had  been 
slow  and  tedious,  and  in  the  end  there  were  no  such  results  as 
could  satisfy  the  community,  or  settle  the  questions  in  debate, 
but  when  the  doctrine  of  sovereignty  had  been  reduced  to  practice 
in  this  simple  way,  the  manipulators  and  wire  pullers  from  the 
lobbies  at  Washington  ascertained  that  there  is  an  appeal  back  of 
every  representative  and  servant,  however  high  his  title,  to  the 
people  themselves,  whose  voice  must  be  final  and  conclusive 


aiMntnata-^^tta  m  iii  ■  *— -^ 


.1  ^n.-i  JIJH.IIIH 


I 


126 


TuTri.rf^  If  IS  Tony  or  K  ass  as. 


■wherever  the  sound  conUl  be  hesml.     IMie  court  of  final   appoal 
was  bein>'  constituted  in  Kansas,  and  with  every  stop  toward  tlio 
desired  eonsuniination,  the  oornmunity  in  tlie  middle  and  eastern 
states  pressed  forwanl  more  earnestly  to  participate.     Massacln;- 
sotts,  with  her  teeming  factt)ries  and  workshops,  saw  that  in  such 
nn  extension  as  was  proposed  there  would  be  an  additional  area 
opened  to  her  productions,  the  more  certain  to  continue  because 
of  the  unity  of  feeling  which  would  result  from  the  operations  of 
such  societies,  and  the  more  liberal  in  its  dimensions  because  of 
the  high  tone  and  of  the  enterprise  which  must  distinguish  such 
n  people.     From  every  stcndpoint  advanced  thinkers  in  the  east 
saw  the  advantages  of   the  movement  which  they  were   help- 
ing to  develop,  and  every  day  increased  the  volume  and  velocity 
of  the  stream  which  they  were  directing.     The  redoubled  eflorts 
of  other  organizations  made  the  success  of  every  society  more 
probable,  because  the  aims  to  be  accomplished  were  not  the  per- 
sonal gains  of  the  promoters,  but  the  general  good  of  the  commu- 
nity ;    still  every  city  was  urged  to  contribute  liberally  toward 
the  colonization  fund,  by  promises  that  the  cities  to  be  founded 
in  the  west  by  the  moans  so  provided  should  be  named  in  honor  of 
the  cities  in  the  oast  which  had  most  largely  provided  the  capital 
on  which  they  were  to  operate.     The  society  first  projected  was 
not  duly  organized,  but  another  society  was  formed  by  the  pro- 
moters on  the  same  basis,  with  less  money  liability,  and  a  charter 
as  the  "  New  England  Emigrant  Aid  Society."    The  purposes  were 
precisely  the  same,  and  the  capital  was  limited  to  $1,000,000,  the 
trustees  of  the  association,  Amos    Lawrence,  John  S.  Williams 
and  the  much  abused  Eli  Thayer,  being  foremost  among  the  fore- 
most contributors.     Other  such  societies  were  operating  elsewhere 
as  we  have  seen,  and  the  territory  of  Kansas  became  the  focus 
toward  which  the  forces  of  the  abolition  party  converged  from  all 
parts  of  the  union.     "  The  war  was  to  be  fought  out  on  that  line  if 
it  took  all  summer."     The  general  success  which  resulted  did  not 
come  from  any  one  of  all  those  organizations,  but  it  came  from 
the  mental  and  physical  activities  of  an  aroused  people,  able  to 
see  the  tyranny  and  the  wastefulness  of  the  slave  system,  and  de- 
termined to  have  none  of  it  in  the  future  of  the  union.     Missouri 
hated  the  aspect  which  affairs  had  now  assumed,  but  the  main 


lal   appeal 
toward  tlio 
11(1  eastern 
Massacln> 
at  in  snch 
tional  area 
ne  because 
erations  of 
because  o£ 
jnisli  such 
in  the  east 
were  lielp- 
nd  velocity 
)leil  efforts 
ciety  more 
lot  the  per- 
he  commu- 
illy  toward 
QC  founded 
in  honor  of 
the  capital 
ejected  was 
ay  the  pro- 
id  a  charter 
irposcs  were 
)00,000,  the 
5.  Williams 
ng  the  fore- 
g  elsewhere 
5  the  focus 
;ed  from  all 
a  that  line  if 
1  ted  did  not 
came  from 
pie,  able  to 
em,  and  de- 
.     Missouri 
It  the  main 


TKiutirnniAL  Ifisrony. 


127 


features  wore  but  answers  to  her  own  aggressive  conduct,  and  in 
tlu'  abstract  every  citizen  desorvod  tt,  applauded,  when  hegavo 
fn)ui  liis  purse  tind  liis  energy  to  increase  the  area  available  for 
free  labor  and  free  government.  The  cities  of  the  east  had  masses 
of  population,  whicli  souglit  good  outlets  in  regions  where  their 
own  customs  and  institutions  could  bo  preserved,  an*l  if  slavery  hail 
not  been  a  giant  wrong,  wliich  ought  to  die,  and  which  was  already 
doomed  by  the  fiat  of  nature,  the  jirairics  of  Kansas  would  havo 
nlVordod  an  excellent  area  upon  which  to  test  the  slave  system 
and  the  free  system,  in  communities  established  side  by  side. 
The  oligarchy  wanted  no  tests  and  no  comparisons.  They  wanted 
territory  on  which  to  sell  and  to  employ  slave  stock;  "the  very 
head  and  front  of  their  offending  had  tluit  extent,  no  hiore,"  until 
they  concentrated  upon  them.«elves  that  avalanche  wliich  over- 
whelmed their  puny  efforts,  by  proposing  to  lynch  every  free  emi- 
grant that  ventured  into  Kansas.  Once  a  state  of  war  had  been 
producetl,  of  course  each  party  exasperated  the  other,  and  the  deeds 
which  require  enumeration  were  but  the  inevitable  outcome  of 
events. 

Where  the  city  of  Lawrence  now  stands,  the  first  colony  was 
planted  by  the  concerted  action  of  the  free  states,  in  the  early  part 
of  July,  1854,  and  we  have  seen  by  what  means  and  with  what 
results,  Missouri  interposed,  up  to  the  time  when  the  "  rousta- 
bouts "  retired  from  the  contest  without  striking  one  blow,  under 
cover  of  a  threat  that  they  would  come  up  one  thousand  strong 
to  wipe  out  that  little  force  of  sixty  men.  The  Missourians  had 
not  exhausted  their  ingenuity,  although  they  had  completed  that 
demonstration.  The  force  of  arms  having  failed,  they  had  re- 
course to  oratory  and  manipulation.  :Many  a  man  who  could  be 
conquered  without  difficulty  in  the  stricken  field  can  exhaust  his 
most  powerful  opponents  if  they  will  only  let  him  talk,  and  Ther- 
sites  had  many  disciples  in  Missouri.  The  news  had  been  con- 
veyed into  the  state  that  on  the  first  day  of  August,  there  would 
be  a  meeting  of  settlers,  at  Back  Bone  Eidge,  to  establish  regula- 
tions under  which  squatters  might  take  up  and  improve  their 
selections,  with  a  tolerable  degree  of  certainty  that  their  rights 
-would  be  respected.  Such  an  opportunity  was  not  to  be  lost,  and 
the  several  organizations  sent  up  a  considerable  force  to  overawe 


128 


TuTTLffs  History  of  Kaxsas. 


tlio  newcomers;  if  poHsiblo,  to  override  tlicin  by  noise  rxr-l  foreign 
voting  power,  in  any  ease,  and  to  give  thcin  a  taste  of  tlic  quality 
Inr  \vl.ieli   Missourians  on  the  Btuini)  had  boeonie  famous.     An 
Inaiana  hiwyer  named  Dunliam  was  the  orator,  and  he  was  vory 
l),)werrul  in  liis  parlieular  lino,  but  his  fiiends  suiTercd  a?  much 
as  did  his  enemies,  and  like  DogUmj,  it  is  probable  that  lie  re- 
gretted that  there  was  no  man   present  to  write  him '-down  an 
iiss."     Kvcry  stroke  of  the  piston  in  an  air  pump  removes  onedialf 
of  the  atmosphere  from  the  receiver,  and  the  elo.piento  of  Dun- 
ham acted  in  the   same  way ;  the  free  state  men  adjourned,  the 
Missourians  went  "from  labor  to  refreshment,"  and  after  the  ora- 
tor and  his  friends  had  taken  their  accustomed  inspiration  for  two 
hours,  the  settlers  reassembled,  adopted  their  constitution  and  by 
laws,  completed  the  business  of  tl.<.  day  by  electing  olliccrs,  and 
br.Hight  their  proceedings  to  an  orderly  termination,     'riic  chief 
ju.stice  chosen  by  the  settlors  w'.s  tlio  lion.  John  A.  Wakdield, 
and  the  recorder.  Brier  W.  Miller,  a  selection  well  worthy  of  the 
occasion.     The  Missourians  were  nonplussed  for  the  time,  but 
when  it  became  necessary  to  remodel  the  laws  of  the  community, 
the  call  of  the  executive  was  communicated  to  the  slave  owners' 
party  once  more,  and  numbers  poured  in  to  disturb  the  little 
assemblage,  but  afte-  a  narrow  escape  from  a  resort  to  the  ulUma 
ratio  force,  the  difTicuty  was  accommodated  upon  a  basis  which 
secured  the  election  of  Judge  Wakefield  a  second  time.     The 
foundation  of  this  little  community  was  laid  in  July,  185-t,  when 
the  agent  of  the  New  England  Emigrant  Aid  Society,  lion.  Chas. 
II.  Branscombe,  since  distinguished  as  one  of  the  representatrves 
of  St.  Louis,  in  the  legislature  of  Missouri,  selected  the  site  of  the 
city  of  Lawrence  for  the  first  colony.     There  were  persons  located 
on  the  ground  before  the  free  soders  arrived,  but  their  rights  had 
all  been  purchased,  and  the  few  improvements  attempted  had 
been  liberally  considered  in  the  sale.     The  name  of  the  city, 
.    "  Lawrence,"  was  not  determined  until  the  sixth  of  the  following 
October,  when  the  appellation  was  'adopted  by  the  association  in 
iionor  of  Amos  A.  Lawrence,  the  first  trustee  of  the  society.     Be- 
fore that  time  the  settlement  had  been  augmented  by  several  new 
arrivals,  the  first  colony  of  thirty  having  been  joined  by  three 
Reinforcements  of  larger  proportions.    It  was  while  the  founders  of 


iiiiiiiiwmi'iU'i'iT 


I 


\i"l  foreign 
tlic  quality 
iionrt.  All 
0  was  VL-ry 
2il  as  much 

tliat  he  re- 
,  '-down  an 
/esono-half 
ito  of  Dun- 
ourncd,  the 
"tiT  tlic  ora- 
tion for  two 
ion  and  by 
olliocr.-^,  and 
Tiic  chief 

Wakefield, 
orthy  of  the 
c  time,  but 
community, 
lave  owners' 
rb  the  little 

0  the  ullttna 
basis  which 

.  time.  The 
1854,  when 
,  Hon.  Chas. 
presentatiA^cs 
le  site  of  the 
rsons  located, 
lir  rights  had 
tempted  had 
of  the  city, 
;he  following 
xssociation  in 
■5ociety,    Be- 

1  several  new 
ned  by  three 
le  founders  of 


'\%% 


m 


li 


1 


-"'*•-</ 


rr  wr  •f^f^TTr  '''^J*  " 


TEBitiTonuL  History. 


an 


the  colony  were  yet  encamped  in  their  tents  upon  and  around  Mt. 
Oread,  tliat  the  military  evolutions,  before  described,  were  per- 
formed.    The  spot  was  chosen  July  17 ;  the  first  party  to  arrive 
numbered  thirty,  and  they  came  on  the  first  day  of  August;  tho 
second  party,  of  about  twice  that   number,  came  fourteen  days 
later.     The  name  bestowed  upon  the  settlement  by  the  Missouri- 
ans  was  Yankee  Town,  but  the  appellaiions  wliich  were  most  in 
favor  among  the  settlers  before  the  name  of  Lawrence  was  defi- 
nitely acccpled,  were  Waukarusa,  New  Boston.     The  tents  served 
well  as  long  as  they  were  not  visited  by  strong  winds,  but  Kan- 
sas, then  more  than  now,  was  accustomed  to  lively  breezes,  and 
it  soon  became  necessary  to  provide  more  durable  edilices,  such 
as  would  be   suitable  to   meet  the  inclemency  of   the  winter. 
"The  Pioneer  Boarding  House,"  was  a  primitive  affair,  but  it 
was  substantial,  and  the  long  slanting  roof  of  poles  tied  together  • 
at  the  ridge,  and  thatched  with  prairie  grass,  afforded  such  shelter 
as  many  thousands  were  thankful  to  procure  before  better  could 
be  obtained.     Log  houses  of  various  dimensions  were  constructed 
by  the  settlers  for  their  own  families,  and  there  was  no  difiieulty 
in  procuring  all  the  help  that  any  man  wanted,  as  it  was  under' 
stood  that  the  willing  crowd  rendering  assistance  on  any  occasion 
would  all  in  their  turn  require  to  be  paid  in  kind.     From  the  city 
the  settlers  spread  out  over  the  country,  but  usually  with  an  eye, 
half  military,  to  the  possibilities  of  support  and  defense,  so  that 
it  was  a  rare  thing  to  find  an  isolated  claim.     Neighborhoods 
moved  iu  one  group,  as  we  see  sometimes  when  a  landslip  occurs, 
there  are  cottages,  forests,  and  churches  in  one  remove,  so  iu 
those  days  all  the  machinery  of  social  growth  and  protection  waa 
comprehended  in  the  migration.     The  people  coming  from  En- 
gland, Scotland,  Wales,  and  the  North  of  Ireland,  were  even  more 
resolute  on  the  slavery  question,  if  that  may  be  thought  possible, 
than  the  Americans,  as  they  came  fresh  from  the  excited  tone  o£ 
public  opinion  in  their  own  country,  where  Mrs.  Stowe's  book, 
"  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  had  been  read  by  millions,  and  had  beeii 
dramatized  with  very  great  success,  having  all  the  force  of  a  rev- 
elation on  the  subject  with  which  it  dealt.     Communities  rein-, 
forced  by  such  men  were  strengthened  for  all  contingencies.     Thg 
•men  who  could  recite  how  their  forefathers  defended  Limerick 
9 


1  '-  it,'::^i^t>i. 


3J' 


;ri 


]30  TuTTLifs  Ills  Ton  Y  OF  Kaxsas. 

aeainst  nn  nrmv  of  barbarians,  ofTicercd  by  tbo  Frcncli,  were  not 
likely  to  fail  in  an  emergency,  where  their  hereditary  courage  and 
constancy  could  make  them  heroes.     Many  of  the  choicest  parts 
of  Kansas  were  taken  up  by  little  settlements,  compacted  of  many 
races,  but  all  united  on  the  one  point  against  slavery.     Twenty- 
five  persons  founded  Topeka  in  December,  and  early  in  the  spring 
of  1855,  the  number  of  residents  was  largely  increased  by  immi- 
gration, the  town  from  the  first  aiming  to  be  made  the  capital  of 
the  state.     The  first  territorial  legislature  convened  in  Pawnee,  in 
July,  but  when  the  convention  was  called  together  to  prepare  a 
free  state  constitution,  in  October,  1855,  Topeka  was  the  spot 
selected  for  the  assembly,  and  so  conclusive  was  the  course  then 
taken   as  to  the  future  action  of  the  state,  unless  the  ordinary 
methods  were  abandoned,  that  the  slavery  propagandu  may  be 
said  to  have  declared  war  upon  the  instant.     But  we  are  travel, 
ing  too  fast,  and  it  is  necessary  to  return  to  the  narrative  of  events 
in°their  proper  order.     Topeka  soon  became  a  busy  centre,  and 
hotels  and  stores  were  erected  for  the  accommodation  of  the  rap- 
idly arriving  emigrants,  a  profitable  business  being  transacted 
almost  from  the  beginning. 

Manhattan  was  the  name  given  to  a  settlement  at  the  junction 
of  the  Big  Blue  river,  with  the  Kansas  river,  to  which  a  strong 
party  known  as  the  Manhattan  company  came  from  the  city  of 
Cincinnatti,  Ohio,  in  the  spring  of  1855.     The  location  is  very 
beautiful,  and  the  citizens  have  enjoyed  a  remarkable  average  of 
prosperity.     The  fourth  party  of  emigrants  from  New  England 
made  the  selection  of  a  site  which  has  been  so  largely  indorsed 
by  circumstances.     There  may  have  been,  from  first  to  last  in  the 
year  185-i,  about  five  hundred  persons  that  came  into  the  territory 
luider  the  auspices  of  the  society  in  Massachussetts,  but  that  does 
not  represent  a  tithe  of  the  good  that  the  association  accomplished 
for  free  settlement  and  organization.  Grasshopper  Falls  obtained  its 
name  from  a  small  descent  of  a  few  feet  in  the  bed  of  the  Grass- 
hopper creek,  near  where  a  settlement  was  made  in  1854,  and  of 
course  our  readers  are  aware  that  the  town  has  been  very  success- 
ful.    There   were  many  other  towns  laid  out  and   settlements 
made,  but  we  can  only  glance  at  the  principal  places  at  this  stage 
of  the  history.     The  other  societies  which  were  called  into  exist 


'  "-■"^iMjowinwawitwihffi  -- 


TKIiUJTOlilAL  HtSTORY. 


181 


were  not 
irago  antl 
cest  parts 
I  of  111  any 

Twenty- 
ihe  spring 
by  imnii- 
capital  oE 
aw  nee,  in 
prepare  a 

the  spot 
)urse  then 
!  ordinary 
u  may  be 
are  travel. 
3  of  eventa 
lentre,  and 
of  the  rap- 
transacted 

le  junction 
3h  a  strong 
the  city  of 
on  is  very 
avei-age  of 
V  England 
y  indorsed 

last  in  the 
lie  territory 
it  that  does 
complished 
obtained  its 

the  Grass- 
Sol,  and  of 
3ry  success- 
settlements 
it  this  stage 
.  into  exist 


enccby  the  strong  public  feeling  which  rescued  Kansas  from  the 
taint  of  slavery  did  very  little  for  the  territory  beyond  directing 
the  attention  of  men  and  families  to  the  promising  iichl  for  emi- 
gration whicli  the  territcjry  presented,  but  the  New  England  Emi- 
grant Aid  Society,  directly  assisted  at  least  two  tliousand  persons 
to  locate  in  Kansas,  and  the  help  ailorded  was  all  the  more  bene- 
ficial to  the  emigrants  and  to  the  several  settlements,  because 
there  was  no  taint  of  pauperism  in  the  assistance  given  and  re- 
ceived. The  mass  of  the  i)oi)uIace  did  the  work  that  was  requir- 
ed, in  a  manner  highly  creditable  to  the  community.  When  the 
society  already  mentioned,  built  mills  and  school  houses,  as  was 
done  at  Ossawatomie,  Topeka  and  Lawrence,  as  well  as  elsewhere, 
assisting  in  the  development  of  the  localities,  the  investments 
were  made  on  what  proved  to  be  sound  bases,  and  the  returns 
eventually  justified  the  outlay.  Hotels  were  built  by  the  society 
in  several  places,  but  only  as  business  ventures  to  help  the  free 
soilers,  by  employing  capital  in  a  way  which  the  new  settlers 
could  remunerate,  but  which  would  have  been  burdensome  upon 
their  resources  had  they  been  called  upon  to  supply  the  outlay 
themselves.  The  soundness  of  the  calculation  made  early  ia 
1854,  as  to  the  small  sum  of  money  that  need  be  expended  was 
fully  borne  out  by  the  fact,  that  out  of  the  capital  of  the  society 
which  was  finally  organized,  only  one-tenth,  or  $100,000  was 
actually  employed  in  all  that  was  accomplished  by  the  aid  of 
that  association.  When  the  orators  and  the  press  of  Missouri  de- 
nounced the  "  northern  cattle  "  that  were  coming  upon  Kansas 
■with  the  promise  of  permanent  occupation,  all  the  bluster  of  the 
loud  voiced  talkers  and  grand'loquent  penmen,  only  widened  the 
circle  in  the  eastern  states  which  steadily  converged  toward  and 
marched  upon  Kansas.  We  have  seen  already  the  kind  of  blus- 
ter that  was  meant  to  terrify  the  free  soilers,  but  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  people  answered  every  defiance  with  fresh  levies  and  bet- 
ter system,  which  speedily  reduced  the  Missourians  to  the  altern- 
ative of  submission,  or  to  the  worst  of  all  arguments,  hard  blows. 
Doubtless  these  proslavery  men  thought  themselves  among  the 
most  reasonable,  and  the  best  abused  people  of  their  day.  They 
only  wanted  to  expel  free  negroes  from  the  country,  to  refuse  all 
traffic  between  slaves  and  white  men,  to  deny  the  right  of  slaves 


Mi 


:■ 


183  TuTTLffs  IlrsTonr  of  Kansas. 

to  hire  their  own  time  from  their  masters,  and  '-o  punish  ^  per^ 
«ons  wl^odiflorea  frou.  them,  as  to  their  "P-'"- ;^f^  ^f  ^^^^^^^ar 
lo  I  they  were  dcnouneed,  as  if  it  were  .K,t  the  highest  and  dear 
is    pHvilego  of  a  free  man,  to  hang  such  of  h.s  ne.g^hors^a.  _ 
d.re  abus°  the  privilege  of  thinlcing  for  theu>«elves.     No  man 
t"tobrhan..od  unless  somebody  condemned  him,  nor  eventhen 
L  e     that  somebody  was  one  of  the  presidents  of  an  u-respons. 
ble  society,  whose  opinion  was  endorsed  by  at  least    wo  me     out 
of  a  society  of  one  thousand.     Unless  a  n.an  ^^^^^fl'^^^^ 
on  principle,  it  would  be  hard  to  conceive  of  a  knul  of  machme.y 
^t^^^p^d  to  rnaKe  the  process  pleasant,  but  U.re  were  me. 
^vho  objected  to  be  made  victims  even  by   he  Platte  Co  "ty  bel 
Defensive  Association,  and  we  are  bound  '^  ^^^nrne^^^ 
soneoof  testimony  to  the  contrary,  that  our  abolitionist  fi.ends 
:r  ll  7--c^ntious  in  their  scruples.    The  slave  own.-sai^ 
^!  ir   upporters  boldly  enunciated  that  labor  in  any  form  is  slav- 
:S:r:omenlho  work  for  thei.  d.ly  b.ad  are  invari- 
ably disreputable  persons,  many  of  those  who  ^^^^^^^^     ^^^     ^^^^^ 
the  vear  of  grace,  1854,  cannot  be  induced  now  to  admit  that 
tev  e"ei   itlred  such  abominable  heresies,  but  there  were  som 
tn  of  no^  at  that  time,  who  declared  that  "nle-1-ery  could 
be  sustained  in  Kansas,  the  neighboring  state  of  Missouu  must 
be  sustaineu  in  ,  ^1^^,^^  could  continue  to  live 

To     dinme.«al  sackdotU  and  ashes,  and  .l,»y  a.e  ent.tled  » 
Buol,  Ictliean  consolation  as  may  te  afforded  by  sdence. 

Th  several  secret  societies  wlrose  -vcrcnt.  have  been  «- 
ferred  10  were  not  organized  in  Missouri  antd  late  in  1854,  bat 
th  V  l-l  Ion"  "oen  in  operation  in  tl,e  older  slave  states.  They 
alnl  n°o  sudden  act.vity,  and  there  were  few  men  who 
daml  incu  the  odium  of  remaining  outside  =uch  o.|an. matrons. 
Ttebrtrln  of  the  "Social  Band "reeogni^^ed  a mod.hed  respect- 
^bdiwt  "Blue  Lodges,"  "  Sons  of  the  South."  "  Enends  Soerc- 
ties  "and  such  like  institutions,  of  which  there  were  many  mora 
tl  i  would  be  convenient  to  name,  save  m  an  append,.,  but 


■jiwvwuil'ffi  '■— " "ty '"  '  -""*' '  V^ J^ ' 


Tekihtouial  HrsTorii'. 


V)3 


i\  all  per- 
ijects,  and 
and  dear- 
ijlibors  ao 

No  man 
even  then 
iiTosponsi- 
•  men,  out 
)  hanging, 
[imchinery 

were  men 
lunty  Self 
in  the  ab- 
ist  friends 
awncrs  and 
rm  is  slav- 
are  invari- 
that  way  in 
admit  that 

were  some 
wcry  could 
riouri  must 
nue  to  live 

as  virtuous 

themselves 
ve  never  re- 
lers  have  re- 
!  entitled  to 
;e. 

ive  been  re- 
in 1854,  but 
bates.  They 
w  men  who 
rganizations. 
ified  respect- 
'riends  Socie- 
j  many  more 
ppendix,  but 


all  the  fraternities  joined  in  looking  with  suspicion,  which  might 
soon  eventuate  in  hostile  acts,  upon  any  man  who  (Icciiiicd  to 
amiiatc  with  such  mm^hinory  of  evil.  These  societies  wore  part  of 
the  force  wliich  was  to  be  utilized  in  conquering  Kansas.  The 
lodge  meetings  were  of  value  because  every  member  of  tiio 
brotherhood  was  u  spy  upon  free  soilers,  abolitionists,  and  indeed 
upon  all  who  were  suspected  of  thinking  or  doing  anything  that 
slave  owners  did  not  approve,  and  it  was  important  that  every 
atom  in  the  body  poUtic  in  Mi.s.souri  should  be  held  in  readinesss 
to  ci.rry  out  tlic  projects  of  the  leaders.  When  the  movements  of 
the  Massachusetts  society  became  known  it  was  pretended  that 
all  the  organization  resorted  to  in  the  slave  state,  was  rendered 
necessary  by  such  signs  of  activity  in  the  east,  and  had  not  existed 
until  such  modes  of  oi)cration  made  it  the  duty  of  every  man  of 
property,  that  is  to  say,  of  every  slave  owner,  to  prepare  for  "  the 
bloody  arbitrament  of  the  sword."  Doubtless  there  was  more  rage 
and  more  activity  in  Missourian  circles  after  tlio  "  New  England 
Emigrant  vVid  Society  "  was  incorporated,  but  for  many  years  be- 
fore that  time  it  had  ceased  tr  be  safe  for  any  person  to  express  a 
doubt  as  to  the  wisdom  and  the  justice  of  slavery,  and  preachers 
■who  defended  the  ghastly  abomination  in  their  pulpits : 

"Provinjr  their  doctrines  orthodox, 
By  apostolic  blows  and  knocks," 

found  it  difficult  to  speak  with  sufficient  vun  against  the  men  and 
the  views  which  their  owners  —  for  they  also  were  owned  by  the 
oligarchy  —  looked  upon  as  the  latest  spawn  of  hell.  There 
were  men  in  the  community  who  could  not  be  relied  upon  for  a 
levy  en  masse,  should  Missouri  conclude  to  make  war  upon  Kansas, 
in  order  to  exterminate  the  free  soilers,  and  it  was  time  to  sepa- 
rate the  wheat  from  tlie  tares.  Traders  were  nov,r  told  with  whom 
they  should  have  dealings,  and  merchants  were  instructed  as  to 
the  persons  from  whom  they  should  make  purchases,  and  all  the 
terrors  of  the  odious  Vrhm  Oericht  were  to  visit  those  who  might 
venture  to  disobey.  The  action  of  the  city  of  Weston  in  the 
premises  has  been  seen,  and  that  fact  demonstrated  to  the  great 
annoyanceof  the  oligarchy  that  there  was  division  in  their  own 
camp,  while  the  enemy  was  massing  his  forces  in  front  of  the 


«<hni£iS? 


J34  Tl'TTLlfs  HiSTOliY  OF  Kaxsas. 

coveted  position.     T!)e  ridiculous  us.uult  upon  the  nogfocs  was 
Z2'^a.o,  .nd  the  truth  began  to  da.^  that  tl.  /.•,  e^-- 
would  be  n>ore  likely  to  bring  down  the  New  ^^f  ^'^^f  ^     .      [ 
Ly,  than  to  bring  out  a  respectable  nmster  o£  the.r  own        - 
I  4el  the  attack.     Free  enugration  in  Kansas  ^'^^  «-'.-; 
to  n.in  who  for  n.any  years  ■  had  endured  1'---^^  -     "  ^^_ 
BO  that  for  the  future  there  would  bean  added  elen.ent  lu  tl^o 
Quietudes  of  the  slave  owners.     The  strug^e  wa.  ^^^^^l^^ 
to  their  doors,  when  the  men  with  .vhon>  they  '^^^ J^^^^ 
for  years  could  assen.ble  in  pubhc  uK-etajg  to  --'  •  ^^^^^^^^f 
loved  the  union  and  the  law  better  than  they  l^u^d  .lave  y  a  ml 
h     south;  that  they  disapproved  the  conduct  ^'^^-^^^^^ 
or..uu.ations,  and  tl>e  sentin.ots  which  were  embodied  >n  su -b 
^  :ven.ents;  that  they  held  men  to  be  worthy  of  respect  and  con- 
fidrceirrcpective  of  opinion,  as  long    as  then-  conduct  pr.w  d 
therworth]  ;  that  they  held  labor  in  such  h>gh  regard  as  could 
enab Jthen'io  speak  of  its  dignity  as  compatible  w.th  moral  and 
^nectualstati;  that  they  tlu.ght  the  Ncbrask^ar^as  a 
cave  equal  rights  in  the  territory  to  every  cu./en  from  whatever 
ftute     t^at  they  .ere  competent  to  say  who  should  dw.l   m  the.r 
community,  and  that  they  wouhl  not  allow  an  ij-P--^'; -- 
ciaTon  to  d  cide  such  questions  for  them  ;  that  they  d.d  not  thn  k 
Busrion  u  ground  for  punislunent;  that  they  dul  not  approv    of 
Z-1  w,  and  would  not  tolerate  it  until  all  other  law  had  faded. 
Sever  in  this  world  was  there  ever  seen  ir.  type  or  heard  m  puV 
Uc  mee  ing  a  defiance  more  square  and  con.plcte  than  that  wh.  h 
t's  embodied  by  the  citizens  of  Weston  in  then-  pronunaan.nto 
::    afwe  haveLn,  when  the.r  words  were  ^--^  as  kUc  wmd 

they  took  up  arms  to  vindicate  the.r  -"-^-->-;  ^f  .f^f  ;itl 
/  ur  r..hhlP  to  flic'ht.  Times  were  changing  with  tUe  slave 
r:^ifML"i  -d  ..esuu.«le  „i«U.  »=,  no.  ^=r  *a  tern- 
Try  of  KaB^a..  but  for  the  oontiuuous  possessma  of  their  own 
state. 


Ti:i!i!ii'i>i;iM.  llisiouv. 


135 


CUAPTEU    VI  I, 


TKimiTOUIAL     HISTORY. 

(C(>ft(i/IUt'i!.) 

Act  of  OrgiiniznllDii  — GoviTiior  Uocder  —  liiiiii^^unition  of  (loveiiimuat  — 
CoiiKivssiunal  Drlcjjate-l'nmlaviTy  Tiictios  -  Krce  SoiU'iindulalfs- 
Vi>ling  Eiiiiy  niul  Oltni  — Slnllliis;  Uic  Census  — Couiti'sics  of  tin;  Uiillot 
Box  — Poimliir  Hovcroijrnly  — Vole  or  Die  — Seriw  uf  Invasions  —  Oov. 
crnor  UccI.t  s  (Viiilicatcs-Some  New  Eleclious  — The  Ooo.l  Timo 
Coming  -J{i'i,!,'notTein.r-  Poweroltli.'  I'rcss-  Expelling  I'lcachers- 
VigilantiTs  at  Worii  —  Uiglils  auU  Wrongs  — iSaluliug  Iho  (lovenior-- 
The  I'lfsidcnt's  Action  —  Members  of  Legislature  Expelled  —  Powers  of 
11  Majority- Missouri  refsu»  Massaehusetts  — .Shawnee  and  I'awnee^ 
Log  lloUing-Proslavery  Law  — Governor  llecder  Removed  —  Cause 
and  Pretense  —Conduct  of  the  Governor. 

Ik  kvkuy  legislature  in  llic  world  there  is  ti  power,  seldom 
used,  whicli  will  allow  of  the  suspension  of  standing  orders,  and 
permit  ii  bill,  tlio  provisions  of  whicli  are  tdroudy  understood,  to 
be  read,  in  some  stages,  by  the  mere  enunciation  of  the  .nargnml 
notes.     In  the  present  stage  we  jjroposc  to  read  the  act  of  organi- 
zation almost  in  that  way,  and  the  standing  orders  are  suspended 
accordingly.     We  need  not  read  the  whole  act,  and  we  do  nob 
propose  to  do  more  in  this  line  than  is  necessary  to  the  compre- 
hension  of  aflair-s,  consequently   we  commence  with  section  19, 
which  enacted  the  then  established  limitations  of  the  territory, 
from  Missouri  to  the  summit  of  the  Koeky  mountains,  between 
the  thirty-seventh  and  thirty-eighth  parallels  of  north  latitude, 
with  some  unimportant  exceptions,  with  the  express  provisioa 
that  the  constitution  to  be  adopted  by  the  territory  should  deter- 
mine the  admission  of  the  state  to  the  union  with  or  without 
slavery,  and  a  proviso  that  congress  should  retain  power  to  divide 
the  territory  into  two  territories,  or  to  attach  parts  thereof  to  any 
other  state  or  territory.     The  exceptions  before  mentioned  referred 
to  the  rights  and  titles  of  the  Indians  to  certain  portions  of  tha 
territory,  and  the  powers  retained  by  the  government  to  make 
suitable  provisions,  regulations  and  treaties  with,  and  iu  regard  to. 


! 


130 


Ti'TTu:'s  Tfisroiiv  or  Kaxsas. 


tlio  luilian  trilK'H.     Section  20  cnnctcd  tliat  the  executive  pnwct 
of  the  territory  should  bo  vested  in  t\  governor,  to  be  npjKMntcd 
by  the  president  for  four  yeiira,  subject  to  bo  removed  by  the  ap 
pointin^'  power,  or  to  continue  beyond  the  expressed  term  luitil 
his  siieeessor  should  be  appointed  and  (pialified;  the  governor 
to  command  the  militia,  exercise   the  usual  pardoning  powers, 
commission  proper  officers,  an-l  enforce  faithful  execution  of  the 
laws.     Section  21  enacted  that  a  secretary  should  bo  ajipointed, 
and  prescribed  his  duties,  among  others  that  in  the  absence,  resig- 
nation or  death  of  the  governor,  the  secretary  should  be  locum 
teurn.^.     Section  22  enacted  that  the  legislative  power  of  the  terri- 
tory should  bo  vested  in  the  governor  and  a  legislative  assend)ly 
consisting  of  a  council  and  house  of  representatives;  setting  forth 
nlso  the  numbers  for  each  body  and  duration  in  ofli^c,  as  well  as 
the  mode  of  increase  in  numbers  and  in.al  limits  of  representation. 
The  section  fi  rther  defined   the  (pialifications  to  vote  for,  and  to 
be  elected  to  such  bodies,  and  set  forth  that  a  census  should  be 
taken  to  ascertain  who  were  residents  entitled  to  vote.     Beyond 
these  provisions  the  rcsi)onsibility  of  cnrryiiig  out  the  elections 
C'-uitably  devolved  upon  the  governor  only,  and  on  his  appointees, 
until  the  first  assembly  should  have  been  duly  constituted,^  after 
which,  law,  would,  of  course,  dcllne  everything.     Section  23  pre- 
Bcribed  who  should  be  entitled  to  vote  in  the  first  election,  viz: 
Every  free  white  male  inliabitant  over  twenty-one  years  of  age. 
Fcction  2-1:  dealt  with  the  limitations  within  which  the  legislature 
might  enact  laws,  subject  to  the  suspensive  veto  of  the  governor, 
and  the  powers  of  the  two  chambers  to  override  such  veto  by 
majorities  of  two-thirds  in  each  chamber.     Providing  also  for 
cases  in  which  the  governor  miglit  not  exercise  his  veto,  but 
might  retain  the  bill  in  his  own  hands,  instead  of  nending  it  back 
Bigned  or  othcrwi.se.    Section  25  was  an  enabling  clause,  giving  to 
the  governor  power  to  appoint  officers,  not  otherwise  provided  for, 
but  necessary  in  the  premises,  said  officers  to  hold  their  positions 
and  discharge  the  required  duties  until  the  end  of  the  first  session 
•    of  the  legisrature.     After  that  time  all  such  officers  were  to  be 
appointed  by  the  governor,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 
le<n.slature.     Section  26  was  a  disqualifying  clause.     No  member 
of°thc  legi.slaturc  should,  as  such,  hold  an  office  creaied  by  the 


I. 


filMr'r-i'arT"'"'-'^'"-- 


.■«.».»—.^    >>»»Hi  '?■« 


/ 


77;  /,'  I!  IK  mi  AT.  II  is  T(  >  n  v 


18t 


C  pOWCT 

)pr,intcd 

tbc  ap 
■m  iuit.iI 
rovcnior 

powers, 
n  of  tlie 
ipointod, 
CO,  rosig- 
)o  locum 
tlio  tovri- 
:\sHciii1)ly 
ing  forth 
s  well  as 
OTitatii)ii. 
r,  and  to 
hoiiltl  be 

lloyonil 
elections 
)pointec8, 
ted,  after 
1  20  pre- 
tioii,  viz;: 
s  of  age. 
Legislature 
governor, 
1  veto  l>y 

also  for 
veto,  but 
ig  it  back 
giving  to 
vided  for, 
•  positions 
rst  session 
I'ere  to  bo 
>nt  of  the 
o  member 
ed  by  the 


^tmtl^ 


legislature  of  wliioh  ho  was  a  member,  nor  until  he  ha<l  ce,isp<l  to  be 
n   member  of  that   body,  up(m  the  exjury  of  his  term,  at  least 
twelve  months.      United  States  oflicers,  with    the  exception   ol 
postmasteiv,  were  also  to  be  ineligible  to  bo  chosen  as  representa- 
tivos,  or  to  hold  any  oflieo   under  the   territorial  government. 
Section  27  provided  for  the  cstablislnnent  of  the  iudi<'ial    power, 
to  consist  of  a  supremo  court,  district  courts,  prohute  courts,  and 
justices  of  tlie  peace,  and  delined  tlu;  limits  of  tlu-ir  several  pow- 
ers, together  with  tlio  duties  devolving  upon  them,  with  special 
provisos  ns  to  disputes  between  persons  ns  to  titles  to  slaves,  fugi- 
tives from  justice,  and  slaves  escaping  from  their  masters;    in 
which  cases  there  were  sucii  provisions  as  left  no  doubt  as  to  the 
power  to  hold  and  to  recover  tl»e  custody  of  slaves,  the  advantage 
to  be  always  on  the  side  of  the  slave  owners.     Section  28  ex- 
pressly enacted  that  the  laws  enacted  by  congress  to  assist  in  the 
capture  of  slaves  escaping  from  their  masters  should  be  in   full 
force  in  the  territory  of  Kansas.     Section  2!)  provided  for  the  ap- 
pointment and  payment  of  an  attorney,  and  also  of  a  marshal  for 
the  territory,  to  be  removable  at  the  pleasure  of  the  president,  but 
otherwise  to  serve  for  four  years  each.     The  same  clause  defiiied 
their  duties  and  emoluments.     Section  30  provided  that  the  gov- 
ernor and  all  the  oflicers  of  the  territory  should  be  appointed  by 
the  president  of  the  United  States,  by  and  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  senate,  and  defined  the  oaths  and  obligations  de- 
volving upon  the  said  executive.     The  same  seotion  deluied  the 
salaries  of  all  the  said  officials,  and  the  amounts  to  be   paid  to 
the  members  of  the  legislature,  and  to  their  official  staff,  from  the 
United  States  treasury,  limiting  the  powers  of  all  oflicials  as  to 
'unauthorized  expenditure.     Section  31  located  the  government  at 
Fort  Ticavenworth,  temporarily  allowing  the  use  of  buildings  not 
required  by  the  military,  under  the  direction  of  the  governor,  for 
purposes  directed  under  the  act.     Section  32  provided  for  the 
election  of  a  delegate  from  the  territory  to  the  house  of  represent- 
atives of  the  United  States,  limiting  the  powers  of  the  delegate 
first  elected,  and  expressly  declared  that  congress  would  not  in- 
tervene to  uphold  or  to  prevent  slavery.     Section  33  provided  for 
the  erection  of  suitable  public  buildings,  under  the  direction  of 
the  governor,  at  the  seat  of  government,  and  for  the  purchase  of 


188 


TlTTU:'s  IIISTOUY  OF  KA\S.lfl. 


E-f 


ft  library,  t<i  b«  Icopt  iit  tliu  satno  place,  for  tlio  uso  of  tlio  cxocii- 
tivo  and  till!  logislaturo.  Section  Ul  provitled  for  tin!  re.servatirm 
of  certain  sections,  iuui\l)ori,'tl  sixteen  and  thirty-six,  in  cueh  town- 
8l)ip  us  reserves  to  Ik;  applied  to  school  purposes  in  the  territory. 
Section  'lo  guvo  to  the  governor  power  to  create  jndieial  districts 
tetuporarily,  and  to  assign  the  judges  to  such  districts,  pending 
the  first  session  of  the  legislature,  when  all  such  powers  should 
be  subject  to  the  will  of  the  assembly.  Section  3(5  provided  for 
taking  due  security  from  territorial  olTicera  for  the  faithful  dis- 
charge  of  their  several  duties.  Section  87  provided  that  all  laws, 
treaties  and  engagements  entered  into  with  the  Iii.I'.mj  tribes  by 
the  United  Stales,  so  far  as  they  alTcclcd  the  territory,  shoidil  bo 
rigidly  observed,  and  that  all  the  agencies  and  superintendencics 
connected  therewith  should  remain  in  force,  with  the  same 
powers  and  duties.  This  act  was  approved  on  the  thirtieth 
dav  of  May,  1854,  but  its  ])rovisions  were  familiar  to  the  lead- 
ing minds  on  both  sides  long  before  that  time,  in  consequenco 
of  the  debates  in  congress  which  pi-eceded  the  passage  of  the 
measure. 

The  first  governor  of  the  new  territory  was  the  Hon.  Andrew 
II.  llec^dcr,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  considering  the  course  of  events 
which  followed,  it  is  evident  that  the  societies  which  were  being 
organized  in  Massachusetts  and  elsewhere,  exerted  an  influence  on 
liim  if  not  upon  the  i)resideut  and  the  senate.  Certainly  the  state  of 
Missouri  had  nothing  to  hope  from  the  sympathies  of  such  a  man, 
however  much  it  might  succeed  in  extorting  from  his  feans.  The 
first  act  of  Gov.  Eceder  showed  a  desire  to  fit  himself  for  his  on- 
erous labor,  as  wo  find  him  making  a  comprehensive  tour  of  tlio 
region  in  which  it  was  his  duty  to  inaugurate  representative 
government.  According  to  the  ideas  of  Missouri,  such  an  act  on 
his  part  was  a  waste  of  precious  time.  It  was  only  necessary  to 
consult  them,  as  to  what  should  be  done,  and  the  body  we  havo 
already  seen  at  Lawrence  would  come  up  reinforced  a  thousand 
strong,  or  more,  to  wipe  out  the  little  colony,  and  po.?sibly,  unless 
there  was  more  regard  exhibited  for  their  interests,  they  might 
see  it  to  be  their  duty  to  wipe  out  Gov.  Keeder  with  the  rest  of 
the  obnoxious  community.  Hamlet  said  of  his  mother,  the  Queen 
of  Denmark,  that  he  "would  si^ak  daggers,  but  use  none."    That 


'  <f.  tJisKsorr'i'^ 


L.-fei'iiffV'- ' 


r 


TuiinrroiiiM.  Ilisioiir. 


180 


ho  exocu- 
i'servutiDU 
L'ucli  town- 
I  territory. 
III  districts 
,8,  jKUidinj^ 
i!ra  slioiilil 
)viilo(l  for 
itlifiil  (lis- 
It  all  laws, 

trihos  by 
.should  ho 
I  tendencies 

the  sanio 
0  thirtioth 
)  tho  loiid- 
•nsequonco 
lagc  of   the 

11.  Andrew 
;c  of  events 
were  being 
iillueiice  oil 
the  state  of 
uch  a  man, 
'ear.s.     Tlio 

for  his  on- 
♦our  of  tho 
iroscntativo 
h  an  act  on 
lecessary  to 
iy  we  have 
a  thousand 
>iblv,  unless 
they  might 

the  rest  of 
r,  the  Queen 
one.' 


That 


wft..  for  tho  tim.  tlM.  i.ruKia.nuu.  with  tli-  Missonnan.  on  Kunsa« 
territory;  th^y  would  swan,,,  the  i-owor..  of  tluMr.sidont  populu. 
tion,  in  the  ballot  bo.x,  and  in  that  way  wipe  out  their  foes      I  ho 
tour  occupied  about  fourteen  days,  and  wilhm  thai  time  the  gov- 
ernor had   made  himself  ac.,uainlcd  with   the  sellleis   l.y  whom 
lie  ha.l  been   wehx.med  most  cordially.     I'urlics  were  formed  ill 
every  locality  to  escort  Wnn  through  tho  region  over  which  the 
colony  was  to  spread,  and  boyon<l  .h.ubt  there  wa.<>  a  common  do- 
Hire  thai  the   integrity  of  the  community   should   be   preserved 
from  the  assauUs  whi<-h  were  already  di.seussed,  without  reserve, 
across  the  border.     The  man  w..uld  have  been   unworthy  of  a 
place  in  tho  territory,  however  humble,  unlo-s  he  was  desirous 
that  tho  people  inhabiting  the  country  .should  e.mtrol  ihcir  ..wn 
nfTair.s.     His  lir.st  duty  was  to  divide  the  territory  into  electoral 
dislricls,  to  enable  the  residents  to  east  their  votes  for  u  delegate 
to  represent  them  in  congims,  for  tho  remainder  of  an  unexpired 
term.     On  the  tenth  di^  of  November,  1854,  his  proclamation 
was  issued,  and  he  required  the  several  judges  of  elections  who 
were  appointed  by  him  to  refuse  the  votes  of  all  per.sons  whom 
they  believed   to  be  nonresidents  in  tho  territory,  having  come 
into  Kansa.s  merely  to  vote,  while  their  domiciles  were  elsewhere. 
The  then  present  bona  fide  intention  to  renmin  and  make  a  per- 
manent homo  in  the  territory  was  set  forth  by  the  proclamation 
as  an  essential  qualification  for  the  act  of  voting,  and  the  judges 
of  election  were  sworn  to  reject  tho  votes  of  all  persons  not  so 
qualified.     Whatever  doubts  thci-e  may  have  been  in  the  minds 
of  the  Missourians  were  now  resolved,  and  "  the  winter  of  their 
discontent"  came  down  on  Gov.   Ilceder   with   chilling  ellect 
Five  days  after  the  proclamation  was  issued,  there  was  a  conven- 
tion of  the  propagandists  held   in  LeavcnvN  -rth,  the  people  com- 
ing by  hundreds,  on  horseback  and  in  wagons,  from  the  neigh- 
boring state,  to  denounce  the  governor  as  a  free  soiler  and  aboli- 
tionist, or  as  one  favoring  such  abominations  by  his  proclama- 
tion, and  by  deferring  the  election  of  the  legislative  assembly. 
Every  day  that  the  process  was  deferred  increased  the  number  of 
emigrants  from  the  free  states  with  whom  they  would  have  to 
contend,  hence  their  haste,  and  they  were  confident  that  as  soon 
as  the  legislature  should  be  convened,  their  machinery  would  en- 


irr-r-rsrrs: 


.13TI— *«wri;'>t'^f\"y*y 


140 


TuTTLE's  lIlSTOIiY  OF  KaXSAS. 


able  thcin  to  control  the  affairs  of  the  little  community.  A  del- 
egation was  aiipoiiitcd  to  wait  upon  the  governor  to  request  im- 
mediate action,  but  Gov.  Reeder  could  not  be  deceived  by  the 
prctcuKC  that  they  were  actual  residents  in  Kansas.  Such  a  s.nall 
community  as  that  at  Fort  Leavenworth  was  soon  recof^nizatjle, 
man  by  man,  and  these  persons  were  strangers  whose  incursion 
and  whose  objects  were  well  known.  The  governor  courteously 
but  resolutely  demanded  further  particulars  as  to  the  authoriza- 
tion and  the  proceedings  of  the  convention,  but  no  such  informa- 
tion could  be  afforded  without  a  full  declaration  of  their  identity 
and  aims,  so  the  delegation,  defeated  for  the  time,  withdrew  in 
high  dudgeon.  "When  the  parties  to  that  movement  attempted  to 
prejudice  the  public  at  a  distance,  by  giving  a  false  version  of 
the  whole  affair.  Gov.  Eeedcr  answered  the  memorialists  in  a  doc- 
ument which  became  a  manifesto  to  all  the  free  states,  disclosing 
the  fact  that  the  men  who  had  presumed  to  dictate  to  him  the 
line  of  duty  which  he  must  pursue  were  Missourians  mostly,  and 
not  entitled  to  an  atom  of  consideration  where  the  free  govern- 
ment of  Kansas  was  involved.  The  reply  was  crushing  in  state- 
ment and  rebuke,  but  it  completely  destroyed  all  pretense?  of 
fairness  on  the  part  of  the  Missouri  convention,  and  from  that 
time  it  was  patent  to  all  observers  that  the  governor  meant  to  se- 
cure for  the  people  over  whom  he  ruled  all  the  essentials  of  home 
rule,  so  far  as  the  means  at  his  disposal  could  be  made  to  cover 
that  purpose.  The  tempers  of  men  were  becoming  roused,  and 
it  was  evident  that  there  would  be  some  feeling  exhibited  in  the 
pending  election  of  a  congressional  delegate.  Tlic  free  soilers 
were  divided  between  the  Hon.  John  A.  Wakefield,  an  avowed 
advocate  of  free  state  ideas,  whose  name  has  been  mentioned  in 
these  pages  before,  and  the  Hon.  Robert  P.  Flenneken,  a  friend 
of  Gov.  Reeder,  who  had  come  out  to  Kansas,  with  the  Micawber 
like  expectation  that  "  something  would  turn  up."  He  hoped  to 
win  votes  from  free  soilers,  and  proslavery  men  also,  by  adopt- 
ing the  role  of  the  independent  candidate,  from  whom  both  par- 
ties might  hope  as  much  as  they  pleased,  while  he  probably 
■would  have  put  in  practice  the  maxim  ascribed  to  the  legal  pro- 
fession of  old  time,  saying  to  the  clients,  "  a  shell  for  thee  and  a 
shell  for  thee  ;  the  oyster  is  the  lawyer's  fee."    Like  most  men, 


^  WF/V>W.W»<r1li4» 


W: 


ty.  A  del- 
rcqucst  im- 
vccl  by  the 
Lich  a  p.iiall 
icor^nizable, 
3e  incursion 
courteously 
e  autboriza- 
cb  informa- 
leir  identity 
tvitbdrew  in 
t tempted  to 
version  of 
its  in  a  doc- 
3,  disclosing 
!  to  biin  the 
mostly,  and 
'ree  govern- 
ing in  state- 
pretenses  of 
[  from  that 
meant  to  se- 
als of  home 
ide  to  cover 
roused,  and 
bited  in  the 
free  soilers 
,  an  avowed 
entioned  in 
:en,  a  friend 
le  Micawber 
le  hoped  to 
3,  by  adopt- 
n  both  par- 
le  probably 
le  legal  pro- 
i'  thee  and  a 
3  most  men, 


Tehritohial  History. 


Ul 


baiting  between  two  opinions,  neither  hot  nor  cold,  he  was  no- 
where in  the  contest.  The  proslavery  candidate,  Gen.  J.  W. 
Whitfield,  was  a  Teiincsseean,  resident  in  ^lissouri,  and  he  de- 
pended upon  being  chosen  by  Missouri  votes.  He  knew  whither 
he  was  tending,  and  later  in  the  day  he  held  a  position  of  some 
prominence  among  the  rebels  in  arms  to  destroy  the  union,  lie 
was  a  man  of  fine  appearance  and  some  talent,  not  so  trustworthy 
as  the  old  chief  justice,  not  so  shrewd  as  his  other  opponent,  but 
more  successful  than  either,  because  the  strong  and  unscrupulous 
propagandists  could  rely  upon  his  sincerity.  The  convention  at 
Leavenworth,  at  which  we  have  already  glanced,  composed  mostly 
of  men  who  had  not  a  shadow  of  right  to  meddle  in  Kansas 
ailuirs,  nominated  the  general  as  the  Missourian  candidate,  and 
the  slave  state  could  send  over  voters  enough  to  secure  his  elec- 
tion The  legality  of  the  movement  was  of  very  small  concern 
to  the  party  which  meant  to  conquer  Kansas  by  mere  lawlessness 
and  the  right  of  the  strongest;. 

The  return  of  a  delegate  to  congress  did  not  commend  itself  to 
the  newly  arrived  emigrants  as  an  affair  oi  much  moment;  the 
deknmte  would  be  a  person  of  small  account  in  the  general  man- 
acrement  of  the  affairs  of  the  union  ;  they  would  not  gain  one  vote 
in  the  momentous  affairs  in  which  his  voice  might  be  heard   and 
they  were  busy  preparing  for  winter,  then  near  at  hand.     Some 
were  expecting  their  families  in  a  few  days,  and  it  was  not  yet 
certain  that  the  climate  would  favor  them  during  the  customarily 
inclement  season  beginning  with  December  and  closing  with  Jan- 
.    uary.     Many  were  to    busy  to  attend  meetings  or  to  vote.     Some 
who  attended  to  such  duties  were  of  opinion  that  Mr.  Wakefield 
could  be  of  more  service  in  the  territory,  where  the  question 
"Slave  or  Free?"   was  to  be  decided,   than  in  congress,  from 
wh  Jse  deliberations  the  matter  had  already  passed,  and  in  conse- 
quence there  was  never  a  doubt  as  to  Gen.  Whitfield's  success, 
even  supposing  that  the  brutal  tactics  of  Missouri  had  been  omit- 
ted.    The  day  of  election  came,  and  long  before  the  29  th  of 
November,  the  secret  societies  were  primed  and  loaded,  ready  for 
any  kind  of  work.     The  societies  were  manifold  in  their  purposes. 
Under  their  manipulations  money  was  to  be  collected  to  pay  the 
expenses  of  armed  bands  of  illegal  voters  to  be  sent  from  Missoun 


; 


"f.sr.nii-'inm 


Jl 


tuiifmt.lMi'i'pitv '--' 


lajMiMgwijMwaiPj  ■jpygiL»^g  ly ' 


142 


TuTTLFfs  History  of  Kassas. 


to  secure  the  election  of  proslavery  men  to  every  ofTice.     They 
were  to  inJuce  proslavery  men  to  make  Kansas  their  home  for 
like  purposes;  but  their  main  hope  was,  that  they  would  be  able 
to  intimidate  free  soil  men,  or  otherwise  disgust  them  with  their 
location,  so  that  they  might  secure  for  the  proshivery  or,-aniza- 
tions  suiM-eme  control  in  Kansas  .iffairs.     To  that  end  the  lodges 
of  the  societies  were  used  to  discuss  the  probabilities  of  the  suc- 
cessive elections,  and  the  numbers  which  must  be  sent  to  difTer- 
ent  points  on  the  day  of  the  polling  in  each  case,  to  overawe  as 
well    as  to  outvote  the  free  soil  party.      It  will  be  seen  that 
against  such  an  organization,  so  powerful,  and  so  unscrupulous, 
there  was  no  chance  for  the  residents  in  Kansas,  a  mere  handful 
against  thousands.     There  was  concerted  action  moreover  to  pre- 
vent reinforcements  reaching  Kansas  from  the  eastern  and  north- 
ern states,     Most  of  the  immigrants  came  in  the  river  boats  up 
the  Missouri,  and  bands  of  armed  men  were  detailed  for  the 
special  dn;:y  of  boarding  every  steamer  at  Lexington,  and  at  other 
landing  places  tn  route  to  Kansas  City,  to  compel  northern  emigrants, 
shouhfany  be  found  on  board,  to  give  up  their  arms  in  any  cast, 
and,  when  possible,  to  intimidate  them,  so  that  they  should  tu  n 
back.     Such  operations  became  common,  and  at  length  the  moi 
peaceful  gave  up  all  idea  of  reaching  the  territory,  while  those 
who  were  not  to  be  deterred  reached  their  destination  through 
Iowa  and  Nebraska,  at  very  much  greater  cost.     By  such  tactics 
Kansas  was  to  be  conquered,  or  else  there  was  no  magic  in  the 
charm  by  which  the  proslavery  party  sought  victory.     As  against 
the  men  in  Kansas  they  were  certainly  strong  enough  to  dictate 
terms  ;  but  the  difficulty  arose  for  Missouri  when  it  appeared  that 
the  free  states  were  to  be  as  one  man  against  the  tyrannical  demon- 
strations on  which  the  slave  owners  depended.     Democrats  as 
•well  as  free  soilers  and  the  more  resolute  whigs  were  united  on  that 
issue  in  sentiment,  and  very  largely  in  action  also.     The  election 
held  in  November,  1854,  was  openly  carried  by  roughs  of  the 
worst  description,  who  worked  out  the  policy  prescribed  for  them 
by  their  leading  orators  and  their  leading   journals.      General 
Atchison  urged  every  county  in  Missouri  to  send  its  young  men 
to  overpower  the  free  state  vote,  and  many  of  the  speeches  made 
and  reported  were  utterly  unfit  for  publication.     The  Missouriuns 


V. 


Terr  ttoria  l  His  tor  r. 


143 


Rce.  They 
ir  home  for 
uld  Ik;  :iV)lo 
1  with  their 
y  or^-aniza- 

tho  lodges 
of  the  sue- 
nt  to  dilTer- 

overawe  as 
e  seen  that 
iscrupulous, 
ere  handful 
!over  to  pre- 
1  and  north- 
k^er  boats  up 
iled  for  tlie 
and  at  other 
rn  emigrants, 

in  any  case, 

should  tu  " 
5th  the  moi 

while  those 
tion  through 
r  such  tactics 
Tiagic  in  the 
As  against 
gh  to  dictate 
ippeared  that 
inical  demon- 
Democrats  as 
inited  on  that 

The  election 
oughs  of  the 
ibed  for  them 
lis.  General 
ts  young  men 
peeches  made 
,e  Missouriuns 


-were  urged  to  do  their  duty  by  voting  in  the  neighboring  terri- 
tory in  the  name  of  "God  and  their  country."     The  town  of 
Lawrence  was  sjiccially  favored  with  a  demonstration,  the  invad- 
ing liost  coming  by  hundreds  on  the  day  before  the  polling  was 
tolake  place,  and  that  night  one  of  the  judges  who  was  appointed 
to  act  on  the  following  day  was  threatened  with  hanging  unless 
he  would  consent  to  dispense  with  the  oath  as  to  residence,  which 
it  was  understood  he  meant  to  exact  from  the  men  who  had  come 
over,  fraudulently  to  affect  the  election.     Unable  to  obtain  from 
the  judge  a  promise  of  malfeasance,  they  so  far  intimidated  him 
that  he°failecl  to  put  in  an  appearance  at  the  polling  place  the 
next  morning.     There  were  two  judges  absent  from  their  post 
that  morning,  but  nothing  in  that  way  could  trouble  the  veterans 
who  had  the  business  in  hand.     They  dispensed  with  the  neces- 
sity for  the  governor's  intervention  by  electing  two  of  their  own 
party  to  act  as  judges,  and  at  once  installed  their  men  without 
the  slightest  compunction  as  to  the  flagrant  illegality  of  the  pro- 
ceeding.    The  men  who  carried  the  election  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Lawrence  were  from  Westport  and  Kansas  City  mainly ;   and 
the  other  districts  were  reached  from  the  points  in  Missouri  most 
convenient.     The  proslavery  party  did  nothing  by  halves.     In 
one  district  where  only  thirty-five  legal  votes  were  polled,  they 
put  in  two  hundred  and  twenty-six  illegal  ballots.     In  another 
electoral  district  where  one  hundred  legal  votes  were  recorded, 
they  answered  with  two  hundred  and  six  illegal  ballots.     In  an- 
other place  they  answered  seven  legal  votes  by  putting  in  two 
hundred   and   thirty-eight  fraudulent  ballots;    in  another  case 
twenty  legal  votes  were  swamped  by  five  hundred  and  eighty- 
four  illegal  ballots,  so  that  on  the  whole,  eleven  hundred  and 
fourteen  °bona  fide  votes  were  neutralized  by  seventeen  hundred 
and  twenty-nine  men,  who  had  no  more  right  to  vote  in  Kansas 
than  they  had  to  exercise  the  same  privilege  in  New  York  City. 
Gen.  Whitfield  was  of  course  elected  by  an  overpowering  major- 
ity, and  a  certificate  being  issued  by  the  governor  to  that  effect, 
the  worthy  representative  of  Missouri  took  his  seat  as  the  delegate 
from  the  territory  of  Kansas.     Personally  no  doubt,  the  governor 
was  aware  that  fraudulent  means  had  been  resorted  tu,  but  it  does 
not  appear  that  he  was  duly  informed  of  the  fact  by  other  parties. 


1 


!  ■ 


14^ 


TUTTLlfs  HlSTOUY  OF  KaSSAS. 


I 


!l' 


{ I  »^ 


Consciucnlly  it  diil  not  ilovolvo  upon  him  to  refuse  to  certify. 
Furllu'r,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  when  a  congressional  inquny 
was  made  into  the  facts,  it  ai^peared  that  all  the  violence  and 
fraud  resorted  to  were  surplusage,  as  Gen.  Whitfield  received  a 
majority  of  the  legal  votes  that  were  polled  on  the  2t)th  of  Koveni- 

Ler,  165-f. 

Popular  povereignty,  as  Missouri  understood  and  practiced  that 
nostrum,  meant  overriding  the  will  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  ter- 
ritory, by  an  irruption  of    mercenaries  and  runiaus   who  were 
urged  on  by   gentlemen  of  property  and  position  to  enter  Kan- 
sas" on  election  day,  and  "  to  vote  at  the  point  of  bowie  knife  and 
revolver."     The  difference  between  a  despotism  such  as  the  Rus- 
sian serf  endured,  and  that  which  the  free  soiler  was  compelled 
for  that  time  to  submit  to  in  Kansas,  was  not  entirely  an  advant- 
age to  the  citizen  in  Kansas.     However,  there  were  other  duties 
besides  voting  to  be  attended  to,  and  due  provision  was  made  for 
the  several  judges,  and  for  their  judicial  districts,  so  that  justice 
might  be  adurinistered.     Justices  of  the  peace  were  also  appoint- 
ed,''and  the  times  for  holding  the  regular  courts  were  fixed.    The 
next  election   would  neccs.sarily  be  for  the  territorial  legislature, 
and  to  that  matter  all  Mis.souri  was  ready  to  contribute.     Gov. 
lleeder  came  into  the  territory,  a  lifelong  democrat,  and  it  ap- 
pears to  iiave  been  assumed  that  he  would  allow  himself  to  be 
manipulated  by  the  slave  owners  and  their  tools.     It  is  not  cer- 
tain  that   president   Pierce  entertained  such  an  idea,  but  it  is 
known  that  when  complaints  were  made  by  the  slave  owners  and 
their  friends  against  Gov.  Reeder,  the  chief  executive  made  very 
little  delay  in  decapitating  the  offender.     Before  his  appointment 
to  fill  this  position,  it  is  probable  that  Mr.  Reeder  like  many  other 
democrats  in  Pennsylvania,  had  but  a  very  dim  idea  of    what 
slavery  was.     He  soon  became  the   possessor  of   strong  views 
on  that  subject.     Chief  Justice  Lecompte,  who  was  nominated  by 
the  president  at  the  same  time  as  Mr.  Reeder,  became  one  of  the 
most  violent  of  the  proslavery  party,  and  he  was  honored  as  well 
as  retained  in  office,  the  town  of  Lecompton  being  named  for  him, 
but  the  other  judges  appointed  at  the  same  time,  having  declined 
to  become  partisans,  notwithstanding  that  one  of  them  was  a  slave 
owner,  were  both  decapitated  at  the  same  time  that  Gov.  Reeder 


JaB>«i>lJi.ri»M<Hria.*J.IIUi««W"'«iii'"'»iil    IMi  11.111  iililWOHM >"*"^'    '""    ill*"" 


to  certify, 
il  inquiry 
ilence  and 
received  a 
j£  Koveui- 


:;ticed  that 
.^f  the  ter- 
who  were 
:nter  Kan- 
;  knife  and 
LS  the  Rus- 
conipelled 
in  advant- 
,her  duties 
IS  made  for 
that  justice 
so  appoint- 
ixed.    The 
legislature, 
ute.     Gov. 
and  it  ap- 
nself  to  be 
is  not  cer- 
i,  but  it  is 
owners  and 
made  very 
ppointment 
many  other 
3a  of    what 
,rong  views 
miuated  by 
I  one  of  the 
jred  as  well 
led  for  him, 
ng  declined 
was  a  slave 
ov.  lleedcr 


?:■ 


I 


r 


•'kl>,;:?f'1y''l:^i "' 


n 


TKtiiiiToni  iL  Jljsroitr. 


1 1.") 


was  removed.     Of  throe  jiKlgcs  tliut  worouitpoinlcil  iit  suceessiuii 
U)  111!  tlio  two  vueancies  thus  ciiii.scil,  it  muy  he  worth  whlh*  h<'ro 
to  way,  art  11  coiiiiiiontai-y  uii  the  .state  of  Ht)cii'ty  in    Kansas,   that 
one  re.-'igued  !iis  oll'u:e  in  ilisj^nist,  after  discovering  what   was   re- 
tinired  of  him,  and  that  another  refused   to  assume  the  duties  of 
his  o/hee,  after  visiting  tlio  territory  .mil    seeing   foi'  liiniself  the 
condition  of  aITair.s  that  prevailed.     Coming  hack  to  the   Hul)ject 
of  the  h^gishiture,  tlie   go\ciiior  tiiought  it   ueecssaiy  to  have  a 
census  talcen   before  the  election,  and   knowing   what  might  he 
done  by  the  people  ncro.ss  the  border  to  thwart  his  design,  he 
eau.sed  all  the  step.s  to  be  taken  during  January  and    February, 
without  liny  publicity  IxMng  given   to  the  fact.     The  ^[issourialls 
.saw  in  that  fact  addition.-d   evidence  that  the  governor  ought  to 
be  recalled  by  the  jiresident.     In  some  eases  they  did  cross  over 
and  procure  themselves  to  be  enumerated  among  the  residents, 
but  a,s  a  rule  the  precautions  taken  by  the  governor  sufllced  to 
make  the  retuiii  obtained  reliabh;,  as  such  documents  usually  are. 
Some  of  the  proslavery  men   r.niled  at  the  governor,  and  talked 
assassination,  others  threatened  him  with  removal  by  the  chief  ex- 
ecutive, and  others  contented  themselves  by  striving  to  bribe  or 
to  intimidate  theccnsus  takers  to  embody  in  their  returns  fraudu- 
lent lists  of  nonresidents,  as  "though   they  actually  lived  in   the 
territory.      AVhen  the  census  was  taken  there  appeared  to  be 
eight  thousand,  six  hundred  souls  in  the  territory,  with  a  sum 
total  of  voters  nund)ering  two  thousand,  eight  hundred  and  live. 
The  census  showed  the  governor  not  only  the  extent  of  the  pop 
nlation,  but  the  localities  in  which  the  voters  resided,  a  consider 
ntion  of  some  itnportance  in  preparing  to  elect  a  legislature.    Im- 
mediately after  the  returns  were  made,    Mr.   Roeder  issued  his 
proclamation  calling  for  the  election  of  the  legislature.     The  re- 
turns wore  completed  on  the  third  day  of  March,  the  notice  ap- 
peared on  the  eighth,  and  the  choice  was  to  be  made  on  the  thir- 
tieth of  the  same  month  in  1855.  There  seems  to  be  no  reason  for 
assuming  that  the  governor  wanted  to  favor  the  free  soilers ;  he  only 
wanted  to  see  fair  play,  and  being  a  lawyer  by  jjrofession,  all   his 
best  instincts  were  trained  to  desire  the  f  ultillment  of  the  law.     As 
a  democrat  he  was  more  likely  to  have  favored  the  other  side,  and 
had  he  wished  merely  to  be  on  the  side  of  the  stronger  party  for  the 
10 


■ 


nlnvnl  into  tlu-ir  l.an-l.,  but  he  nuMTly  .1.1  h..  -1.  ty,  a 
„.:,.•  n,..  wVu.h  .....lo  Hum.  a  few  year,  lat.r  al-.-Ln  S      Ik 

L  p  .>t.xt  f..r  the  e.>,MphunU  a.ul  aenur.mt.on«  o[  th    I  o  l.u.O 
,Jy.     Both  .hies  were  in  earnest  now.  Co.  the  ^^^    '       ;     ^^ 
It.^.  (.00/- .a.  really  to  be  p—^^^^^ 

batable  ,n>un.l  wlueh  wa.  -I'l^^^^^  '^    ;     ,  ,,,,«  n.ul  hitter 
ti.Me.  by  the  Miss....n  conunonus...,  »ftc,r  the  mtm 
ai,.„ss?onH  in  con,reH«  .luring  thcscss.ons  -^^  ^8  0      ;       'c 
l,oen   kept  alive  by  the  passages  at   ar„>s  u,    he   un.      s       a 

,  i        HMw,  fi-Pf.  ^t'lto  Dartv  eouhl  not  l)ohavo  un 

*'„■"    an  i,„prac,ioablc  ori.no,  but  tl.c  ...W  --lo  Lad  alroa.ly 

';  L     y  kept  up  .ho  c-y  .l,at  Ka„.a,  »l.oaUl  «  a  »';-  ^tau^ 
'  lT,t  rcl,  "ncaccaWy  il  wc  ca..,"  sakl  Clou.  Atclus....,    bat  at  ll.o 
allhazalils,    pcatuiu  ,  t  .,.,,v,.ri  of  some  cm  nonce  os- 

vl  nV    nll„wi„ablo  tbroa.s  oi  violence,  too  .oon  to  W 

-  %i^r.oe^s;r;  ^  ^  ';---- 

°"'Zcrv  o  ;a^  S,ni.atlons  i  the  miMlc  and  eastern  state. 
'e  "It Wnt'n  the  territory  «,visUca  by  speakers  a^ 
l^o'^bly   canvassed  to  bring  out   tbe  wUole   votu.g  power 


Tl'.UlllTOUf.lf.   UlsTiilt V. 


U7 


i(!  ttnino 
lU'plicn 
ii<tu  to 
lIic  fl'OO 

ho  frco 
hat  was 

).4!ivery 

"  flllVO 

hoU^  tlo- 
I  [..!•  nil 
1(1  biltor 
lich  had 
y  wiir  at 
r.  l)o\ig- 
-5i,  warf 
led  to  bo 

0  si.le  <>^ 
liavc  im- 
foto  inoro 

1  already 
spoiikcrft 

re  state  at 
but  at  tho 
inence  as- 
r  the  law, 
.nctions  of 
1  rights  as 
Never  was 
d  justifies 

Missouri, 
frau-dulent 
oon  to  be- 
ations  and 

the  usual 
^tern  states, 
oakers,  and 
ting   power 


of  tho  population  ill  favor  of  tlicir  candidates  in  oacli   district, 
and  of   course   so  far  as  actual   residents  wi-ro  eonccnuMl,  they 
had  tlin   battle  in   their  own  hands.     The  foreign   eleiii'Miteould 
not   be  reached  by    tlii'ir   elorpu'iice,   excc|)t    in  sti    far   as    tho 
force  of  their  expressions  nii^iilit  help  to  exasperate  their  already 
ntigry  opponents.     Tliey  eou!(l  not  import  voting  power  from  tho 
neighboring  state,  for  the  party  that  sympathized  with  them  daicil 
nf)t  8hf)w  how  warmly  their  feelings  wore  enlisted,  and   besiiles, 
their  instincts  did  not  incline  them  in  that  way,  to  "do  evil   ihac 
good  might  eome."      Tlicir  primary  meetings,  their  eonventions, 
their  nominations  made  uii  nimous  in  every  "nso,  amounted  to 
nothing  against   tho  power;  with,   which  they  had  to  contend. 
They  were  met  and   for  the  time  completely  cru.shed  by  an  or- 
ganized movement  which  ext(;nded  from  .l.isper  county  in  tho  ex- 
treme south  of  Missouri,  and  Mirough  r '  cry  secii'-n  ens;  ,-\nd  west 
to  Andrew  county  in  tho  north,  whieh  sent  part'  ■•<  into  Kansas  to 
vote  for  tho  imposition  of  tiic  institution  ;'  >hivery  upon  tho 
state  wherever  it  might  be  formed.     B  )ono  county  and  C  lo,  east 
and  west  went  into  tho  matter  with  .vh.  ;e_heart.N,  and.  i.;  v^re  was 
but  one  representative  district  in  K  msns  A^hich  had  not  foreign 
votes  enough  sent  from  Missouri  to  control  the  election.     Tlu; 
■whole  of   tho  council  districts   were  provided  for  in  that  way. 
They  did  not  merely  pervade  tho  tei'ri^ory,  they  came  like  an 
army,  in  many  eases  bringing  bands  of  music,  on  the  same  prin- 
ciple that  induces  the  boy  passing  some  ghostly  precinct  to 

"  Whistle  aloud  to  bear  his  couriigo  up." 

They  came  armed  and  provisioned,  and  supplied  with  tents 
like  an  enemy  marching  to  more  honorable  war,  and  in  every  dis- 
trict there  were  avowed  nurposes  to  alarm  the  free  state  party,  aa 
■well  as  to  decide  the  el  '  is  by  an  overpowering  display  of  for- 
eign and  fraudulent  voting  power.  For  the  time  they  were  success- 
ful, but  their  ill-omened  success  was  dearer  than  the  most  costly 
defeat.  It  was  an  rther  illustration  of  the  words  of  the  poet, 
"  Quern  Deiis  vvU perdere prius  dementat;"  '"God  willed  their  de- 
struction, and  they  were  made  mad."  The  decisions  of  the  con- 
gre.s;'onal  committee,  which  was  appointed  to  mquire  into  and 
report  upon  these  unlawful  proceedings  in  Kansas,  places  in  a 


!.*,/.-, 


''!<fMP!R!!' 


J4g  TlTTUfs  HrSTOliY  OF  KaXSAS. 

clear  au-l  unquestionable  light  the  conduct  of  the  Missouvians^ 
The  evidence  is  volunnnous  and  con>plcte;   but  the  report,  which 
dioosts  the  main  facts  and  supplies  results  only,  wdl  serve  the 
pvu-nose  of  the  historian  bettor  than  the  cornprel.ensive  detads  on 
'vhic h  it  is  founded.     The  committee  ascertained  not  merely  that 
there  were  foreign  influences  at  work  to  falsify  the  -veral  e lec^ 
lions,  but  also  whence  the  false  voters   ean.e      Eleven  coun^cs 
sent  the  voters  that  swamped  legitimate  pubbc  op.mon  m  the 
poUinc^  at  Lawrence,  and  it  was  ascertained  that  those  who  re- 
nntiued  at  home  in  Missouri  were  assessed  to  pay  the  expenses, 
supply  horses,  carriages,  wagons  and  connnissariat  for  the  invacl- 
i„l-  l^ions.     Provisions  were  aecun.ulated  m  rcl.able  hands  in 
L^wrc^.ce  for  some  days  before  the  irruption,  and  the  fraudulent 
voters  began  to  pour  in  the  day  previous  to  the  poll.ng  contmu- 
u,o-  to  arrive  almost  to  the  last  hour  in  which  a  ballot  paper 
could  be  handed  in.     There  were  over  one  thousand  men  m  camp 
near  the  town  the  night,  before  the  election,  and  more  than  one 
hundred  wagons  of  all  kinds,  besides  saddle  horses,  had  been  em- 
ployed to  convey  the  multitude.     When 

"  The  Assyrians  came  down  like  the  wolf  on  the  fold, 
■    f     ■         And  his  cohorts  were  gleamiug  with  purple  and  gold, 

there  was  splendor  in  the  conquering  host  it  there  was  no  mercy  ; 
bu   thl  horde,  armed  with  bowie  knives,  guns  and  pistols,  wb 
twi    i  e     of  Lrtillerv  loaded  to  the  muzzle  with  musket  balls 
Xv'lLVy  with  the  red  light  of  hate  upon  the  ittle  settlement 
^X  to  be  intimidated  and  overridden.     Bands  of  music  were 
.   "ploy-   to  play  the  melodies  most  likely  to  annoy  the  beseiged 
and      give  heail  or  courage  to  the  multitudinous  pack  that  pro- 
rid  to  devour  them.     Mr.  Blanton,  one  of  the  judges  of  electiou 
Tlo  recused  to  be  bribed,  was  to  have  been  hanged  the  night  be- 
^      he  poll,  but  it  seems  probable  that  matters  weij  accommo- 
date dJth  Jut  recourse  to  that  process,  as  the  judge  did  not 
r  1  Doilincr  day  to  exact  the  oath  as  to  residence,  which 
''■'thave'nvolved  hundreds  in  trials  for  perjury.     The  num- 
beft       eon—    at  Lawrence  being  in  excess  of  the  require- 
.t  of  the  day  some  of  the  leaders  addressed  the  throng,  repre- 
ZZ^l^S^  i-ting  men  to  volunteer  to  proceed  to 


iMrifi 


pr-« 


^i'TSft^  ?^^"§C*^.=" 


[issourians. 
port,  which 
I  serve  the 
e  details  on 
merely  that 
icveral  clec- 
en  counties 
nion  in  the 
lose  who  re- 
le  expenses, 
I'  the  invad- 
)le  hands  in 
!  fraudulent 
ns,  continu- 
ballot  paper 
men  in  camp 
ire  than  one 
lad  been  em- 


Id, 
old," 

as  no  mercy ; 
I  pistols,  with 
nusket  balls, 
,tle  settlement 
of  music  were 
^  the  beseiged, 
pack  that  pro- 
ges  of  election 
the  night  be- 
ere  accommo- 
udge  did  not 
sidence,  whichi 
V,    The  num- 
of  the  require- 
i  throng,  repre- 
to  proceed  to 


TKniiiTonTAL  TlrsTonr.  j^g 

more  remot.  points,  where  there  was  a  possibility  that  tho  l.,..l 

voters  mioht  <.„tn,imber  the  foreic^n  oloment  -ml  ^ 

♦Vint-  «v,       1  ,    ,  '•^"'^•"oii   LiLmciit,  and   111   ans\v(>r   \n 

that  appeal   several  detachments  of  one  hundred   and  fi  t      .nd 
two  hundred^  respcetively,  rode  post  haste  to  Bloomin.ton    III! 
ory  Pent  Teeumsoh  and  elsewhere,  to  dragoon  tl'^^^       t 
men  out  of  to  leastehance  of  honest  government.     The  nv. 
came  up  to  the  polling  place  in  Lawrence    n  parties  of  onl  h   n 
<l.ed  the  oath  proposed  as  to  residence  was  set  a  'd:  by  t^m  I 
•ind  another  substituted  which  would  not  sit  uneasilv  on   T 
consciences.     The  judge  that  was  absent  wa    rep  3  W  .    7 
st.tute  chosen  by  the  lawless  band  around    L  S  11    t 
oa.se  ..M  bo  on  tl.eir  side,  and  when  it  l^l^^ 
la»  «a.s  to  bo  so  ovorborno,  another  of  tl.c  jiub.es  Mr  Ahl,„t 
ros,g„ed.     The  .nob  i„ooec.k,l  immediately  to    C  ,, ott 't 

jiihii(,e.      ijie  citijjens  who  were  entitlprl  t,-» 

who  flred  „po„  the  retreating  body,  and  it  was  „„W  i„  tl  e  aTer' 
noon      I       theMissourianshad  made  things  safe  for  th  i"      ' 
that  tho  « ,r,  >&  electon,  were  able  to  eome  „p  i„  a  bodv  Ind 
clepos,t  the,,,  balloting  pape,^.     The  pretexts  of  the  erowd  we™ 
m,ne,r,„s  enough,  as  they  asserted  that  the  co  t«  lavL, 
he  two  states  Missouri  and  Ma.,aeh„setts, ^7     ;  j2tZ 
last  stages  of  *„,„,„•,  oould  suppose  that  a  lasting  viZyeouW 
be  won  by  such  sha.neful  operations.    The  New  Enda,3  V 
gran.  Aid  Soe.e.y  w.as  to  be  m,ade  the  .eap;"^'!'!  i'J 
of  M,s.so„r,  ,nlo  the  dese,t.  but  the  high  handled  outraZ  of  ,  " 
m.emade,t,mpossibIe  for  the  Pieree  eabinet  to  Mlyendle 
the  proeeed.ngs  of  the  slave  owners,  and  in  congress  the  rt^ 

would  ha  Jbeen  foJtthttV^^reVr:.^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
afternoon,  but  for  the  dise.«io„  exereised  b^  Col    You  .   of 

anyhow,  and  tl.  f.Jt  'T^^Z:^  ^l'     ^f-  ^  -l!: 

of  fairness  to  the  dav's  work     T^^^  at-         ■        ,   °  aspect 

ine  aays^vork.     The  Missourmns  brandished  their 


:yi;.ii 


150 


TVTTLKS  lIlSTOllY  OF  KaXSAS. 


''Wtt' 


weapons  repeatedly  during  the  day,  and  when  the  pol  nig  luul 
been  complete.!,  they  supplemented  their  illegal  aets  by  deelarn.g 
that  unless  the  governor  sanctioned  the  election  so  consununatcd, 
lie  should  be  hanged.  ,  •        n 

Popular  sovereignty  was  respected  and  honored  in  a  like  man- 
ner in  the  second  district,  Bloomington.     The  Mi.sourians  came 
in  undersell  known  leaders  from  Westport  and  independence, 
Missouri,  armed  at  all  points,  and  boisterous  in  their  threats.^ 
They  called  an  impromptu  election  for  governor  by  way  of  initi-,   , 
atincr  their  more  regular  proceedings,  and  when  they  had  chosen 
the  "  Lord  of  misrule,"  their  protege  marched  with  them  to  the 
pollin.'  place  to  demand  that  they  should  be  allowed  to  vote 
^vithout  being  sworn.     They  were  not  scrupulous  about  swearing 
at  lar<re,  but  they  objected  to  oaths  which  might  carry  contingent 
remainders  in  the  shape  of  prosecutions  for  perjury  in  the  long 
day  which  they  knew  was  before  them  : 

"  Thus  conscience  does  make  cowards  of  us  all." 

«  The  slincrs  and   arrows  of  outrageous  fortune,"  were  piled 
mountain  high  that  day  in  Bloomington,  as  we  have  seen  similar 
Bcenes  being  enacted  elsewhere.     One  of  the  leaders  claimed  tliat 
they  could  vote  if  they  had  been  on  the  ground  only  five  min- 
utes and  the  better  to  enforce  their  claim,  they  procured  guns 
from  their  wagons,  loaded  their  weapons,  assumed  badges  to  dis- 
tincruish  themselves  from  the  "abolitionists,"  earned  the  polling 
place  by  assault,  smashing  all  obstructions  and  threatening  to 
shoot  any  person  that  dared  oiler  opposition.     It  is  probable  that 
there  would  have  been  murder  at  this  point,  but  somebody  assured 
the  mob  that  there  were  proslavery  men  in  the  house  where  the 
poll  was  being  taken,  and  the  armed  band  was  tender  in  regard- 
ing the  privileges  of  tiieir  own  party.     There  were  three  judges 
of^election,  and  two  of  them,  Harrison  Burson  and  Nathaniel 
Kamse'     were  resolute  as  to  the  oath.     The  third  judge,   Mr. 
Ellison,  bowed  to  circumstances,  if  he  was  not  in  the  plot  before- 
hand, consequently  the  rifles  and  revolvers  of  the  mob  wc^re  con- 
centrated upon  his  more  worthy  associates,  when  a  sheriff  from 
Missouri  and  a  band  of  desperadoes  rushed  into  the  room  to  com- 
pel the  acciuiescence  which  they  had  been  unable  to  persuade. 


Ji'PJW."  ,Pt«.JHl« 


TEnniroitiAL  Ilisronr. 


polling  luul 
by  declaring 
oDsuinmatcd, 

11  a  like  rnan- 
5()uriaiis  caioe 
ndcpeiulonce, 
their  threats, 
way  of  initi-| 
;y  had  chosen 
11  them  to  the 
owed  to  vote 
bout  swearing 
i-ry  contingent 
y  in  the  long 


!,"  were  piled 
v^e  seen  similar 
•s  claimed  that 
only  five  min- 
procured  guns 

badges  to  dis- 
■ied  the  polling 
threatening  to 
s  probable  that 
nebody  assured 
lOuse  where  the 
nder  in  regard- 
re  tliree  judges 
and  Nathaniel 
ird  judge,  Mr. 
the  plot  bcfore- 
1  mob  were  con- 

a  sheriflE  from 
le  room  to  cora- 
ile  to  persuade. 


151 

Five  minutes  by  the  watch  of  the  sheriff  were  allowed  for  com- 
pliance or  resignation;  but  the  judges  dared  the  ordeal,  and  an- 
otlier  minute  was  allowed  them  to  prepare  for  death.  The  com- 
pliant Judge  Ellison  added  iiis  persuasions  to  the  menaces  of  the 
crowd ;  but  failing  in  the  success  which  he  had  hoped  from  his 
eloquence,  he  seized  the  ballot  box  and  ran  out  into  the  safer 
companionshi,,  of  the  howling  rioters,  whose  cries  he  repeated 
with  much  fervor.  The  friends  of  the  remaining  jud-es  now 
called  them  outside  for  a  parley,  and  they  were  not  permitted  to 
return,  as  it  was  evident  tliat  there  could  be  no  legal  election  that 
day. 

When  .^Fr.  Uurson  left  the  room  he  carried  with  liiin  the  ballot 
poll  books  in  Ins  pocket.     Some  papers  which  were  carried  loosely 
in  his  hand  were  snatched  from  him  by  the  warlike  Missouriaa 
sheriff;    but  when,  after  much  rejoicing  over  the  valueless  cap- 
ture.  It  was  found  that  the  poll  books  were  absent,  an  armed 
party  was  detailed  to  procure  them  from  the  judge  at  any  sacri- 
lice.     Mr.  Burson  was  accompanied  by  a  friend  when  the  pursuit 
commenced,  and  as  it  was  evident  that  he  could  not  escape,  he 
handed  over  tlie  documents  to  his  companion,  hoping  that  in'the 
confusion  of  a  chase  in  opposite  directions  the  pursuers  mi^'ht  be 
baffled  in  their  main  object.     The  poll  books  were  howcv°er  re- 
covered  from  Mr.  Minberger,  their  temporary  custodian,  and  that 
gentleman  was  carried  back  to  the  polling  place,  a  prisoner,  to  be 
dealt  with  as  the  usurpers  of  the  sovereign  rights  of  Kansas 
should  determine.     The  residence  of  Mr.  Ramsey,  the  other  judc^e 
of  election,  was  visited,  and  the  first  chief  justice  chosen  in  the    ' 
territory,  pending  the  inauguration  of  government  under  the  act, 
was  there  taken  into  custody,  marched  down  to  the  head  quarters 
of  the  insurgents,  compelled  to  make  a  speech  to  amuse  his  mas-     ' 
ters,  like  Samson  in  the  temple  of  Dagon,  and  then,  the  old  man 
having  been  decorated  with  the  badge  worn  by  the  fraudulent 
voters,  Judge  John  A.  Wakefield  was  allowed  to  retire.     Jud-res 
were  chosen  to  replace  those  who  had  retired  from  the  pollhig 
place,  and  it  was  openly  announced  that  any  man  administerin° 
the  oath,  and  any  man  submitting  to>e  sworn,  should  be  shot° 
disemboweled,  and  have  his  heart  torn  out.     Many  in  the  crowd 
said  that  they  had  been  hired  at  one  dollar  per  day  to  come  there 


-  J,  J:,fxe.\iS^. 


152 


Tittle's  Histouy  of  Kassas. 


and  vote,  and  Ly  fair  means  or  by  foul,  tliey  meant  "  to  vote  or 
die."  One  citizen,  Laving  said  tliat  it  required  he  would  take  the 
oatl.,  was  at  onee  assaulted  with  clubs,  knives  and  pistols,  amid 
brutal  and  rcv(;lting  cries.  So  the  farce  of  election  was  hanging 
over  the  verge  of  tragedy  all  the  day  long  in  Bloomington,  and 
the  citizens  were  in  many  eases  deterred  from  tendering  votes, 
•which  must  necessarily  be  inoperative  in  an  election,  which  defied 
law  on  every  issue.     Every  act  of  the  day  revealed 

"  The  fliisli  and  outbreak  of  a  flcry  mind ; 
A  savageufss  in  uurcclaimcd  blood." 

In  the  sixteenth  district  the  rioters  had  things  entirely  their 
own  wa3^     Six  counties  sent  their  armed  roughs  into  this  region, 
carrying  out  a  programme  which  had  been  set  forth  in   public 
meetings  all  over  northwestern  Missouri  some  weeks  before  the 
day  ofdection.     The  invaders  came  fnlly;equipped  with  all  that 
could  be  necessary  to  prove  their  qualifications,  such  as  bowie 
knives,  pistols,  shot  guns,  rifles,  and  wisps  of   hemp  twisted  in 
their  button  holes;  so  that  on  the  morning  of  the  election  there 
were  nearly  fourteen  hundred  persons  collected  near  the  polling 
place.     The  oath  was  the  stumbling  block  with  the  crowd,  as  at 
Lawrence  and  at  Bloomington ;  and  here,  as  there,  the  powers  of 
cajolery  and  intimidation  were  resorted  to,  to  obviate  the  diffi- 
culty.    There  were  two  free  state  men  among  the  three  judges, 
and  they  were  resolute  as  to  the  oath ;  but  one  of  them,  probably 
influenced  bv  the   prospect  of  personal  violence,  resigned  that 
mornin.-;   and  when  a  subservient  tool  had  been  chosen  by  the 
mob  to°fill  his  place,  the  other  free  state  judge  was  powerless 
a-ainst  the  will  of  the  majority.     Indians  of  the  Wyandotte  tribe 
■w°ere  allowed  to  vote,  but  Delawares  were  refused.     While  the 
polling  was  onward,  a  steamboat  came  down  loaded  with  passen- 
gers from  Weston,  Missouri,  who  voted  as  though  they  were  per- 
fectly ri^ht  in  so  doing,  and  then  returned  on  the  boat,  making 
no  secre°t  whatever  of  their  fraudulent  acts.     The  voting  in  the 
Bixteenth  district  was  almost  entirely  carried  on  by  Missourians, 
as  the  free  state  men  saw  no  advantage  in  lending  their  coopera- 
tion to  a  process  so  repugnant  to  the  rights  of  free  men.     The 
Missourians  claimed  that  if  a  man  was  on  the  ground  on  the  day 


MaBwwwi 


■  MSBa^ja'.'ja«gt.J.i|kV>'i*-'-'i^"-'l^l!'llL    JJ-lU-Ullli] 


Tkiuutorlil  History. 


153 


'  to  vote  or 
Id  take  tho 
stols,  amid 
as  hanging 
ington,  and 
b^ing  votes, 
hicli  defied 


itirely  their 
this  region, 
1  in   public 
;  before  the 
,rith  all  that 
ih  as  bowie 
I  twisted  in 
lection  there 
the  polling 
crowd,  as  at 
le  powers  of 
te  the  diffi- 
hree  judges, 
m,  probably 
Bsigned  that 
losen  by  the 
as  powerless 
andotte  tribe 
While  the 
with  passen- 
ley  were  per- 
boat,  making 
rating  in  the 
Missouriansv 
heir  coopera- 
3  men.     The 
1  on  the  day 


of  election,  tliat  made  his  right  irresistible ;  and  many  who  had 
visited  the  territory  about  twelve  months  before  to  stake  oDE 
claims,  which  they  had  done  nothing  to  hold  and  improve,  really 
appeared  to  think  that  they  were  residents  in  Kansas  territory, 
although  they  were  domiciled  in  the  neighboring  state;  and  in 
any  event,  it  was  a  ease  of  "  anything  to  beat  the  north  ;  "  which 
was  credited  witli  having  brought  upon  Missouri  the  hard  neces- 
sity to  carry  slavery  into  Kansas  legislation  by  force  and  fraud, 
such  as  we  iiave  seen.  One  of  the  free  state  candidates  who  saw- 
how  useless  it  was  to  fight  against  such  odds,  withdrew  his  name 
from  the  contest  because  .Mi.ssouri  was  there  in  force  to  determine 
un  issue  which  properly  belonged  to  Kansas ;  and  his  action  was 
loudly  applauikd  by  tlie  concourse  upon  whom  it  rained  down 
censure. 

True  satire  like  tiie  polialied  razor,  keen, 
■Wounds  witli  a  touch  tliat's  hardly  felt  or  seen. 

Gen.  Atchison  was  in  command  of  the  invaders,  who,  in  an 
electoral  sense,  took  possession  of  the  eighteenth  district     He 
took  with  him  a  body  of  men  sufficient  to  have  swamped  the 
whole  voting  power  of  the  Nemaha  district  twice  or  thrice  told, 
but  in  this  precinct  there  was  not  such  a  surplusage  of  fraudulent 
voting  as  elsewhere.     Only  seventeen  legal  votes  were  i^olled  and 
the  whole  number  of  ballots  recorded  formed  a  total  of  si.xty-two, 
so  there  were  forty -five  registered  fraudulently.     The  camp  of  the 
invaders  resounded   with  horrible  profanity  and  threats  all  the 
time,  but  no  good  purpose  could  be  served  by  perpetuating  the 
bad   record   of  those  exponents   of    popular    sovereignty,    v/ho 
^thought  it  their  most  glorious  privilege  to  deprive  the  residents 
in  the  territory  of  a  voice  in  determining  the  policy  of  their  own 
government.     The  men  who  led  the  movement  were  persons  of 
education  and  standing,  consequently  no  allowance  can  be  made 
on  the  score  of  ignorance.     The  language  used  by  Gen.  Atchi- 
son, ex-senator  for  the  state  of  Missouri  in  congress  and  ex-vice 
president  of  the  union,  a  lawyer  and  sometime  circuit  judge,  ap- 
pears to  have  been  as  bad  as  could  have  fallen  from  the  Hps  of 
one  who  had  never  graduated  in  Transylvania  university.     In  the 
eighteenth  district,    the  Missourians  under  Atchison,  took   the 
oath  without  a  murmur,  apparently  considering  perjury  a  small 


1S4 


TvTTI.K's  HlSTOllY  OF  KaX-SAS. 


price  to  pay  for  succcsh,  and  in  consequence  ot  the  horrible  tlircata 
of  llie  iutnulors  there  was  no  protest  entcrea  against  the  election. 
It  wouhl  be  tiresome  to  go  over  the  whole  ground,  even  with 
such  scanty  detail ;  so  we  uppen.lonly  a  few  figures  showin.s-  tho 
grand  results.     In  Lawrence,  there  were,  as  the  census  demon- 
strated, 3GI)  residents,  and  232  legal  votes  were  recorded,  but  the 
I^Iissourian  ballots  amounted  tr«   "02.     In  Bloomington,  30  legal 
votes  were  swamped  by  810  nonresidents.     At  Stinson's,  32  legal 
votes  were  overriden  by  an  illegal  register  of  338,  and  so  through-   , 
out  the  twenty-five  electoral  precincts,  791  free  .state  votes,  out  of 
a  population  of  2,905  pcrsou.s,  were  tyrannously  set  aside  by  Mis- 
sourian  raiders,  to  the  number  of  4,908.     One  of  the  leaders  in 
the  disgraceful  procedure,  Hon.  Claiborne  V.  Jack.^on,  was  after- 
wards chosen  governor  of  Missouri,  probably  having  "  made  his 
calling  and  election  sure"  by   his  participation  in  these  scenes. 
Western  Missouri  was  almost  entirely   involved  in  the  coiuiuest 
of   Kansas,  and  with  a  large  average,   there   must  have   been 
some   kind    of   justification   to   override   the   scrui)les   of    con- 
science which  would  customarily  guard  them  from  assisting  in 
a  work  so  monstrous.     Many  of  them,  doubtless,  believed  that 
Massachusetts  had  sent  and  was  sending  its  pauper  legions  into 
Kansas,  the  newspapers  liad  told  them  so,  the  orators  of  the  day 
were  never  tired  of  reiterating  such  assertions,  and  the  pulpits,  oc- 
cupied by  men  whom  they  had  been  from  their  youth  tau-ht  to 
respect,  had  afforded  all  the  aid  in  the  power  of  the  churdies  to 
support  the  popular  delusion.     Perhaps  many  of  the  pastors  who 
took  part  in  the  agitation  had  been  content  with  hearsay  testi- 
mony in  forming  their  own  convictions,  as  of   course,  their  time 
must  have  been  occupied,  to  a  great  extent,  by  pastoral  visits 
among  the  parties  most  interested  in  persuading  them  to  swell  the 
clamo°,  and  as  a  rule,  they  were  not  educated  to  weigh  evidence 
with  the  critical  acumen  of  the  legal  profession.     The  lawyer  is 
governed  by  the  facts,  the  pastor  is  much  more  swayed  by  his 
feelings,  and  in  that  case  we  may  readily  see  how  the  best  impul- 
ses of°a  misinformed  mind  would  tend  toward  encouraging  con- 
duct such  as  his  better  judgment  must  disapprove.     Again,  much 
allowance  must  be  made  for  intemperate  zeal,  which  stops  at  noth- 
ing while  the  fever  of  pursuit  lasts.     The  suitor  who  made  his 


lit- 


jri'iblo  threats 
t  tlio  election. 
k1,  oven  with 
i  showinr;  the 
lensus  dcmon- 
)rdcu,  but  tho 
gton,  30  legal 
laon's,  32  legal 
id  so  throiigh- 

0  votes,  out  of 
aside  by  Mis- 
thc  leaders  in 
on,  was  after- 
iuL!;  "  made  his 

1  these  scenes. 
11  the  con(iuest 
St  have  been 
iples  oE  con- 
m  assisting  in 
,  believed  that 
31'  legions  into 
tors  of  the  day 
the  pulpits,  oc- 
outh  tauiiht  to 
,he  churches  to 
lie  pastors  who 

hearsay  testi- 
urse,  their  time 

pastoral  visits 
em  to  swell  the 
weigh  evidence 

The  lawyer  is 
swayed  by  his 
the  best  impul- 
ncouraging  con- 
,  Again,  much 
jh  stops  at  noth- 

who  made  hia 


Ti:niii  rouiAL  II is  rou  y. 


165 


appeal  "from  riiiiip  diuiik  to  riiilip  .M)bcr,"  mi.^lit  l.uvo  found 
many  Pliilips   in   Missouri,  ulthougli   tlie   spirit   wlierewitii   they 
■were  intoxicaled  ilill'ered  suuiewliat  from  the   li(pi()r  imbibed  by 
the  ^Maccdoniau  monarch,     'i'hc  number  of  actual  residents,  as  re- 
vealed by  the  census,  and  tlie  number  voting  as  proved  by  tho  re- 
turns, leave  no  margin  for  doubt  as  to  the  dece})tion  practiced  on 
the   bulk  of  the  Missourian  comumnity.     Tho  total  number  of 
persons  emigrating  inti)  Kansas  territory  who  had  come  out  under 
the  auspices  of  tho  New  England  Emigrant  Aid  Society  before  tho 
March  election  in  1855,  amounted  to   lOi)  persons,  of  whom  07 
wero  women  and  children,  and  they  received  no  help  from  the  so- 
ciety o\ce{)t  such  as  had  arisen  from  the  organization  being  able 
to  cheapen  their  passage  for  thoni  a  few  dollars,  and  to  assist  them 
to  move  in  larger  bodies  than  they  could  otherwise  have  joined. 
This  party  came  in  tho  fall  of  185i  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Ki)bia- 
son,  and  many  of  them,  discouraged   by  the  political  conditiou 
of  Kansas,  soon  afterwards  abandoned   tho  field,  seeking  more 
peaceful  homes  elsewhere.     Some  of  the  leaders  of  the  proslavory 
party  were  probably  aware  of  the  aetual  condition  of  allairs.    The 
press  of  New  York  and  Boston  contained  all  the  informatioii  that 
was  available  from  the  seat  of  war ;  several  of  the  papers  had 
special  correspondents  on  the  spot  occasionally,  and  all  of  them 
were  in  the  habit  of  receiving  communications  from  the  territory 
such  as  placed,  beyond  question,  that  two  thousand  votes  across 
the  border  from  Missouri  would  have  carried  the  election  in  the 
■way  that  the  secret  societies  wished,  but  the  conspirators  kept  up 
the  excitement  in  their  stealthy  deliberations  ;  fed  the  uneducated 
and  illiterate  with  just  such  fragments  as  would  sustain  tho  fever, 
and  then  rushed  into  the  mela  with  an  army  of  live  thousand 
men,  to  create  a  tempest  of  indignation  against  tliemselves  and 
their  objects,  which  in  the  end  had  much  to  do  with  the  defeat  of 
the  tactics  of  the  south,  not  only  in  Kansas,  but  all  over  the 
union.     Stephen  A.  Douglas  owed  his  defeat  to  such  conduct  on 
the  part  of  his  friends  more  than  to  the  unadorned  eloquence  of 
Abraham  Lincoln,  and  the  most  simple  will  not  require  to  be  told 
that  if  Douglas  had  been  chosen  president  there  would  have  been 
no  attack  on  Fort  Sumter,  no  rising  in  rebellion  among  the  south- 
ern states,  and  no  emancipation  of  the  human  chattels  whose  color 


ginaiM«=ssi..s:nK  - 


mmm 


150 


Tl-TTl.h.'s   lllSTOIiY  or  K.iSSAS. 


was  the  hiidge  of  their  degradation.    T.ess  tlian  one-lliird  of  tlic  res- 
idents ill  Kansa.s  voted  for  tlio  legislative  assutnbly  ;  many  were 
dcteiird  by  actual  drca.l  of  the  consequences  in  the  face  of  such 
threats  as  were  commonly  being  uttered  ;  many  coulil  not  afTord 
the  loss  of  time  involved  where  every  obstacle  was  placed  in  the 
■way  of  the  legitimate  elector  ;  some  were  driven  of!  the  ground  by 
overpowering  numbers,  and  not  a  few  concluded  that  the  whole 
proceeding  was  so  outrageously  illegal  that  it  must  be  set  aside 
upon  i)rotest.     The  surroundings  of  the  polling  places,  and  the 
riotous  action  of  inany  of  the  mobs  would  sufhcc  to  set  aside  an 
election,  or  any  number  of  elections,  in  any  country  in   which 
representative  institutions  prevail.    If  the  Missourians  had  moved 
into  the  territory  in  good  faith  to  reside  there,  the  result  might 
have  been  deplored,  but  it  would  have  been  legal ;  as  it  was,  there 
cannot  be  found  one  shadow  of  defense  for  their  conduct.     Five 
hundred  men  peacefully  colonizing  Kansas  territory   from  Mis- 
souri, during  the  few  months  that  preceded  the  great  contest, 
might  without  violence  of  any  kind  have  made  themselves  masters 
of  the  situation  by  throwing  in  their  strength  with  the  resident  pro- 
slavery  population  in  that  region,  and  the  outcome  would  have 
been  such  as  oould  not  exasperate  the  free  states,  but  the  larger 
issue  was  to  arise.     The  elements  were  working  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  a  grand  consummation,  and  the  men  who  should  most 
heartily  have  striven  to  preserve  peace  invited  the  ravages  of 
war.     Great  numbers  were  ready  to  have  made  just  such  a  move- 
ment as  we  have  indicated,  but  the  Duyald  Dahjdtys  of  the  border 
did  not  desire  to  lose  their  occupation,  consequently,  every  energy 
was  directed  toward  the  warlike  invasion  which  it  was  believed 
■would  finally  discourage  the  north  and  make  Missouri  master  of 
Kansas  without  the  trouble  of  immediate  settlement. 

With  all  the  facts  that  we  have  contemplated,  and  hundreds  of 
incidents,  such  as  must  be  omitted  from  this  record,  staring  him 
in  the  face,  Gov.  Keeder  owed  it  to  his  office  and  to  himself,  that 
he  should  disallow  the  elections  in  every  instance  in  which  riots 
had  been  created,  or  in  which  men  had  been  prevented  from 
exercising  their  suffrages  by  intimidation.  AVhere  judges  of 
elections  had  been  compelled  to  resign,  and  others  had  been 
chosen  in  their  places,  by  the  riotous  assemblages  which  had 


IvviV' 


'■"smsst 


wmmmm 


i^^.^f?*^ 


(- 


ymij.H  ^1.  1,  .  .  -_^. 


k 


Vi\  of  tlie  rpa- 
;  many  were 
fart-  of  such 
(1  not  ufTonl 
ilacod  in  the 
ic  ground  by 
at  the  whole 
,  be  set  aside 
ces,  and  the 
>  set  aside  an 
ry  in  which 
s  had  moved 
result  might 
3  it  was,  there 
nduct.  Five 
"y  from  Mis- 
;reat  contest, 
selves  masters 
resident  pro- 
would  have 
ut  the  larger 
)r  the  accom- 

0  should  moat 
e  ravages  of 
such  a  move- 
of  the  border 
every  energy 
was  believed 

)uri  master  of 

1  hundreds  of 
[,  staring  him 
I  hirhself,  that 
n  which  riots 
evented  from 
sre  judges  of 
ers  had  been 
;s  which  bad 


Tkhiutorial  IIlstohy.  157 

created  the  vaca,.eies,  there  had  been  n.,  election  in  reality,  and 
?„';      rn    '■  "''"  '^'"'•^•'^""^'.V  ««"te  us  a  lawyer  to  be  aware  of  the 
>      fact.     Ihe  act   under  which   he   received   his  appointment  con- 
turned  provision  for  just  such  an  emergency,  and   the  f,ve  state 
1"  ty  urged  upon  lum  his  duty  in  that  regard,  but  he  hesitated 
«  Hi  tcn.ponzed   UKstcad  of  acting.     Some  of  the  precincts  had 
ot  forwarded  thc.r  protests  and  it  was  proper  that  he  should  be 
fonncd  n.  due  course  as  to  the  facts.     The  parcy  which  had  been 
^v  ongcd  should  have  accompanied  every  election  return  with  a 
•ela  .on  o    the  outrage  inflicted  on  the  connnunity  and  a  consc 
l.unt  protest  against  the  wrongful  election;  but  as  it  was,  there 
^  ere  grounds  enough  upon  which  the  governor  might  have  acted 
m  sonic  cases  which  would  have  ruled  the  rest  as  the  proper  steps 
were  taKcn  to  make  him  cognizant  of  the  truth.     The  proslavc.  v 
party  knew  the  importance  that  must  attach  to  every  step  gained 

•  Ind  wlilo\T"lT'  T  '^'%  '''''  ^'^""^  ^Sainst  public  opinion, 
and  wl  lie  Mr.  Eeeder  still  wavered  they  came  to  him  with  theii 
requests  for  certificates  under  his  hand,  that  they  been  elected 
Individual  applications  having  failed  to  procure  the  coveted  doeu- 
ments,  they  came  to  him  as  a  powerful  delegation  to  demand  com- 
plu  nee  with  the  law.  Mr.  Kceder  was  a  democrat  of  the  old  stamp 
such  as  took  Thomas  Jefferson  for  their  model  and  their  leS 
lo  him  the  word  meant  equal  justice,  and  the  conduct  to  which 

with  the  Missounan  edition  of  the  time  honored  organization 
but  he  was  not  prepared  for  such  a  demonstration  as  now  awaited 
h  m      The  delegation   must  have  certificates  of   their  several 
elections  and  he  could  not  see  his  way  to  meet  their  views      The 
returns  were  before  him  and  he  could  see  that  the  men  confront- 
ing  him  had  been  fraudulently  elected  by  votes  largely  in  excess 
of  the  whole  population  of  the  territory  ;  there  was  no  option  but 
to  refuse  and  immediately  every  man  in  the  company  produced 
bis  pistol,  aiming  it  at  the  heart  of  the  governor.      There  are 
some  men  who  would  have  run  the  chances,  and  dared  the  dele- 
gation to  their  worst,  but  Mr.  Reeder  submitted  to  their  pressure, 
and  when  they  left  him,  every  member  of  the  high  handed  com' 
pany  earned  with  him  the  governor's  certificate  that  he  had  been 
elected.     The  signature  under  duress  was  of  little  value,  but  the 


'.-.  iU's ,,„J■^i4^Sl*iifei-^«^ 


w 


168 


TvTTI.K's  I  f  is  Toll  V  Oh'  A'.i.v>'.i>'. 


I 


fart  .'f  it^  liaviii^'  \mm  obtaiiird  luulrr  .luivs.i  liad  y«"t,  to  bo  awh- 
taiiK'd.     Tlii'i.'  .-till  remained  oiio  conrso  in  tlio  premises,  and  Mr. 
]{»!iHlcr  ad()i)tcd  it:  issuing  his  proclamation  to  call  for  fresh  cloc- 
tioiis,   not   in    phu-es  wlicro  fraud  had    been  most  ila^'rnnt,  and 
because  of  such  frauds,  but  for  iufonnalities  merely.     Such  tem- 
porizing on  his  ].art  was  weakness;   it  lost  him  what  might  liavo 
remained  of  respect  on  the  part  of  the  democrats,  and  it  <lid  not 
deserve  to  win  respect  from  the  men  of   free  state  procdivitie.s.^ 
If  there  was  nothing  to  (;oniplain  of  beyond  an  informality,  then 
it  was  hardly  worth  while  to  go  over  the  grouml  again,  but  with 
such  glaring  wro.igs  confronting  him,  and  in  the  face  of  such  an 
i)utra^e  as  ho  had  sufTcred  in  the  menace  of  violence  to  which  ho 
had  personally  submitted,  his  position  was  painful  in  the  extreme. 
The  daring  course  would  have  been  the  best.     The  old  maxim 
has  been  well  rendered  by  Shakspcre : 

"  Out  of  tills  nett'c,  ilanger,  wo  pluck  tliia  flowiT,  siU'cly." 

Later  in  the  struggle  there  was  courage  enough  displayed  by  the 
governor,  but  just  fc  the  moment  when  decision  would  have 
endetl  the  dilliculty,  when  unshrinking  lirmness  must 

"IIiivp  bouplit, 
GoUlcn  opinions  from  all  sorts  of  people," 

he  paused,  wavered  and  lost  the  best  opportunity  of  his  life. 
The  proslavery  party  convened  and  resolved  to  take  no  r.otice 
whatever  of  the  new  elections,  and  in  consequence,  free  state  men 
•  were  chosen  in  five  districts  with  hardly  an  eflort.  In  Leaven- 
worth, the  seat  of  government  for  the  time,  some  Missourians,  to 
the  number  of  five  hundred,  came  over  and  carried  things  their 
own  way,  but  the  party  could  not  be  induced  to  move  as  a  whole, 
because  they  had  secured  a  majority  in  both  houses  sufHcient  to 
override  the  action  of  the  governor,  to  expel  the  free  state  men 
elected  under  the  second  proclamation,  and  to  illustrate  in  a 
thousand  ways,  during  their  session,  for  Mr.  Keeder's  benefit,  the 

■^  "  Letting  I  dare  not  wtiit  upon  I  would, 

Like  the  poor  cat  i'  the  adage." 

The  elections  of  May  22d,  under  the  second  proclamation,  were 


Mffi^^fwpVX 


Tt:uiiiroiti.iL  lIisroHY. 


159 


;ion,  were 


jirnctically  of  no  account,  except  n«  they  tcndeil  to  exaspornto  tlio 
freo  state  party  Htill  more,  and  the  connnunii;ution.s  which  woro 
Hcnt  to  the  eastern  and  middle  states,  during  the  hitter  part  of 
IS.'u,  disphiy  a  s[)irit  which  gr(!W  every  day  mori;  eager  for  tho 
fray.      Tho   wliole    north   wan  inovtMl    by  suc:h   reprtwntations, 
whicli  tohl  tlicm  of  perils  and  insults,  hard  to  bo  endured,  being 
inilieted  upon  men,  with  whom  many  thousands  wore  suflitiiently 
intimate  to  be  sure  that  whatever  wrongs  had  been  inflicted  upon 
them,  had  been  entirely  unprovoked.      The  lawlessness  of  tho 
!Mi.-sourian  j)<)pulation  was,  if  })ossible,  exaggerated  in  the  corres- 
pondence of  the  day,  and  as  a  natural  result,  the  more  daring 
spirits  of  the  other  side  gravitated  toward  the  point  of  dang(;r. 
There  were  men  in  the  northern  states  whoso  souls  yearned  for 
coiillicl,  and  with  the  excitement  now  offered,  they  straightway 
machlcned  into  a  kind  of  sacred  frenzy.     Could  sueli  cities  a.s 
Kansas  and  Wcstport  have  looked  ahead  to  the  present  day,  to 
have  seen  how  much  more  advantageous  were  the  conditions  of 
gi-owth  which  wotild  be  developed  by  free  labor,  those  centers  of 
population  would   have  used  all   their  powers  to  prevent  tho 
consummation  at  which  they  now  aimed  with  all  their  might. 
Although  the  trade  across  the  plains  to  Santa  Fo  had  very  greatly 
concentrated  itself  in  Kansiis  City,  whence  it  had  only  to  erosa 
the  Kansas  river  to  enter  the  territory,  so  slow  was  the  growth  of 
the  settlement  under  the  mjis  of  shivery,  that  fifteen  years  after 
the  Santa  P^e  trade  was  opened,  in  the  year  1860,  when  Kansas 
territory  had  but  just  emerged  from  a  series  of  disgraceful  raids 
of  Missourians  from  Kansas  City  and  elsewhere,  besides  sustain- 
ing an  internecine  strife,  fomented  from  the  same  source,  which 
lasted  from  1854  to  1859,  the  city  of  Kansas  had  only  a  popu- 
lation of  about  four  thousand  four  hundred,  and  within  the  next 
decade,  although  many  years  were  embittered  by  the  proslavery 
rebellion,  Kansas  City  had  increased  its  population  to  thirty-two 
thousand,  and  may  now  be  safely  estimated  to  hold  fifty  thousand. 
But  for  the  then   present,   Kansas  City  thought  that  all   her 
material  interests  were  bound  up  in  the  maintenance  of  negro 
slavery,  and  therefore  every  energy  was  addressed  to  the  shame- 
ful purpose  of  suppressing  popular  government  in  the  adjoining 
territory  by  way  of  vindicating  the  sovereignty  of  the  people. 


^! 


*'l 


100 


Tvitle's  JJu^k',,'-  of  hASS.iH. 


ni: 


►Such  moil  as  Duviil  Alclii.smi  lu  -  I'lf  iiDimhir  «';if,  iiud  lie  fouiul 
it  <iuito  long  cnoiigli  to  Bcrvc  his  piirims'  .  llo  could  jtrocuro 
Ifvk's  of  men  at  any  niomciit  to  iai<l  into  Kiinsiis  torrilory  in 
fiii'tlifianL't!  or  Ills  plans,  uiul  when  tt^rritorial  govi.'rnoi-,  appointtMl 
liy  [U'csiilKnt  I'ic'iTo  and  liirt  HUccL-Hsor,  iimsidonl  lUichaiKin,  proved 
intraclai)!o  for  tlio  purposes  of  llio  pro.^lavrry  parly,  liu  could 
exert  Hurji  an  inlUient'e  at  the  White  House  as  would  remove 
llain.  Tiiis  jiower  behind  the  throne  was  demoralizing  the  com- 
niunily  on  wliifh  it  iinme(liatcly  acted.  It  was  known  that  the 
general,  who  had  by  accident  become  vice  jjre.sidenl  of  the  union, 
iiimod  at  becoming  president,  and  that  fact  alono  gave  him  presllije 
will)  the  rank  and  fde  of  his  followers,  whieh  was  increased  im- 
mensely when  it  ajipcared  that  his  frown  could  cause  the  removal 
of  the  territorial  executive,  almost  as  soon  ns  ho  said  that  it 
sliouhl  be  done;  therefore,  when  such  a  man  assured  the  com- 
mon ])eople,  that  they  were  safe  in  committing  perjury,  in  order 
to  jirocure  the  acceptance  of  their  fraudulent  votes  in  Kansas, 
they  followed  him  with  absolute  trust,  repeating  his  brutalities  of 
jdirase  with  needless  embellishments. 

Dark  clouds,  almost  us  black  as  Erebus,  looked  down  upon  Kan- 
sas now,  veiling  the  good  time  since  reached  from  all  but  the  eye  of 
faith  ;  but  the  men  who  have  since  then  builded  Kansas  into  a 
state,  which  already  has  a  population  of  si.v  hundred  thousand 
f-o'ils  were  then  a  tiny  handful,  bufl'cted,  but  self-reliant  even  in  the 
very  midst  of  the  border  ruffian  tumult,  by  which  they  were  to 
have  been  destroyed.  They  petitioned  congress  for  redress  in 
due  time,  and  they  found  unfortunately  that  where  the  interests 
of  party  clash  with  the  best  instincts  of  mankind,  the  worst  eau.se 
is  too  apt  to  win,  in  that  congregation  of  the  wi.scst  and  best. 
Their  faith  and  their  fortitude  were  severely  tr'ed,  but  it  says 
much  for  their  honesty  and  uprightness,  in  the  struggle  in  which 
they  were  engaged  —  in  which  many  lives  were  lost  on  both 
sides  —  that  every  governor  appointed  under  democratic  influ- 
ences, as  long  as  the  state  constitution  was  delayed,  became  con- 
vinced of  the  justice  of  the  demands  of  the  free  state  party,  be- 
fore he  had  been  many  months  in  Kansas  territory,  and  had  to  be 
removed  under  pressure,  to  make  way  for  some  more  obedient 
tool.     The  advantages  in  the  eonflict  seemed  to  be  all  on  the  side 


! 


r 


Ttntni  Toiti.t  L  Ills  Ton  y. 


vn 


1  lie  foiirul 
111  |in»iiro 
enitory  in 

,  llp|)()illt*!(l 
Kill,  [il'ilVCll 

,  lie  i:oiiUl 
ilJ  rciiiovo 
ly  llic  com- 
,'U  tliut  tho 

■  tlio  union, 
liiiii  prenllje 
neaseil  im- 
.lie  roiiioviil 
iaiil  tluit  it 
il  the  com- 
ry,  in  order 

in  Kansas, 
rutulitics  of 

1  upon  Kan- 
it  tlie  eye  of 
innas  into  ft 
J  thousand 
tevcn  in  the 
hey  were  to 

■  redress  in 
tho  interests 
woi'st  cause 
t  and  best. 

but  it  says 
;le  in  which 
)st  on  both 
cratic  influ- 
becamc  con- 
ic party,  be- 
id  had  to  be 
jre  obedient 

on  the  side 


of  1  uflianisin,  but  tho  hand  of  (lod  can  be  found  in  tho  history  of 
nulions,  US  certainly  as  his  lin;^'or  is  «ocu  in  tlie  forcvor-nu)\  ing 
Btars,  and  in  thu  deep  recesHOS  of  tho  H'.lont  earth.  In  that  ('md, 
these  hen;ic  ami  patient  men  ri'p(weil  their  trust.  The  eongijitii- 
hitions  which  were  uttered  in  pidilie  meetings,  and  by  the  \<\vm 
across  tho  border,  did  not  aggravate  their  alUielion-s,  becau.so  they 
could  look  down  upon  men  of  that  class  almost  in  the  spirit  ol 
llini  wlio  said  : 

"  FiUlicr  fi)rglvo  tlii'in,  tlicy  know  not  what  they  do." 

But  cvi.ry  sound  was  a  warning  us  to  some  further  outrage  soon 
to  be  attempted,  and  tho  town  of  Lawrence  was  especially  a  mark 
at  whieli  the  enmity  of  the  pro.slavcry  jiarty  delightiHl  to  addii^ss 
itself.  Lynch  law  was  to  be  the  <jnly  law  in  the  territory  and  tho 
Missourian  borderers  were  to  bo  its  special  niinister.s.  Gov. 
Heeder,  when  he  went  to  Washington,  soon  after  the  second  elec- 
tion to  tho  legislative  a.s.sembly,  was  publicly  warned  not  to  re- 
turn or  he  would  bo  lynched.  Six  days  after  the  second  polling, 
just  mentioned,  a  convention  of  the  Mis.sourian  party  was  to  have 
assembled  at  Leavenworth  to  discuss  the  deposition  of  the  gov- 
ernor and  to  nominate  a  successor,  but  probably  the  knowledge 
that  other  means  could  be  used  to  elleet  the  same  purpose,  in- 
duced tho  party  to  give  up  that  proj)osition.  Lynch  law  was, 
however,  not  to  be  given  up  quite  so  easily.  A  newspaper, 
known  as  the  "Lidustrial  Luminary,"  had  incurred  the  hatred  of 
ex-scnator  Atchison,  and  tho  order  dekmla  e-st  was  issued.  Tho 
oilice  was  vi.sited  without  delay,  and  the  press  after  being  first  pa- 
raded through  the  streets  of  Parkville  was  flung  into  the  Missou- 
ri river.  Mr.  I'atterson,  one  of  the  editors  of  the  "  Luminary," 
would  probably  have  been  murdered  but  for  the  intervention  of 
his  wife.  This  deed  of  violence  was  done  between  the  two  elec- 
tions for  tho  assembly,  on  the  l-ith  day  of  April,  1855.  Both 
editors  of  the  paper  were  ordered  to  quit  the  territory  without 
delay,  under  terrific  penalties.  The  influence  of  a  free  and  vig- 
orous newspaper  was  not  without  recognition  among  Missourians, 
but  indiirerence  or  contempt  would  have  had  advantages  worthy 
of  being  considered.  The  churches  were  next  placed  under  cen- 
sorship, as  some  of  the  ^lethudist  preachers  of  the  northern 
11 


Ti 


1G2 


TcTTLTfs  TIisTonr  of  KAysAS. 


1 

11 


brnncli  woro  too  froe  in  their  remarks  concerning  tlie  proslavcrv 
party  and  tlicir  objects.  The  strictures  of  the  pulpit  were  aii- 
R;\'prc(l  l)y  an  order,  that  no  ministers  of  the  objectionable  sort 
should  exercise  their  functions  in  Parkville,  and  public  meetings 
which  were  held  at  different  points  in  Missouri  endorsed  the  ue- 
tion  of  the  mob,  adding  by  way  of  rider  to  the  verdict  already 
pronounced,  that  every  person  saying  or  publishing  anything  that 
would  tend  to  bring  reproach  on  negrr  slavery  should  be  ex- 
lielled  from  the  country.  Such  resolutions  reported  through  the 
New  England  press  reminded  the  old  stock  of  the  customs  with 
which  their  forefathers  had  done  battle,  and  much  anxiety  was 
exhibited  for  a  complete  trial  of  the  system.  The  end  was  not 
yet,  but  it  was  coming,  and  every  such  movement  of  the  pro- 
slavery   force  reminded  some    men  of    the   rhyme  of    Charles 

Mackay : 

"  There's  a  light  about  to  beam, 
There's  a  fount  about  to  stream, 
There's  a  wrong  about  to  vanish, 
■  Clear  the  way !  " 

The  end  of  April,  1855,  witnessed  a  meeting  of  the  squatters 
in  Leavenworth,  and  in  the  course  uf  the  proceedings  a  quarrel 
arose  between  a  man  named  Clark,  one  of  the  proslavery  party, 
and  McCrea,  a  free  state  settler  ;  everybody  carried  weapons  then 
and  when  it  became  evident  that  one  of  the  two  must  go  under, 
Mr.  McCrea  drew  his  revolver  and  shot  his  opponent.     If  a  free 
state  settler  had  been  killed  there  would  have  been  no  disturb- 
ance, but  proslavery  men  were  precious,  and  McCrea  was  hunted 
down,  tired  at  and  wounded  and  eventually  held  a  prisoner  in 
Fort  Leavenworth  for  a  considerable  time,  but  there  was  no  law 
under  which  a  man  could  be  hanged  for  justifiable  homicide,  so 
that  eventually  the  prisoner  escaped  and  made  his  way  to  Texas. 
The  day  following  that  on  which  Clark  was  shot,  afforded  anoth- 
er example  of  border  justice.     A  young  lawyer,  named  Phillips, 
had  sworn  a  protest  against  the  election  fraud  in  his  precinct, 
thereby  provoking  the  rage  of  the  other  side,  and  now  the  same 
man  was  known  to  be  in  sympathy  with  McCrea,  so  he  was  in- 
formed by  a  delegation  from  the  Missourians  that  he  must  leave 
the  territory.     At  the  next  meeting  of  the  rioters,  th(5  committee 


Tehkitortal  Hn^TORr. 


163 


;  proslavory 
lit  wero  aii- 
ionablo  sf>rt 
lie  meetings 
irsed  the  u.o- 
diet  already 
■ytliing  that 
)uld  be  ex- 
through  the 
ustoms  wit1i 
anxiety  was 
end  was  not 
of  the  pro- 
of   Charles 


the  squatters 
igs  a  quarrel 
lavery  party, 
veapons  then 
list  go  under, 
nt.  If  a  free 
n  no  disturb- 
i  was  hunted 
a  prisoner  in 
e  was  no  law 

homicide,  so 
ray  to  Texas, 
forded  anoth- 
ned  Phillips, 

his  precinct, 
low  the  same 
so  he  was  in- 
tie  must  leave 
;h(j  committee 


hnnded  in  their  report,  that  the  lawyer  had  left  the  territory,  and 
on  the  strength  of  that  evidence  of  their  power  an  executive  of 
thirty  was  appointed  as  a  vigilance  committee  to  observe  all  per- 
sons who  were  open  to  suspicion,  and  to  expel  from  the  Lorritory 
any  who  might  disturb  "  the   peace  of  our  citizens."     The  chief 
justice  of  the  territory  was  one  of  the  most  eloquent  speakers  in 
the  meeting  that  made  the  appointment  in  question,  and  no  other 
fact  need  be  mentioned  to  prove  the  utter  demoralization  of  all 
parties  engaged  in  that  shameful  procedure.     The  committee  were 
not  slow  to  carry  tlic'r  powers  into  action.     Mr.  Phillips  had 
dared   to   remain   in    the   territory,  in  spite  of  the  ostracism  to 
which  he  had  been  subjected,  and  in  the  afternoon  of  the  day  of 
their  authorization  they  proceeded  to  his  residence  to  insist  upon 
his  instant  departure     He  resolutely  asserted  his  intention  to 
continue  in  Kansas  and  take  the  consequences,  whereupon  they 
carried  him  from  Leavenworth,  his  place  of  abode,  to  Weston,  in 
Missouri,  shaved  one  side  of  his  head,  tarred  and  feathered  him, 
rode  him  on  a  rail,  and  eventually,  as  he  still  persisted  in  his  ob- 
duracy, employed  a  negro  to  sell  him  in  the  streets.     This  con- 
duct, on  the  part  of  their  executive  committee,   was  endorsed 
thoroughly  by  a  public  assemblage  of  the  proslavery  party,  held 
in  Leavenworth,  and  a  member  of  the  legislature  against  the 
frauds  in  the  election  of  which  Mr.  Phillips  had  protested,  had 
the  honor  to  preside  on  the  occasion.     The  acts  of  the  committee 
were  recited  in  detail  and  approved  by  the  resolutions  adopted, 
the   "  vigilanters "   being  thanked  and   discharged.      The   pro- 
slavery  men  who  had  wisely  suggested  submission  to  the  law, 
were  condemned  unsparingly  in  other  resolutions  adopted  at  the 
same  time,  and  in  words  slightly  varied,  but  the  same  in  effect, 
"  war  to  the  knife,"  was  denounced  against  all  disturbers,  as  the 
only  means  by  which  "  peace  and  harmony  for  the  community  " 
could  be  secured.     The  stream  was  growing  broader  and  deeper 
in  which  the  proslavery  party  was  to  be  engulphed,  and  on  which 
the  union  was  to  float  into  the  realization  of  grander  results  than 
had  ever  before  been  attained  by  human  government  under  diffi- 
culties so  prodigious.     Longfellow  wisely  calls  us  to 

"  Know  how  sublime  a  thing  it  is,  '   ''' 

To  suffer  and  be  strong."  '     h 


164 


Tuttle's  History  of  K ass  as. 


The  governor,  as  we  bave  seen,  had  started  for  Washington, 
but  before  going,  he  issued  his  proclamation  convening  the  legis- 
lature at  Pawnee.     Subsequent  revelations  from  dillerent  sources 
show  that  Mr.  Eeeder  had  many  interviews  with  President  Pierce, 
in  which  the  state  of  affairs  in  Kansas  was   described  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  executive  of  the  territory  communicating  mat- 
ters of  fact  to  his  official  superior.     The  president  appeared  to  ap- 
])rove  what  had  been  done  by  his  appointee,  but  at  the  same  time 
informed  him  that  much  pressure  was  being  exerted  to  secure  his 
removal,  and  that   there  would  be  danger  for  him  personally 
should  he  return  to  Kansas,  as  the  proslavery  men  were  very 
bitter  against  him,  and  his  advice  was  that  the  governor  should 
resign.     He  further  intimated  that  in  the  event  of  his  counsel  be- 
incr  followed,  another  appointment  would  be  given  to  Mr.  Reeder. 
The  recommendation  offered  by  the  president  was  very  distasteful 
to  the  governor,  and  he  appears  to  have  declined  on  the  ground 
that  it  would  be  dishonorable  to  abandon  the  post  of  duty  be- 
cause of  an  unmanly  fear  of  consequences  to  himself,  while  the 
people  were  so  perilously  placed,  and  when  there  was  a  probability 
that  his  successor,  not  being  so  well  informed  as  to  the  facts,  might 
favor  the  wrongdoers.     There  was  quite  a  series  of  discussions 
between  the  two  men  as  to  the  course  which  should  be  adopted, 
but  they  could  not  arrive  at  an  understanding  which  would  meet 
the  views  of  botli  sides.     President  Pierce  wanted  to  please  the 
proslavery  party  and  the  democrats  generally,  without  offending 
public  opinion  outside  of  those  organizations.     Uis  diplomatic 
suggestion  was  that  Mr.  Eeeder  should  submit  a  complete  digest 
(jfThe  affairs  transpiring  in  the  territory,  and  explain  in  oetail  his 
own  action  in  the  premises,  in  an  official  paper  ;  that  upon  the  re- 
ceipt of  tlie  official  precis,  he  (the  president)  should  assume  the 
full  responsibility  of  removing  his  subordinate,  not  on  the  ground 
of  disapproval  of  his  conduct,  but  because  it  was  expedient  to 
allay  the  anger  of  contending  parties  by  such  action,  and  in  the 
minute  which  would  communicate  officially  the  decision  of  the 
chief  executive,  there  was  to  have  been  a  complete  excneratioa 
of  the  governor's  conduct,  covering  ahke  his  actions  and  his  mo- 
tives.    Upon  that  basis  many  interviews  were  had,  but  it  was  not 
possible  to  shape  the  statement  from  Mr.  Eeeder's  position  in  such 


/"ashington, 
g  the  legis- 
ent  sources 
lent  Pierce, 
I  from  the 
eating  mat- 
leared  to  ap- 
e  same  time 

0  secure  his 
.  personally 

1  were  very 
rnor  should 

counsel  be- 
Mr.  Reeder. 
y  distasteful 

the  ground 
of  duty  be- 
If,  while  the 
I  probability 
J  facts,  might 
E  discussions 

be  adopted, 

would  meet 
o  please  the 
lut  offending 
s  diplomatic 
nplete  digest 
>  in  oetail  his 
t  upon  the  re- 
[  assume  the 
n  the  ground 
expedient  to 
1,  and  in  the 
cision  of  the 
3  excneratioa 
(  and  his  mo- 
but  it  was  not 
asition  in  such 


Tebritohial  UisTonr. 


165 


a  way  as  to  satisfy  President  Pierce.     He  was  in  his  first  term  of 
oifice,  and  wliile  tlicre  was  a  chance  of  reelection  it  was  natural 
he  should  not  wish  to  alienate  votes ;    but  unless  the  maneuver 
now  in  hand  could  be  managed  with  supreme  skill,  it  was  possible 
that  he  would  offend  both  sections  of  his  supporters.     Hence  the 
negotiation  came  to  nothing,  because  Mr.  Reeder  objected  to  figure 
as  a  victim.     An  intimation  that  it  would  bs  made  personally 
advantageous  to  him  if  he  would,  as  of  his  own  accord,  resign, 
was  resented  by  him  as  an  insult,  and  the  parties  were  left  each 
to  his  own  resources  and  responsibilities.     There  was  one  point 
at  which  Mr.  Reeder  was  vulnerable;    he  had  become  one  of  a 
company  which  had  urged  upon  the  general  government  the  sale 
of  an  Indian  reservation,  and  which  had  intimated  its  willingness 
to  buy  the  land  in  question  at  a  very  liberal  valuation.     There 
had  been  nothing  in  the  nature  of  a  conspiracy  to  procure  the 
property  for  less  than  value,  nor  was  there  any  clandestine  action 
on  the  part  of  the  governor ;  but  it  was  an  attempt  to  speculate 
in  the  lands  of  the  territory  over  which  he  temporarily  ruled,  and 
that  was  the  ])retext  upon  which  the  president  intimated  that  ho 
might  act  in  removing  Mr.  Reeder,  unless  a  private  arrangement 
could  be  made  for  a  resignation.     With  that  knowledge  in  his 
mind,  the  governor  returned  to  the  territory  on  the  twenty-fourth 
of  June,  one  month  before  the  legislative  assembly  was  to  con- 
vene.    A  man  conscious  of  having  misconducted  himself  in  his 
official  capacity  would  have  availed  himself  of  the  bridge  of  gold 
by  which  he  might  have  retreated  into  a  more  lucrative  and  less 
difficult  position.     The  fact  that  he  did  not  resign  is  presumptive 
testimony  in  his  favor.     The  hard  road  which  he  had  chosen  to 
travel  was  not  such  as  any  man,  seeking  only  his  own  comfort, 
would  have  pursued.     Before  he  had  been  many  days  in  Leaven- 
worth, after  his  return  from  Washington,  one  of  his  enemies.  Gen. 
Stringfellow,  struck  him  in  his  office,  without  warning  of  any 
kind,  while  his  attention  was  attracted  elsewhere,  and  it  was  a 
matter  for  great  rejoicing  among  the  ruffians  of  the  border,  that 
one  of  their  party  had  knocked   down  the  free  state  governor. 
The  perpetrator  of  that  outrage  was  afterwards  elected  speaker  of 
the  house  of  representatives.     Before  the  legislative  assembly 
convened,  on  Monday,  July  22,  1855,  there  had  been  a  caucus  of 


4^ 

i 


.''■■< 


f 


,1'..; 


;i 


IQQ  TlTTLlfs  HiSTOin-  OF  KAXSAii. 

the  proslavery  party  to  arrange  their  pla.i  of  action.     They  had, 
as  it  were,  a  full  dress  rehearsal  on  Sunday,  the  twen  y-h  st  a  cl 
.vere  ready  for  every  emergeney.    The  \"f --'-"''^^f  ^i;;,^;', 
in  due  eourse  on  Monday,  and  organized  by  eleeting  Mr.  rh-rnas 
Johnston  president  of  the  eouneil,  and  Gen.  Stnngtellow  speaker 
of  the  lower  house.     The  first  aet  of  the  eouneil  was  to  purge  the 
house  of  men  who  had  been  eleeted  under  the  seeond  proelama- 
tion.     The  lower  house  pursued  a  course  very  nearly  similar, 
was  in  vain  that  the  free  soil  men  argued  or  protested ;   they  bad 
no  locus  standi,  according  to  the  committee  on  credentials  in  botU 
houses.     The  action  taken  by  the  governor  was  condemned  ta 
toto;  the  eourse  pursued  by  the  mob  in  every  case  was  found  ex- 
cellent.    The  report  was  a  partisan  document  and  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  the  men  who  prepared  it,  as  well  as  the  men  who 
adopted  it,  were  conscious  that  it  was  unsound  from  ^egimunS  ^^ 
end,  but  the  ends  of  the  party  must  be  considered,  and     the  end 
justified  the  means  "  once  more,  in  the  interminable  records  of 
wronc^  doing.     The  minority  wue  allowed  to  speak  and  to  pro- 
test, but  in  the  house  of  representatives  the  speaker  informed  one 
of  the  minority  that  "their  speeches  would  not  change  a  single 
vote  "     In  every  case  the  free  state  men  who  were  chosen  in  tlie 
second  election  were  unseated,  and  those  who  were  eleeted  in 
March  were  declared  the  sitting  members.     The  election  at  Leav- 
enworth was  controlled  by  the  Missouri  mob  in  May  as  it  had 
been  in  March,  and  consequently  there  was  no  representative  fronrx 
that  precinct  to  be  expelled.     In  the  council  the  s:mie  ends  were 
reached  by  a  slightly  diilerent,  process.     Judge  Wakefield  and 
Mr  Wood  V  3.-  expelled,  and  Mr.  Conway,  the  other  member  o 
the  council  elected  in  May,  baa  already  resigned.     The  expelled 
members  were  magnanimously  allowed  v)  protest  against  the  aet 
which  unseated  them,  and  in  each  ease  the  protest  was  well  drawn 
and  forcible,  but  powerless,  notwithstanclirg,  because  it  was  ad- 
dressed to  men  who  represented  Missouri  and  not  Kansas,  and 
who  were  amenable  to  a  public  opinion  which  held  northerners  as 
"vermin  "     The  decks  were  now  cleared  for  action.     There  was 
only  one  man  in  the  house  of  representatives,  Mr.  Houston,  whose 
views  agreed  with  the  public  opinion  of  Kansas,  and  there  was 
no  free  state  man  in  the  cauncil.     Mr.  Houston,  finding  himself 


TEiiinrom.  i  /.  II  is  Ton  v.- 


ic: 


They  luiJ, 
nty-fiivst,  and 
ed  at  Pawnoo 
Mr.  Th<  mas 
iUow  speaker 
to  purge  the 
nd  proclania- 
y  similar.     It 
>d ;   they  had 
iitials  ill  both 
joiulemned  in 
vas  found  ex- 
there  can  bo 
the  men  who 
1  beginning  to 
and  "  the  end 
ble  records  of 
ik  and  to  pro- 
f  informed  one 
lange  a  single 
chosen  in  the 
fere  elected  in 
ection  at  Leav- 
May  as  it  had 
esentative  from 
anie  ends  were 
Wakefield  and 
ther  member  of 
The  expelled 
against  the  act 
was  well  drawn 
iuse  it  was  ad- 
,ot  Kansas,  and  . 
d  northerners  as 
on.     There  was 
Houston,  whose 
,  and  there  was 
finding  hinr.self 


surrounded  by  evil  influences,  which  he  ncitlier  could  control  nor 
modify,  resigned  his  position  subsequently  to  escape  the  appear- 
ance of  complicity  in  a  series  of  shameless  acts,  and  reserved  his 
strength  for  occasions  in  which  he  could  render  better  service  to 
his  constituents. 

The  second  act  of  the  wo  houses  wns  to  pass  a  bill  temporari- 
ly locating  the  seat  of  government  at  Shawnee,  but  when  that  meas- 
ure was  transmitted  to  the  governor,  he  returned  it  disallowed, 
stating  his  objections.  The  act  of  organi^iation  gave  to  the  gov- 
ernor the  power  to  nominate  the  temporary  place  of  government, 
and  to  the  legislature  the  right  to  locate  it  permanently,  there- 
fore the  two  houses  had  sought  to  usurp  the  governor's  preroga- 
tive and  had  neglected  to  uso  their  own.  The  reasonableness  of 
Lis  objections  only  constituted  an  additional  argument  for  pas- 
sing the  bill  over  his  veto,  and  the  bill  became  an  act,  under 
which  they  adjourned  to  Shawnee  Mission,  where  the  legislature 
convened  on  the  day  named  for  the  reassembly.  Tlie  governor 
had  named  Pawnee  as  the  seat  of  government,  because  it  would 
be  convenient  for  residents  in  the  territory,  and  remote  from  the 
influences  of  the  border,  but  the  legislature  elected  by  Missouri 
voters,  and  residing  in  a  great  part  in  that  state,  preferred  Shaw- 
nee, because  of  its  nearness  to  their  liomes  and  to  their  sources  of 
inspiration.  The  law  making  in  which  the  legislature  indulged 
was  not  very  laborious.  The  Missouri  code  of  laws  was  enacted, 
merely  changing  the  words  where  necessary  to  make  state  apply 
to  territory,  and  in  a  few  other  verbal  particulars  which  were  com- 
passed by  short  explanatory  clauses.  Special  legislation  provided 
for  giving  to  the  legislature  and  to  its  appointees,  all  the  patron- 
age of  the  territory,  so  that  the  present  and  all  future  governors 
should  be  powerless  to  secure  fair  play  for  the  people,  and  what- 
ever appoii'uaents  ahould  be  made  by  them  were  to  remain  ia 
force  until  after  the  general  election  in  1857,  when  they  were  cer- 
tain that  they  would  have  completed  their  manipulations  to  plant 
slavery  as  a  domestic  institution  in  Kansas  as  a  state.  The  legis- 
lature of  1856  was  not  to  be  sleeted  until  the  fall  of  that  year, 
and  the  general  eieetion  whiolx  would  occur  in  the  following  year 
would  obviate  the  necessity  for  a  protracted  session,  so  that  the 
members  could  calculate  upon  their  action  in  the  lirst  legislative 


■'-^WPBW»T-jaaf'w-ffi#Tf^'^fli'i>ifiJ,tfi^^      . 


«jH!HHJHlJi_.iU-i 


168 


Trrrrj:'s  Uistouy  oi'  A'.i.v.sms. 


assembly  remuining  uiicluinged  until  the  assembly  after  tlie  gen- 
eral  election    to  bo   convened   in    January,    1858.     The   wholo 
scheme  was  well  considered,  and  might  have  been  ell'ective  to  the 
full  measure  of  the   intentions  of  the    proslavery  party,  but  for 
the  eontroling  fmger  of  that  power,  which  directs  tbe  affairs  of 
all  mankind.     The  action  of  the  pseudo  legislature  was  intended 
to  bridge  over  the  chasm  from  the  day  of  its  first  meeting  to  the 
time  when  Kansas  should  have  been  admitted  to  the  union  as  a 
slave  state,  and  in  the  interim,  every  lawyer  admitted  to  practice, 
every  man  appointed  to  an  office,  every  candidate  for  election, 
must  swear  to  support  the  provisions  of  the  fugitive  slave  law. 
Ko  man  was  to  be  permitted  to  vote  in  an  election,  unless  he  had 
first  qualified  by  taking  that  abominable  oath,  and  foreigners  who 
liad  declared  their  intentiov.  to  become  citizens  were  also  denied 
the  franchise.     Samson  was  handed  over  to  his  enemies,  tied  hand 
and  foot,  but  he  was  able  to  burst  his  bonds  and  confound  the 
Philistines  without  dragging  down  the  pillars  of  the  temple  like 
the  blinded  hero  who  fell  ii  victim  to  the  lures  of  the  more  cunning 
Delilah     Their  own  friends  were  to  come  in  by  shoals  without  be- 
in-  .worn  to  anything,  except  in  the  way  that  had  become  second 
na°u'v,  and  they  might  vote  in  any  election,  provided  they  had 
paid  one  dollar  each  for  the  privlege  of  enslaving  their  fellow  cit- 
izens by  means  of  the  ballot  box.     The  sheriff,  one  of  their  own 
party  was  to  be  in  attendance  at  the  polling  place  on  the  day  of 
election,  to  receive  the  so  called  tax,  immediately  before  the  votes 
were  to  be  recorded.     The  way  was  to  be  made  easy  for  one  of 
the  most  unscrupulous  and  most  conscienceless  invasions,  ever  at- 
tempted in  historic  times  ;  the  people  to  be  governed  were  to  be 
the  only  persons  without  rights  in  the  community,  and  this  speci- 
men  of  popular  sovereignty  and  state  rights  constituted  the  first 
finished  illustrauon  of  the  meanings  of  the  proslavery  party.  Here 
all  discrnise  was  flung  aside,  as  no  longer  useful,  the  game  had 
been  vvon,  there  was  only  one  thing  further  necessary,  and  that 
rris  to  divide  the  plunder.     There  was  always  a  possibility  that 
some    m-^^n  might   be   brought    to   trial,  and   it  was  important 
that  trial  .-    jury,  the  "palladium  of  jusilce,"  as   it  has  been 
called,  in  the  days  when  it  was  not  thought   necessary   for   a 
jnan  to   be   without  common   sense    to   find   the   way   to   the 


*l 


U-rir.-^-i .^fc^^^aafl 


TKiiRiTomAL  History. 


109 


•  tlie  gon- 
lic  wliolo 
ive  to  the 
r,  but  for 

iiffairs  of 
;  intondcd 
ing  to  the 
nion  .13  a 
:o  practice, 
r  election, 
slave  law. 
ics3  he  had 
igners  who 
,lso  dollied 
,  tied  hand 
1  found  the 
emple  like 
)re  cunning 
without  be- 
ome  second 
d  they  had 
c  fellow  cit- 
f  their  own 
the  day  of 
re  the  votes 
f  for  one  of 
JUS,  ever  at- 

were  to  be 
:I  this  speci- 
itcd  the  first 
party.  Here 
;  game  had. 
ry,  and  that 
isibility  that 
IS  important 
it  has  been 
!ssary  for  a 
way   to   the 


jury  box,  should  be  made  safe  for  the  governing  party.  Tliat 
end  could  readily  be  made  safe  beyond  the  chance  of  accident 
ShcrifTs,  as  well  as  all  other  officers,  must  be  of  their  own 
party  or  they  could  not  take  the  qualifying  o;uhs,  and  th.e  .'^elec- 
tion  of  jurymen  was'  to  be  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  sheriff, 
with  this  additional  provi.so,  that  in  any  trial  relating  to  slaves,  no 
man  should  sit  as  a  juror  if  he  had  any  scruples  as  to  sanctioning 
slavery.  Persons  accused  of  decoying  slaves  from  their  masters 
would  find  in  such  machinery  a  despotism  against  which  they 
must  be  absolutely  powerless,  and  the  punishments  which  were 
to  follow  upon  conviction,  transferred  to  the  regular  courts  all  the 
abominations  and  brutalities  incidental  to  the  rule  of  Judge 
Lynch,  or  the  worst  days  of  the  incpiisition.  There  was  one  dis- 
quietude on  the  minds  of  the  Shawnee  legislators ;  they  had  pass- 
ed bill  after  bill  to  the  governor,  and  that  gentleman  had  return- 
ed them,  saying  that  they  were  not  legally  constituted,  because 
they  were  not  sitting  in  the  place  where  lie  had  convened  them 
by  his  proclamation,  and  their  adjournment  to  Shawnee  was  rdlra 
vires.  Had  Mr.  Eeeder  retained  the  bills,  they  would  have  be- 
come law  by  effluxion  of  time  under  the  organic  act,  but  he  had 
returned  every  bill  in  due  course  with  the  same  carefully  worded 
statement.  They  were  alarmed.  They  were  playing  for  heavy 
stakes  with  loaded  dice,  and  they  wanted  to  be  quite  sure  that 
after  the  game  had  been  finished  they  would  obtain  the  spoil,  so 
the  matter  was  submitted  to  the  supreme  court,  which  was  com- 
posed mainly  of  their  friends,  and  was  then  sitting  in  Shawnee. 
Sound  lawyers  would  have  answered  them  that  an  extra  judicial 
opinion  is  worthless,  as  well  as  an  object  of  suspicion,  but  the  par- 
tisans to  whom  the  pseudo  legislature  had  appealed  replied  with- 
out the  formality  of  inquiry,  or  hearing  counsel,  or  in  any  way 
qualifying  themselves  to  pronounce  an  opinion,  setting  forth  in 
super  laudatory  terms,  the  high  opinion  entertained  by  the  court 
of  both  houses  of  the  legislature,  and  their  action  in  every  par- 
ticular. Judge  Johnson  refused  to  be  a  party  to  the  farce,  but 
there  were  enough  without  his  concurrence  to  satisfy  the  qualms 
of  the  legislature,  and  thus  reinforced  the  two  houses  memorializ;- 
ed  president  Pierce  to  remove  the  offending  and  positively  dan- 
gerous governor.     They  afBrmed  that  he  treated  them  with  con- 


170 


TuTTLh!'s  History  of  Kaxsas. 


toinpt,  ])ctrayc(l  a  want  of  interest  in  the  afTairs  of  Kansas  terri- 
tory, liad  become  engaged  in  fraudulent  land  speculations,  and 
worse  tlian  all  besides,  that  he  had  allied  himself  with  the  aboli- 
tionists. Tlie  power  behind  the  presidential  chair  had,  however, 
antioii)atcd  the  course  that  would  be  necessary,  and  before  the  ac- 
credited messenger  of  the  assembly  could  reach  Washington,  Air. 
Eeeder  had  been  removed  by  the  president,  and  was  in  receipt  of 
the  notification.  Tliat  gentleman  no  longer  stood  in  their  way, 
and  they  made  ready  to  worship  the  rising  sun  if  only  the  presi- 
dent would  send  them  a  man  who  could  not  be  disgusted  by 
their  lawlessness  and  manifold  malpractices. 

Pohaius,  discoursing  to  the  queen  of  Denmark  concerning  the 
madness  of  her  son,  the  Prince  Jlumkl,  said :  "  For  this  el!ect, 
defective,  comes  by  cause."  So  the  removal  of  Andrew  11. 
Kecder  from  his  position  as  governor  of  Kansas  territory  came  by- 
cause  ;  but  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  true  cause  was  not 
set  forth  in  the  dooument  which  was  forwarded  to  that  gentleman. 
There  were  three  counts  in  the  indiotment  under  which  the  gov- 
ernor wa,s  condemned.  "Speculating  in  Kaw  lands,"  was  one 
item;  that  was  the  Indian  reservation  before  mentioned.  The 
Kansas  tribe  of  Indians  were  called  Kaws  by  the  French.    "  Spec- 


ulatinc;  in  town  lots"  was  the  next  item;  and 


"convening  the 

legislature  on  an  United  States  military  reserve,"  completed  the 
triangle  of  attack.  It  was  something  to  put  their  assailant  upon 
his  defense,  and  to  be  able  to  say,  when  their  own  procedure 
might  be  impugned,  that  the  man  who  had  been  their  accuser 
was  removed  from  his  office  for  improper  conduct ;  but  the  histo- 
rian must  examine  the  charges  with  a  view  to  determining  the 
guilt  of  the  accused.  It  is  not  enough  that  we  should  inquire, 
were  the  facts  as  they  are  stated  to  have  been ;  we  must  also 
ascertain  if  possible  whether  there  was  a  wrong  purpose  in  the 
mind  of  the  accused  person.  People  of  some  acumen  are  in  the 
habit  of  denouncing  Francis  Lord  Bacon,  because  he  took  fees 
from  suitors  in  bis  court,  a  practice  which  is  repugnant  to  our  cus- 
toms, as  well  as  to  our  laws,  but  which,  while  contrary  to  law, 
was  consistent  with  the  rule  in  the  days  of  James  I.  of  Eng- 
land, and  had  been  a  practice  common  in  the  country  for  cen- 
turies.    We  must  go  behind  the  dry  fact  always,  to  ascertain  the 


aHMMBm 


iiiaas  terri- 
itioiiH,  and 
the  aboli- 
,  however, 
ore  the  oc- 
ngton,  Mr. 
receipt  of 
tlieir  waj, 
the  presi- 
g listed  by 

;erning  the 
this  effect, 
Lndrew  11. 
y  came  by 
ise  was  not 
gentleman, 
h  the  gov- 
"  was  one 
>ned.  The 
h.  "Spec- 
vening  the 
ipleted  the 
ilant  upon 

procedure 
sir  accusei* 
t  the  histo- 
mining  the 
Id  inquire, 

must  also 
)ose  in  the 
1  are  in  the 
!  took  fees 
to  our  cus- 
ary  to  law, 
I.  of  Eng- 
ry  for  cen- 
icertain  the 


'^Hfiit^  'fi^'rir^i^m 


••^mm 


4^.  m-xmm 


T  Kit  It  iron  I.  \  I.  Ills  Ton  y. 


m 


ameliorating  circumstances;  and  just  that  course  of  procedure  in 
this  instance  will  enable  us  to  nee  Mr.  Itoeder's  action  in  tlie  light 
wliicli  belonged  to  iiis  time  and  circumstances,     \Vc  may  be  sure 
that  tiic  propagandists  were  not  scruj»ulous  lhcm.selvcs.     Gov. 
Iteeder  had  purchased  a  sliare  in  the  town  of  Pawnee,  which  wau 
laid  out  within  or  near  the  boundaries  of  the  military  reserve 
known  as  Fort  lliloy ;  and  he  convened  the  legislative  assembly 
to  a.s.-5emble  in  that  place,  where  the   jjcople  had  engaged  to  pro- 
vide the  necessary  accommodations.    Tiie  commuudcr  of  the  Fort, 
Col.  ^fontgomcry,  was  the  leader  in  laying  off  the  town    .ear  by 
the  miliary  post.    The  action  taken  in  relation  thereto  wa  *  known 
to  the  authorities  in  Washington,  and  approved  by  them.     What 
had  been  done  at  Leavenworth  was  repeated  at  Pawnee,  adjoining 
Fort  liiley,  but  there  was  this  difference  that  a  governor  of  a  ter- 
ritory had  now  taken  a  hand  in  the  game,  paying  his  full  price 
with  the  others  and  running  his  chances  in  a  territory  not  very 
likol}  to  allow  town  lots  to  increase  in  value  rapidly.     The  prob- 
abilities simply  were,  that  his  money  would  lie  unimproved,  giv- 
ing little  or  no  interest  for  years,  and  even  after  all  tliat,  he  could 
have  no  advantage  which  might  not  just  as  certainly  have  been 
secured  by  Brown,  Jones  or  Robinson.     It  is  now  evident  that 
special  surveys  were  made  ex  post  facto,  to  make  it  appear  that 
the  town  of  Pawnee  had  been  located  within  the  military  reserva- 
tion.     Two  military   commissions   in  succession   having  failed 
to  rt  .ort  as  the  chairman  of  the  committee  on  military  affairs 
■wished,  the  secretary  of  war  obliged  Missouri  and  Jeff.  Davis  by 
extending  the  lines  of  the  last  survey,  so  that  Pawnee  should  be 
made  a  stumbling  block  to  the  governor  of  Kansas,  who  refused 
to  be  a  blind  tool  in  the  hands  of  the  proslavery  men.     Land 
■which  was  not  a  military  reserve  when  Mr,  Reedcr  tock  a  share 
in  the  town,  and  when  he  convened  the  legislature,  ivas  made  a 
reserve  afterwards  for  partisan  purposes,  under  the  manipulating 
hand  of  a  man  whose  influence  and  whose  purposes  have  since 
that  lime  become  matter  of  history  in  the  red  light  of  civil  war. 
Pawnee  was  razed  to  the  ground  by  one  thousand  dragoons  from 
Texas  in  1855;  but  there  is  nothing  in  all  that  to  make  Mr. 
Eeeder  blameworthy  in  the  least.     If  Mr.  Eeeder  had  allowed 
himself  to  be  made  a  sharer  in  the  enterprise  without  purchase, 


i- 


17B 


Tl'TTf.H's  UlSTOHY  OF  K.lXS.is'. 


tliere  woiiM  have  been  !i  sufTiciotu  ground  for  blaming  him,  but 
when  thi)  man  who  winked  at  the  proceedings  of  jiroslavery  men 
nt  I'^ort  Leavenworth,  hiyingod  a  town  on  an  Indian  reserve,  and 
dealing  with  it  in  the  inannev  known  to  have  been  followed  iu 
that  case,  mado  the  very  moilcuto  and  legitimate  action  of  tho 
Fort  Kiloy  men  tho  pretcxi  for  destroying  a  town  and  dismissing 
a  governor,  it  is  not  diHioult  to  see  that  the  pretext  was  not  tho 
canso,  that  tho  real  sin  committed  was  tho  noncompliance  with 
proslavcry  dictation.  The  Kaw  land  speculation  meant  nothing 
more  than  that  Mr.  Eeedor  was  one  of  a  company  that  would 
have  bought  part  of  the  reservation  belonging  to  the  Kaw  half 
breeds,  if  the  president  had  given  his  consent  to  the  sale,  paying 
$-1.00  per  acre  for  the  land ;  hut  the  purchase  was  never  made. 
Tho  Delaware  land  adjoining  was  sold  for  $1.50  per  acre,  and  no- 
body was  blamed  for  I'articipating  in  the  venture.  The  charges 
were  pretexts,  nothing  more.  Had  the  man  been  mercenary,  ho 
might  have  mado  his  own  terms  with  the  unscrupulous  party  that 
thwarted  him  at  every  move,  not  because  he  was  unjust,  but 
because  he  held  the  scales  of  justice  with  a  hand  firm  and  inex- 
orable, and  could  not  be  influenced  by  party.  Ilis  instincts  as  a 
partizan  would  have  made  him  Missourian  had  the  proslavery 
men  been  guided  by  an  approximation  to  fair  play ;  but  when  he 
saw  them  moved  by  the  lowest  greed,  .seeking  their  own  end 
always,  by  means  often  of  the  most  brutal  description ;  when  he 
found  them  overriding  the  laws  which  he  had  sworn  to  administer 
faithfull}',  and  expecting  him  to  be  a  party  to  their  machinations; 
when  he  found  that  the  principles  which  he  admired  in  democ- 
racy had  no  place  in  the  programme  of  his  nominal  friends,  he 
turned  from  them  irrespective  of  consequences,  not  to  ally  him- 
self with  the  free  state  party,  but  to  strive  to  .secure  justice  for 
them;  and  his  action  deserves  the  approval  of  every  right 
minded  man.  He  was  strong,  and  he  favored  the  weak,  becom- 
ing weak  himself  for  their  sakes,  yet  never  identifying  himself 
with  them  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  them  his  partisans. 
When  he  permitted  himself  to  be  intimidated  into  issuing  the 
certificates  to  the  Missourian  crowd  of  pseiido  legislators,  he  did 
one  act  which  cannot  be  defended,  but  with  that  single  exception, 
his  conduct  as  governor  merited  praise  at  every  step,  and  consid- 


'IS 

it 


tMBMB 


BpS''?"N'*3IIW(RbP> 


Ti:i!i!tri)iiiM.  llisioi;  r. 


173 


iiig  him,  but 
isl livery  men 

reworvo,  and 

full  owed  in 
iction  of  tho 
d  dismissing 
,  was  not  tho 
pliiuiee  with 
jaiit  nothing 

that  wouUl 
ie  Kaw  half 

sale,  paying 
never  made, 
acre,  and  no- 
The  charges 
lercenary,  ho 
us  party  that 

unjust,  but 
m  and  inex- 
instincts  as  a 
e  proslavery 
but  when  he 
3ir  own  end 
on ;  when  he 
to  administer 
lachinations; 
kI  in  democ- 
,1  friends,  he 
to  ally  him- 
■e  justice  for 

every  right 
veak,  becom- 
j'ing  himself 
lis  partisans. 
>  issuing  the 
ators,  he  did 
le  exception, 
,  and  consid- 


ering the  time  of  trial,  in  which  he  came  .so  litth-  .scathed  through 
th(!  ordeal,  lie  was  a  man  among  ten  thousand.  The  legislature 
which  pititioncil  for  his  removal  wa.s  hounded  by  the  organic  act 
which  forbade  the  members  to  hold  odices  of  omolumeut  during 
the  time  that  tlioy  were  membcr.s,  and  for  .some  considerable  time 
after  their  terms  of  oflTice  should  have  expired  ;  Init  in  spite  of  all 
Kueli  rcstriction.s,  those  men  constituted  e.icli  other  ollicers  in  vari- 
ous capacities,  and  were  not  .scrupuh^us  as  to  the  emoluments  be- 
.stowed  because  every  man  wanted  his  own  log  rolled  in  turn. 
They  turned  all  their  powers  into  money  considerations.  Tluiy 
gave  illegal  privileg(is  to  joint  stock  companies,  chartered  works 
of  various  kinds  to  bcnellt  lli(!m.selve.s,  and  jobbed  oil  the  location 
of  the  capital  of  the  «tuto  for  their  personal  advantage  only.  Tho 
Missourians  who  ^  omained  at  home,  bearing  tho  exiienscs  of 
the  inva.sion,  and  ..^  ^roving  the  a.ssaults  upon  the  citizens  of  tho 
territory  and  upon  their  governor,  had  something  besides  applause 
to  bestow  wlicn  they  found  their  henchmen  carving  fortunes  for 
them.selves  out  of  tho  general  ruin,  and  perhaps  some  who  still 
posses.sed  a  few  drachms  of  serviceable  con.science,  may  have  be- 
gun to  doubt  whether  Mr.  Kceder,  the  victim  of  such  knaves,  was 
really  so  black  as  he  had  been  painted. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

TERRITORIAL  HISTORY. 

(.continued.) 

DIFFICULTIES  BEFOUE  GOV.   SHANNON. 

Legislation  in  Sliawnec  —  Proslivvery  Laws  —  Bond  and  Free  —  Death  for 
Abolitionists  —  Sifting  the  Jury  Panel  —  Self-cliosen  Legislators  —  Pres- 
idential Sympathies  —  Revolutionary  Constancy  —  Spirit  of  '70  —  Pri- 
mary Meeting —  Shall  we  Convene?  —  Oppression  Breeds  Resistance  — 
Free  States  to  the  Rescue  —  Pass  of  Thermopylos  —  Democrats  Denounce 
Missouri  —  The  Sham  Legislature  —  Mass  Convention  —  Frank  Pierce 
Defended  —  Strange  Associates  — Big  Springs  Platform  — Topeka  Con- 
vention—  The  Shawnee  Farce  —United  we  Stand  —Vindicating  Reeder  — 
Ex-Governor  Heard  From  — Delegation  to  Gov.  Shannon  —  State  Consti- 


i^ 


•m9» 


m 


174  'rrri'LH's  IlisnntY  nr  A'  i.v.v.is. 

tiitlnii  —  ('iiiivciilion  Kxt'Ciitlvo— PLMiplcH*  l»ri>cl«iniilloii -- l'iiliii<"i  in 
ChiirciKH—  I'riiyer to (\)nj{ri'»H  —  Twin  Uclcpilcs  —  Dimasli  lul  Physic  — 
Pliysliiiiii  IIi'iil  Tli.vsclC— Twccdli'dinu  iiiiilTwccdliMlrn  -  I't.liiiiiil  MmI- 
liiimiiy  DtiiMuialM  iirid  Ki'|iulili(:iitiM  -'I'lii'  l'i<'s.'<  — Tlio  word  "  Wlulc  " 
—  I'MiBl  Conutilution  —  Tfrritorlul  Kxccutivu  —  Wu  nru  Ui'udj . 

Mit.  Kkkkkh's  rcMioval  was  followed  by  the  nppoiiitinciil  o£  his 
BUccesHor,  tlio  llo'i,  Wilson  Sluiniion,  of  Oliio,  tlie  second  in  tlio 
category  of  seven  governors  who  were  to  serve  in  Kansas  within^ 
the  seven  years  intervening  between  tlie  inangnralion  of  govern- 
ment in  tlie  territory,  and  the  election  of  the  lirst  governor  of  tho 
state.  Mr.  Shannon  accepted  his  appointment,  and  in  due  course 
■will  be  found  assuming  tho  duties  of  his  ollicc ;  but  for  tho  pres- 
ent, it  will  be  well  to  c.xatnino  the  elements  out  of  which  he  was 
exjiected  to  establish  a  settled  and  homogeneous  conKiimiity. 
The  Germans  have  a  proverb  which  says  that  "  against  ilir  Humheit 
tho  Gods  arc  pc  rurless."  Tho  fool  is  invincible  in  his  folly,  ft 
would  be  one  of  the  wonders  of  an  extraordinary  age,  could  Mr. 
Shannon  have  ruled  such  men  for  their  good  ;  bui  ;i  bri<f  digcbt 
of  some  of  tho  nets  of  tho  Shawnee  legislature  will  best  illustrate 
the  dilTiculties  of  his  jwsition.  To  recapitulate  their  acts  in  full 
is  a  duty  which  happily  does  not  devolve  upon  the  historian. 
Tho  \wi  chapter  closed  with  a  few  references  to  the  personal  aims 
■v'hic  )  were  pursued  in  defiance  of  law  and  decency,  by  tho  legis- 
lators ;  their  results  in  the  form  of  law  making  will  come  next  in 
order.  We  have  .seen  that  the  code  of  law  adopted  for  the  terri- 
tory was  a  transcript  of  the  laws  operating  in  Missouri,  with  just 
such  verbal  changes  as  were  necessary  to  make  their  statutes  ap- 
ply to  the  people  and  tho  territory  to  be  ruled.  What  was  done 
in  that  case  needs  no  further  comment,  because  in  Missouri  tho 
experiences  of  many  states  had  been  availed  of  in  preparing  the 
best  forms  of  law  of  which  the  ingenuity  and  wisdom  of  mankind 
had  conceived,  aided  by  the  light  shed  upon  such  abstruse  sub- 
jects, from  the  days  of  the  banishment  of  Solon,  to  the.  latest  tri- 
umphs of  Kufus  Choate.  Only  what  is  exceptional  and  special 
demands  particular  notice,  and  in  that  category  we  include  the  pro- 
slavery  laws  which  were  enacted  in  Shawnee  by  the  representa- 
tives of  Missouri  sentiment.  The  laws  in  that  state  were,  as  gen- 
erally they  may  be  found  in  most  communities,  better  than  the 


IIhI' 


w;y-wHftuj'»:»tjtfjtaaBiii 


BH*8iPJ*#s**5;w,:^rTS^iaWK 


I   —    I'llliliCS       ill 

^Irllll  I'liysic  — 
-  Piililinil  Miil- 

Wdlll  "  WlUtL'  " 

ml}. 

itinciit  (){  his 
ifcond  in  tli','! 
Kansas  wilhii! 
II  of  govcni- 
venior  of  tlio 
11  duo  course 
for  tlio  pres- 
/vlii(!li  lie  was 

coi'Kininity. 
5t  (Ur  'Imnhvit 
his  folly.  It 
ge,  could  Mr. 
I  brief  digoBt 
jcst  illustrate 
'  acts  in  full 
:he  historian, 
personal  aims 

by  the  Icgis- 
corne  next  in 

for  the  terri- 
iri,  with  just 
r  statutes  ap- 
liat  was  done 
Missouri  the 
preparing  the 
a  of  mankind 
abstruse  sub- 
the.  latest  tri- 

and  special 
jlude  the  pro- 
e  representa- 
were,  as  gen- 
jtter  than  the 


i.^&m^m^vi-^i:j^'g. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


.V4i, 


<:  V 


1.0 


I.I 


1^  1^    III  2.2 
1^    i2.0 


1.8 


■•25  11.4   11.6 


R' 


*tHwi  -- 


Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


-^^Vl^ 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)872-4503 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHJVJ/ICIVIH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


*■ 


I 


Terhitobial  History. 


17ft 


.  .iveragc  of  public  thought  and  desire,  but  not  quite  on  a  par  with 
tlu'  righteousness  of  the  best  men,  who  are  a  law  unto  themselves. 
AVhcn  the  law  books  were  reenacted  with  explanatory  clauses, 
consequent!}^,  fair  results  were  accomplished,  but  when  special 
acts  were  initiated  and  passed,  the  old  landmarks  were  lost  sight 
of,  the  mariners  were  at  sea  without  stars,  compass  or  chronometer, 
and  they  allowed  their  feelings  to  become  their  guides,  so  that 
Kiuisas  territory  was  to  be  governed  by  the  sentiments  of  a  class, 
which  stood  in  Missouri  at  an  immense  disparity,  below  the  tone 
of  its  adopted  laws.  The  tendency  of  civilization  is  toward  the 
mitigation  of  punishments,  and  death  penalties  where  they  are  not 
abandoned  altogether  are  restricted  until  they  apply  only  to 
offenses  of  the  most  henious  description,  such  as  murder  without 
mitigating  circumstances.  The  old  time  savagery  is  being  effaced 
from  our  statute  books,  and  all  good  men  rejoice  in  that  feature 
of  this  dispensation.  With  that  fact  fully  impressed  upon  our 
minds  we  may  examine  a  few  of  the  offenses  which  were  named 
by  the  Solons  of  Shawnee,  and  the  penalties  which  were  to  be  paid 
by  offenders  who  fell  under  their  ban  for  assisting  their  fellow 
men  with  complexions  less  comely,  to  realize  "life,  liberty,  and 
the  pursuit  of  happiness,"  the  rights  inherent  in  humanity  under 
the  most  sacred  sanctions  ever  participated  in  by  a  free  people. 
Should  any  man  raise  an  insurrection  among  slaves,  free  negroes, 
or  mulattoes,  he  should  suffer  death  ;  and  any  free  person  assist- 
ing by  furnishing  arms,  or  by  any  other  overt  act,  should  be 
amenable  to  the  same  penalty.  The  language  of  the  act  was  man- 
datory :  '•  Shall  suffer  death."  The  dread  of  a  servile  insurrection 
must  have  been  overwhelming  when  such  harsh  punishments  were 
so  rigorously  upheld ;  but  the  area  of  offense  was  to  be  consider- 
ably widened  before  the  actual  circumstances  and  probabilities  of 
Kansas  territory  could  be  reached,  and  consequently,  the  same 
penalty,  in  the  same  terms,  was  set  down  against  any  person  who 
by  speaking,  writing  or  printing,  should  persuade  slaves,  free  hc- 
groes  or  mulattoes  to  rebel,  or  conspire  against,  or  murder  any 
citizen.  That  provision  was  decidedly  a  hard  road  to  travel,  for 
any  abolitionist  who  might  stand  for  trial  before  a  jury  of  slave 
owners,  or  their  defendants,  entitled  in  their  awful  responsibility 
to  be  judges  of  the  law,  as  well  as  of  the  fact,  and  to  translate  the 


■  ^■m-l;ii)»i   'mifm'  '-<   ,.|'»"'L'«'iH* 


1 


170  Tuttle's  IIisTvur  of  Kax.sas. 

words  '^ conspire,"  "rebel"  and  "persuade,"  by  their  feelings  of 
bate  against  the  individual  and  the  class  assumed  to  be  repre- 
sented by  liini.  The  last  seetion  of  the  act  provided  that  no  man 
should  serve  as  a  juror  in  any  trial  in  whieli  slaves  and  slavery 
were   essential   items,  if   he  had  conscientious  scruples  agauist 

slavery. 

Minor  offenses  under  the  act,  such  as  helping  a  slave  to  escape, 
were  treated  as  grand  larcenies,  and  there  was  an  option  resting 
with  court  and  jury,  as  the  punishment  might  be  death,  but  could 
not  be  less  than  ten  years  imprisonment  with  hard  labor.     Every 
variation  that  could  be  imagined  of  that  form  of  offense  was  pro- 
vided for  in  the  same  way.     Any  person  persuading  a  slave  to 
escape,  or  assisting  him  after  he  had  effected  his  escape,  was  to 
be  imprisoned  with  hard  labor  not  less  than  five  years.     If  the 
escaped  slave  had  made  his  way  to  Kansas  from  any  other  state 
or  territory,  the  penalty  for  assisting  him  in  any  case  should  be 
precisely  the  same,  as  if  his  master  or  owner  resided  in  the  terri- 
tory.    Any  person  resisting  an  ollicer  engaged  in  arresting  a  slave, 
or  persuading  or  assisting  the  slave  to  escape  from  the  officer,  or 
from  any  other  person  having  the  said  slave  in  custody,  should 
suffer  imprisonment  with   hard  labor  not  less  than   two  years. 
Any  officer  refusing  to  assist  in  arresting  a  slave  who  might  have 
escaped  from  his  owner  in  Kansas,  or  anywhere  else,  must  pay  a 
fine  not  exceeding  $500,  nor  less  than  $100  in  every  such  case. 
Any  person  writing  anything  likely  to  produce  disaffection  among 
slaves,  or  publishing  any  such  writing,  or  asserting  that  men  had 
no  right  to  hold  slaves  in  the  territory,  could  be  imprisoned,  sub- 
ject to  hard  labor  not  less  than  five  years.     Under  such  circum- 
stances it  might  well  be  matter  for  doubt  who  were  the  bondmen 
und  who  were  the  free  men,  if  indeed  tliere  were  to  be  any  such 
ill  the  territory.     Further  legislation  was  still  found  necessary ; 
the  death  penalty  must  be  made  more  widely  operative,  imprison- 
ment with  hard  labor  for  any  number  of  years  would  not  suffice, 
and  consequently  a  second  and  more  stringent  act  was  passed, 
which  made  the  punishment  of  death  imperative  in  many  of  the 
cases  which  had  been  more  leniently  considered  in  the  first  recited 
act.     The  lower  type  of  thought  in  Missouri  was  to  govern  in 
Kansas,  and  it  need  not  be  wondered  at  that  the  better  class  of 


TEllBlTOUIAr:  IflSToll Y. 


177 


lieir  feeling?  of 
d  to  bo  repre- 
led  that  no  niuii 
,ves  and  slavery 
scruples  a.^ainst 

slave  to  escape, 
11  option  restin<5 
death,  but  could 
d  labor.     Every 
oiTense  was  pro- 
iding  a  slave  to 
is  escape,  was  to 
■e  years.     If  the 
I  any  other  state 
y  case  should  bo 
ided  in  the  terri- 
arresting  a  slave, 
jm  the  onicer,  or 
I  custody,  should 
than   two  years, 
who  might  have 
else,  must  pay  a 
L  every  such  case, 
isaflection  among 
iiig  that  men  had 
imprisoned,  sub- 
nder  such  circum- 
fere  the  bondmen 
re  to  be  any  such 
found  necessary ; 
jerative,  imprison- 
would  not  suffice, 
t  act  was  passed, 
'6  in  many  of  the 
in  the  first  recited 
was  to  govern  in 
the  better  class  of 


democrats,  residing  then  in  the  territory,  who  until  then  had  never 
conic  into  contact  with  the  more  repulsive  features  of  tlic  pro- 
slavery  party,  sliould  draw_back  with  horror  from  such  associa- 
tions. It  was  not  easy  for  men  who  had  seen  the  unscrupulous 
conduct  recently  exhibited  at  the  polling  places,  which  had  been 
surrounded  in  every  precinct  in  Kaiisa.^,  to  believe  tliat  such  men 
as  coinpcjsed  the  bogus  legislature  in  Siiawnee  were  moved  by 
conscience  flone  to  tlieir  one  sided  Draconian  work,  merely  bo- 
cause  they  covered  the  pursuit  of  their  personal  and  selfish  ainia 
with  the  name  adopted  by  the  followers  of  Jellerson.  Democracy 
meant  something  higher  and  better  than  that,  or  else  tlie  vices  of 
an  aristocracy  and  the  oppressions  of  a  monarchy  would  be  as 
virtues  by  com})arison.  Democrats  were  alienated  from  the  begin- 
ning from  the  excesses  which  the  border  ruffians  had  indulged  in 
under  their  own  eyes,  and  now  they  commenced  to  draw  off  from 
the  Kansas  wing  of  their  party.  Tliey  meant  to  make  Kansaa 
their  home,  to  rear  around  them  the  institutions  which  make  life 
supportable,  to  raise  their  families  and  themselves  into  affluence 
and  cultivation  in  the  territory  which  they  hoped  to  make  into  a 
state,  and  it  was  natural  that  they  should  desire  so  much  of  free- 
dom as  would  leave  the  ballot  box  free  for  every  man's  vote,  as 
would  extend  the  guaranties  of  security  impartially  over  all  prop- 
erties alike,  and  would  maintain  the  rights  of  conscience  so  far  as 
that  every  person  might  express  an  opinion  without  danger  of  im- 
prisonment or  death  supervening,  even  though  he  might  presume 
to  assert  that  one  man  had  no  right  to  hold  another  in  involuntary 
bondage  because  his  li2)s  were  thicker,  and  his  hair  not  quite  so 
straight.  If  the  men  from  whom  these  laws  had  emanated  had 
been  honest  representatives  of  the  public  opinion  of  Kansas  terri- 
tory, such  enactments  would  have  been  none  the  less  atrocious, 
but  the  fact  of  their  usurpation,  added 

• 
"Gall  to  make  oppression  bitter." 

The  world's  history  had  offered  nothing  more  repugnant  to 
mankind,  in  the  form  of  sovereign  contempt  for  the  dictates  of 
humanity,  since  Xero  dishonored  and  destroyed  his  mother,  to 
rival  the  vices  of  another  monster.  The  wrongs  against  which 
our  forefathers  rose,  when  this  handful  of  colonies  first  became  a 
12 


i 


j^g  TrTTu:'s  UiiiTovr  or  /v'i.v.sm.'^. 

,,,ti(>n   wero.s  notlnng  hy  comparison  ^vith  tho  high  Inna..!  in- 
:n:Vf,.eo  speech  tlL  refusal  of  free  voti,.,.  an     t  e  >... 
forc.-ce  uilh  jury  panels  ^vl.ich  were  now  to  eome  into  opaat.on 
>  cial  .  vc'.,Lrs  under  British  rule  son.etin.es  overs  eppc. 

1       uv  to  punish  oirendors  a.ainst  their  person  and  d.gn.ty,  bu 
tself  supposed  every  man  free  to  express  an  opnnon.  ev  a 
ho         it  confliet  d  .-ith  authority,  and  when  infraeUons  were  to 
:      u  i  hed  by  prosecutions  for  libel,  the  man  who  threw  hnnself 
';      Lcoun'    ,  pleading  justiileation  ^^ ^^  ^^^^^^  f!^^^^^: 
Ih  plea  was  allowed  in  law,  often  found  the  p.ry  oHns    oun      - 
"en  \  sufTieient  protection  against  the  oppressor      Now  that  t  mc 
Cored      curity  .'as  abrogated  at  one  stroke  by  n.en  who  had 
:     d  themsel/es  to  omee  in  wanton  defiance  of  tlu.  comnuun^^^^^^^ 
to  whom  they  dictated  barbarous  laws,  such  as  would  have  d  s 
™dU.e  dark  ages  of  Europe,  or  the  rule  of  the  Spaniard  m 
Mexi  o      rublic  opinion,  which  could  govern  congress  and  pres- 
f]  n  relsewherc,  would  not  be  so  readily  suppressed  and  it  came 
n  ot.l  TJay  b    slow  developments,  but  it  came  with  such  power 
that    verobstllc  was  at  length  removed.     To  petition  such 
out  Xfs  mockeries  as  the  two  houses  constituting  the  legisla- 
Tv     aCe    bly  at  Shawnee,  would  have  been  folly  ;  there  was  n. 
comn  on  ground  between  the  men  who  had  usurped  authority  to 
r  t  for^heir  own   greed  and  aggrandizement,  and  the  people, 
:  losl  e  e  1.^1  stinet  was  to  be  overridden ;  but  there  was  a  power 
Tbove  and  beyond  that  miserable  sirmdacher,  .nA  the  appeal  of 
d  moc-t    and'republieans  alike  was  made  to  the  general  govern- 
t"  t     PrSdent  rierce  and  the  administration  were  asked  to 
•r eapro  laination  denouncing  the  conduct  of  the  invaders  of 
Kr.as^  rritory,  and  calling  upon  all  good  citizens    eyerywiiere 
Kansas  ten  ly,  ^^^^^^  ^^re  in  the  territory  at 

to  discourage  «"°\  P^^^^  ";    ^^^^^  ,^  ^y^^m  such  a  proelam- 
,  at  time  ^^^^:^^,^e  had  the  force  of  law, 
K-  ""If  the    'r  which  were  in  sympathy  with  Missouri 
.y         Lf'.tr^^lo.erconX^  have  been  brought  into  play 

;:^i;r^r;::.bidingeier^^^^^^ 

should  a.pear  that  the  president  was  not  in  svmi       y 

.rong  doers,  and  obedient  to  ^e  ^^^^^^  .^.^  ,,  ,,, 

other  demogogues  of  that  stamp,  wuu 


I. 


««>,<lii)r'*"*f:l*  ■WTM*''*-' 


iti^w'i»'^-i»yw' 


Tr:iiiiTTORT.ir.  HrsTonr. 


1:0 


rrh  liandfil  in- 
[inil  tlic  iiit.T- 
nto  ojicnition. 
(9  overstepped 
id  dignity,  but 
1  opinion,  even 
ictif)ns  wore  to 
threw  liimself 
;s,  althongli  no 
of  his  country- 
Now  that  timo 
7  men  who  had 
ho  community, 
'ould  have  dis- 
le  Spaniard  in 
so-ross  and  pres- 
;ed,  and  it  came 
ath  such  power 

0  petition  such 
ting  the  legisla- 
' ;  there  was  nO 
ped  authority  to 
ind  the  people, 
ere  was  a  power 
id  the  appeal  of 

1  general  govern- 
1  were  asked  to 

the  invaders  of 
;ns,  everywhere, 
the  territory  at 
such  a  proclam- 
the  force  of  law, 
hy  with  Missouri 
)rought  into  play 
;re,  as  soon  as  it 
rmpathy  with  the 
en.  Atchison  and 
every  day  of  the 


power  which  could  be  exercised  in  that  (piartcr.  Tlie  vcinoval  of 
Gov.  Hccilcr  was,  of  conr.=iC,  an  evidence  more  potent  than  wonld 
of  the  truth  of  their  claims,  and  when,  within  a  short  timo,  two  of 
tho  judges  wore  removeil  from  their  judicMal  district.^  011  the  same 
gauzy  pretext  which  had  served  in  Mr.  Ilceder's  case,  to  cover  tho 
punishment  of  one  who  had  not  been  sufficiently  subservient  to 
their  demands,  there  was  a  tolerably  significant  hint  for  Gov. 
Sliannon  that  presidential  action  would  support  the  Missourian 
faction,  let  his  sympathies  go  where  they  might.  Still  for  some 
time  longer  the  honest  democrats  in  Kansas  territory  were  believ- 
ers in  the  desire  of  President  Pierce  to  give  them  help. 

The  other  section  of  the  residents  had  long  since  realized  the 
situation,  and  on  them  the  spirit  of  76  sat  like  the  mantle  which 
fell  from  the  heavenward  ascending  car  of  fire,  upon  the  should- 
ers of  Elisha.  They  were  neither  rash  nor  pusillanimous,  but 
possessing  tlieir  souls  in  peace,  they  waited  for  the  outcome  of 
events,  with  a  constancy  which  did  not  waver,  and  with  a  cour- 
age that  could  wait,  where  more  timid  men  might  have  alternated 
between  submission  and  outbreak.  They  could  no  longer  be  de- 
luded with  the  expectation  that  the  general  government  would  in- 
terpose, to  favor  them  and  the  cause  of  justice,  and  therefore  it 
became  necessary  to  organize  themselves,  for  purposes  of  defense. 
In  the  afternoon  of  June  8th,  the  citizens  of  the  territory  were 
called  together  at  Lawrence,  to  hold  a  primary  meeting  in  which 
the  aspect  of  affairs  was  discussed  from  every  stand  point,  by- 
able  men,  anxious  so  to  shape  their  course,  as  that  they  should 
carry  along  with  them  the  fullest  approval  of  the  great  common- 
wealth of  liberal  thought.  The  primary  meeting  determined  that 
a  convention  should  be  called  together  in  Lawrence  on  the  25th 
of  that  month,  to  consider  and  take  action  if  found  advisable,  in 
reference  to  the  legislature  which  was  then  shortly  to  assemble  in 
Pawnee.  The  minds  of  men  were  much  exercised  as  to  the 
course  which  it  devolved  upon  the  community  to  pursue.  We 
are  too  apt  to  be  ruled  in  any  case  by  precedents  which  have  been 
formed  for  us  by  others,  in  circumstances  more  or  less  like  those 
in  which  we  find  ourselves  placed,  and  in  the  experiences  of  the 
union  there  was  no  case  precisely  analogous  to  the  then  condition 
of    Kansas  ;  therefore,  men  were  compelled  to  reason  from  first 


I 


1^- 


AiiawwiaMftwiH 


m0*' 


"■?  )»L  mi  iiMinmw 


180 


Tl'TTLffs  IIlSTORY  OF  Ka.XSAS. 


principles,  to  determine  what  tliey  ouglit  do.     Tiicre   was  a  full 
determination  on  one  point ;  tiie  citizens  of  Kansas  would  not  bow 
down  to  the  idol  of  brass  with  the  feet  of  day,  but  the  anxiety 
which  was  exhibited  took  the  form  of  desiring  to  avoid  a  wrong 
inove  at  the  outset,  from  which  there  would  have  to  be  a  retreat! 
Tiie  representative  districts  of  the  territory  in  their  several  pre- 
cincts were  invited  to  send  five  delegates  each  to  tlie  conventicm, 
and  at  the  time  and  place  named  every  precinct  was  represented. 
Judge  Wakefield  was  elected  i)resi.lent  of  the  convention,  and 
the  siiirit  manifested  by  the  mendjers  generally  was  as  good  as 
could  be  wished.     It  could  serve  no  good  purj)ose  to  narrate  the 
proceedings  of  the  body  in  detail ;  suffice  it  to  say  that  there  was 
no  lack  of  courage  in  the  emergency,  but  there  was  wisdom  as 
well  as  resolve.     When  John  Falstafl'  said  that,  "  Discretion  is  the 
better  i)art  of  valor,"  he  said  what  was  absolutely  true  and  note- 
worthy, as  more  will  depend  upon  the  foresight  of  the  council, 
and   the  conmiand,  than  upon  the  mere  animal  courage  of  the 
combatants.     The  convention  determined  that  it  was  the  duty  of 
every  lover  of  freedom  and  justice  to  abandon  for  the  present  all 
minor  considerations,  to  waive  all  differences  in  mere  matters  of 
detail,  and  to  give  and  accept  aid  from  any  persons   or  organiz- 
ations that  would  assist  in  securing  freedom  for  Kansas.     They 
affirmed  their  indubitable  right  to  conduct  their  domestic  affairs 
as  a  state  untrammeled  by  the  interference  of  any  one  outside  their 
own  borders,  and  coupled  therewith  their  determination  to  exer- 
cise the  powers  that  inhered  in  them  as  free  men,  entitled  to  self 
government.     Thoy  came  to  the  conclusion  that  whatever  laws 
might  be  passed  by  the  legislature  at  Pawnee  could  have  no 
authority  over  them,  as  it  was  of  the  essence  of  republican  gov- 
ernment, that  the  laws  should  be  made  by  the  people,  as  well  as 
for  them.     They  were  conscious  that  in  the  struggle  daily  becom- 
ing more  imminent,  they  and  their  friends  must  be  ready  to  meet 
tlie  assault  of  Missouri  in  its  worst  form,  but  they  were  not  in- 
timidated by  the  prospect ;  and  they  finished  their  labors  by  sug- 
gesting that  a  free  state  central  committee  should  be  appointed 
by  the  electors  to  act  as  the  executive  of  the  popular  i)arty,  to 
which  every  precinct  should  send  its  quota,  in  proportion  to  the 
number  of  members  of  the  legislature  returned  by  each  distiict. 


}  \ 


f^lf^'- 


Th:iinir(u.i.[i.  I/isioi; y. 


here   was  a  full 
woukl  not  bow 
lit  the  anxiety 
avoid  a  wrong 
to  be  a  retreat, 
eir  several  pre- 
;he  convention, 
as  rejiresonted. 
:invontion,  and 
vas  as  good  as 
to  narrate  the 
that  there  was 
ras  wisdom  as 
discretion  is  the 
true  and  note- 
of  the  council, 
2ourago  of  the 
as  the  duty  of 
the  present  all 
icre  matters  of 


IS   or  organiz- 


ISl 


s.ansas. 


rr 


hey 

iincstio  affairs 
e  outside  their 
ation  to  exer- 
ntitled  to  self 
whatever  laws 
3uld  have  no 
publican  gov- 
le,  as  well  as 
!  daily  becom- 
ready  to  meet 
■  were  not  in- 
labors  by  sug- 

be  appointed 
ular  party,  to 
)ortion  to  the 

each  distiict. 


Two  days  later  in  the  same  place  the  lifelong  democrats  resi- 
dent in  Kansas  convened   under  the  title  of  "  the   National    De- 
mocracy"    Tliey  were  desirous  to  hold  fust  to  the  old  ways,  and 
to  maintain  allog'ance  to  the  organization   with  which  tliev  had 
trained  so  long,  but  tiny   recognized  that  the  domestic  affairs  of 
the  territory  must  be  amended  by  some  means  inside  the  old  lines 
of  ]iarty,  or  beyond  tliem,  and  for  tiiat  reason  they  had  assernl)l<;d 
in  the  manner  named,  to  deal  wit'a  every  issue  that  might  arise. 
Col.  Jas.  n.  Lane  was  unanimously  elected  chairman,  °and    the 
conventu)n  proceeded  to  business  without  delay     Their  commit- 
tee on  resolutions   .Irew  up  a   manifesto,  for  in   that  light  only 
could  their  preamble  and  resolutions  be  viewed,  which  must  have 
produced  a  salutary  effect  on   many  minds  in  Washington,  Mis- 
souri, and  throughout  the  states,  wherever  it  had   been  assumed 
that  the  outcry  in  Kansas  was  only  being  made  by  a  few  fanati- 
cal  abolitionists.     The  democrats  commenced  by  the  enunciation 
of  their  2)arty  faith  and  their  indorsement  of  the  i)latform  of  1852, 
and  going  in  proper  form  from  generals  to  particulars,  went  on  t7) 
say  that  the  interests  of  the   territory  demanded   an  early   and 
thorough,  organization  of  their  party  upon  truly  national  grounds. 
They  courteously  requested   that  citizens  of  neighboring  states 
would  allow  them  to  manage  their  own  affairs  inlheir  ovvn  way, 
and  pronounced  emphatically  in  a  few  words  against  illegal  vot- 
ing from  any  quarter,  whether  by  outsiders  or  others.     The  tone 
of  the  assembly  was  as  entirely  radical  on  the  question  at  i.«sue, 
as  had  been   free  state  convention  in   the  same  i)lace  two  days 
earlier.     Events  were  now  crowding  fast  and  thick  upon  each 
other's  heels.     The  legislative  assemblv  had  met  at  Pawnee  and 
had  expelled  all  its  free  state  member;,  v-^th  only  one  exception, 
Mr.  Houston,  before  the  next  meeting  wr.,  convened  on  the  11th 
of  July     The  action  of  the  i)seudo  legislature  had  not  taken  any- 
body by  surprise,  as  it  had  been  understood   from  the  first  what     ■ 
were  to  be  the  tactics  of  the  corrupt  majority,  but  none  the  less  it 
was  the  duty  of  t!ie  free  state  men  to  carry  the  public  with  them, 
and  to  mark  their  sense  of  every  fresh  outrage  in  a  becoming  way! 
The  meeting  was  largely  attended  by  the  citizens,  a!id  Judge  .John 
A.  Wakefield,  one  of  the  expelled  men,  was  called  to  the  chair. 
There  was  considersble  latitude  of  opinion  as  to  the  course  which 


1 


1S2 


Ti.  iri.r.'s  IhsTouY  <>y  /v'.i.vs.is. 


k 


Bhouia  now  1)0  taktM).  an.l  seven  Hpirite.l  u.ia.vs.-crf  were  n.iuu'  bo- 
Bides  the  opening'  and  elosiii-,'  roiiKirk.s  of  the  cliHiiiiiiiii.     Must  u£ 
the  speakers  having  in  their  luiiuls  tlio  faet,  that  there  was  really 
no  lejrishitivo  assembly  sitting   in   Kansas,  inasniueh  as  the  jo.ly 
of  men  ehosen  by  the  mobs   from   aeross   the   bonier,  w<;re  in  no 
sense  representing  the  will  of  the  territory.  re.^onnueiuUHl  that  the 
peoi)le  should  be  at  onee  ealled  upon  toeleet  a  eonvention  for  thu 
l)urpose  of  framing  a  eonstitution  to  be  submitted  to  congress  as 
tho  basis  of  an  applieation  that  the  territory  should  be  admitted 
into  the  union.     One  speaker,  .seeing  no  hope  of  any  good  result 
from  an  appeal   to  eongress    in  that  manner,   urged  that  there 
should  be  an  organization  to  defend   tho  ballot  box  against  all 
comers,  except  those  who  were  entitled  to  east  their  vote  in  each 
election.     Eventually  the  citizens  resolved  that  a  nuuss  meeting 
of  all  free  state  citizens  thr.)ughout    the  territory  should  be  eon- 
vened  at  Lawrenee  on  the  KHh  day  of  August,  to  consider  ibo  sit- 
uation of  KaiKsas  and  its  government. 

The  general  mass  eonvention  assembled  at  the  time  and  place 
named,  and  tho  session  lasted  until  the  evening  of  August  loth. 
Uon.  rhilip  C.  Schuyler  presided,  and  .several  vice  presidents  wore 
nominated.     Dr.  liobinson,  whose  name  will  be  familiar  to  our 
readers  as  having  brought  to  Lawrence  the  lirst  detachtnont  of 
emigrants,  under  the  auspices  of  the  New  England  society,  and 
who°-c  demeanor  throughout  the  momentous  events  yet  to  be  seen, 
secured  him  tho  honor  to  be  elected  the  first  governor  of  the  free 
state  of  Kansas,  was  chairman  of  tho  committee  on  resolutions; 
und  the  matter  contained  in  the  documents  submitted  by  him  to 
the  convention  aflorded  sullieient  margin  for  discussion.     There 
■was  daily  occurring  some  new  wrong  which  tend'd  to  exasperate 
good  men  against  the  party  then  administering  the  allairs  of  Kan- 
sas.    Fourteen  days  had  elapsed  since  the  removal  of  Mr.  Roeder, 
who  still  remained  in  the  territory,  and  his  successor  would  not 
arrive  until  the  first  day  of  September,  pending  which  event  the 
executive  function  was  in  the  hands  of  Daniel  Woodson,  the  ter- 
ritorial secretary,  and  he  did  the  work  required  by  the  Missounan 
faction  with  such  obsequiousness  that  his  masters  in  the  legisla- 
ture forwarded  petitions  to  Washington  to  procure  him  the  per- 
manent appointment.     He  would  have  been  their  tool  for  any 


A.-^-. 


■■at.i.il— imJtf-'lS^irtwi 


Ti:iiUlTiH!lM.    lllsTollY. 


is;; 


wore  iiiiiiu'  bo- 

IIWlll.       Ml)St  of 

lieie  was  really 
:h  as  tlio  joily 
Icr,  W'.'i'o  ill  no 
oikUhI  that  iho 
volition  for  tliu 
to  coiigrcsH  ad 
1 1  be  ad  11  lilted 
11  y  ;if()i)d  result 
lieil  that  there 
)ox  against  all 
;ir  vole  in  caeh 
a  mass  iiieeling 
should  be  con- 
consider  ibo  sit- 

lime  and  place 
[  August  loth. 

presidents  were 
familiar  to  our 

(letachmcnt  of 
lud  society,  and 
:s  yet  to  be  seen, 
iruor  of  the  free 

on  resolutions ; 
littcd  by  him  to 
cussion.  There 
>d  to  exasperate 
e  affairs  of  Kan- 
\\  of  Ml'.  Reeder, 
issor  would  not 
vhich  event  the 
/'oodson,  the  tcr- 
y  the  Missourian 
.■s  in  the  legisla- 
!ure  him  the  per- 
eif  tool  for  any 


purpose  they  could  name,  and  only  such  i)orsoiis  wciv  wanted  by 
the  party.  In  all  Kansas  now,  there  was  only  one  man,  the  post- 
master at  Lawr(!nee,  holding  an  oflicc  in  iIk;  terriiory,  who  waa 
not  in  favor  of  slavery  being  enacted  as  a  p'.'.rt  of  liie  eoiistilulioii. 
Among  conditions  so  exciting  there  was  no  lack  of  si)ico  for  tho 
^^pcccllcs  delivered  in  the  mass  convention,  and  no  lack  of  sym|)!i- 
thy  on  the  part  of  the  audieiuto.  Tho  resolutions  ado|ite(l  on  tho 
1-llh  of  August  and  the  following  day,  amid  much  other  mailer, 
denounced  the  legislature,  which  had  now  adjourned  to  Shawnee, 
to  be  near  their  base  of  supplies,  as  having  been  imposed  upon 
the  comnuinity  by  bare  faced  fraud,  and  as  being  in  every  seiiso 
derogatory  to  the  federal  authority,  and  therefore  the  convenliuii 
repudiated  the  usui'iied  autiiorily  ni  the  wrongful  legislators,  and 
the  members  severally  pledged  themselves,  by  all  lawful  means, 
to  resist  their  enac;tmenls  ;  ami  in  the  premises,  the  mass  assem- 
bled in  Lawrence  favored  the  proposal  to  appoint  a  conventioa 
for  the  purposi!  of  j)reparing  a  state  constitution,  as  a  step  toward 
admission  to  the  uniitii.  Among  the  men  who  took  part  in  tho 
mass  convention  at  Lawrence  was  Col,  James  IL  Lane,  who  pro- 
sided  over  the  meeting  of  the  "  National  Democracy,"  With 
many  others,  the  colonel  still  had  faith  in  the  president,  and  from 
some  source  he  had  evidently  been  assured  that  "  Frank  Ticrco 
would  prefer,  at  any  sacrifice,  to  se^jure  freedom  to  Kansas."  I£ 
there  was  any  ouch  desire  on  the  part  of  President  Pierce,  he  was 
one  of  the  best  dissemblers  on  record,  and  every  act  of  his  ofTicial 
career  in  which  Kansas  was  concerned  tended  toward  the  com- 
l)lete  subjugation  of  the  popular  party.  Many  of  the  men  in  that 
convention  urged  the  ado})tion  of  extreme  measures  at  once,  and 
would  have  been  well  pleased  could  their  fellow  citizens  have 
seen  their  way  to  the  formation  of  military  bodies,  to  conquer  their 
rights  from  the  Shawnee  usurpers,  and  to  put  an  end  to  that 
abominable  burlesque ;  but  it  was  not  yet  time  fur  such  move- 
ments. There  is  but  little  bcnefioial  heat  in  the  sun's  rays  which 
strike  the  topmost  peaks  of  the  mountains ;  it  is  only  when  its 
radiance  floods  the  valleys  with  fertilizing  warmth  that  great  re- 
sults are  possible.  So  is  it  also  in  human  aCfairs,  The  high  and 
holy  resolve  of  the  foremost  man  must  bide  its  time  until  the 
slower  thinkers  have  realized  his  idea,  before  the  grand  coiisum- 


J 

ii 
I 


I 


I 


I 
I 

i 


I 


J  r 


jmsm- 


184 


Tirn. !:'.■<  llisroi.y  or  K.wsas. 


mnfiDii  can  1>c  ivMclicd     Vi-arrf  later  many  su"li  men  would  Imvo 
prcfiiiitati'il  Al)riitmm   Lincoln  into  tloclanitory  arts  which  might 
liuvc  jeopardized  tho  purposes  that  he,  as  much  as  they,  meant  to 
oecomplish;    but  it  was  necessary  to  wait  upon  cvent.«,  find  tho 
fruitrt  could  niH  he  ^'athercd  until  they  were  ripe.      Violent  meas- 
iiri  s  would  have  been  fatal  to  union  nt  that  moment,  as  the  mass 
convcnticti   comprised   m(!n   of  every  shade  of  opinion,  some*  of 
whom  would  dcvelo|)  wonderfully  within  a  few  months;  but  just 
now  they  stood  hesitating  by  tho  side  of  the  stream  into  which 
they  were  soon  to  bo  seen  plunging  with  tho  skdl  and  resolution 
of  tiie  practiced  swimmer.     It  was  a  now  experience  for  demo- 
crats, whigs.  republicans  and  abolitionists  to  be  training  together, 
lind  during  the  llr.-^t  tlay  there  was  much  ca\isc  to  fear  that  tho 
fittompted  fusion  would  i^rovo  a  fiasco.     Every  man  was  prepared 
to  have  eoiiccvsions  made  by  others,  but  seeing  that  he  was  abso- 
lutely right  himsolf,  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  abandon  tho  re- 
motest tittle  of  his  demands.     Tho  evening  of  tho  lirst  day  closed 
upon  what  seemed  likely  to  be  tho  saddest  blow  possible  for  free- 
ilom  in  the  Icriitory,  in  tho  proof  afTordcd  of  the  inevitable  dis- 
union between  men  who  could  only  win  by  w<M'king  slK)uldcr  to 
shoulder.     Extremists  IkuI  logically  insisted  upon  their  accustomed 
strong  points,  as  if  tho  mass  could  bo  warmed  into  enthusiasm  by 
logical  clearness  alone,  and  parties  had  boon  on  the  very  point  of 
drifting  away  from  each  other.     During  that  night  wonderful  ad- 
vances had  been  made.     Feeling  had  usuriiod  tho  place  of  logic 
for  a  time,  and  expediency  was  found  to  bo  akin  to  supreme  wis- 
dom, where  human  government  is  involved.     When  the  river  is 
stopped  by  the  mountain,  the  stream  docs  not  say  :    "  I  am  bound 
to  run  duo  north,  and  therefore  I  must  climb  your  sides  and  flow 
over  your  top,"  but  it  bonds  to  inexorable  circumstances,  runs 
around  the  base  of  the  mountain,  which  it  cannot  otherwise  pass 
by,  and  at  tho  proper  point,  starts  once  more  upon  its  cardinal 
direction.     Tiio  men  who  wore  resolved  to  free  the  territory  from 
Mis.sourian  domination  could  not  aflford  to  waste  their  time  upon 
smaller  details  then.     Cassio  was  very  far  gone  in  li.pior  when 
Shaksporo  depicted  him  arguing  the  question  whether  the  eom- 
inandcr's  soul  should  be  saved  before  that  of  the  lioutet,      ;. 
Suck    .utters  could  '•  bide  a  wee,"  as  the  Scotch  proverb  has  it, 


J 


'ri:iiUlliililM.    lllSTiiUV. 


185 


1  would  Imvo 
wliicli  iiiiglit 
licy,  tiicutit  to 
'cuts,  find  tlio 
Violent  nii'iis- 
t,  na  tlio  nmHs4 
nil)!),  some   of 
itlis ;  l)iit  just 
\\\   into  wliii'h 
nd  ri'soliition 
ICO  for  diMiio- 
niti^'  together, 
feiir  tlint  tlio 
was  prepared 
t  he  was  abso- 
)andnn  tlio  rc- 
rst  day  elosod 
ssiblc  for  frco- 
incvitable  dis- 
iiiX  sliouldor  to 
eirac(;nstnincd 
_Mit,liasiasm  by 
!  very  jMiint  of 
wonderful  ad- 
place  of  logic 
I  supreme  wis- 
en  the  river  is 
"  I  lun  bound 
sides  and  flow 
mstanccs,  runs 
ntliervvise  pass 
)n  its  cardinal 
territory  from 
heir  time  upon 
n  li(pior  when 
?tlicr  the  com- 
ihc  lieutei. 
)roverb  lias  it, 


until  tlio  cotntnon  object  had  been  won,  ajid  tlich,  when  the  in- 
vader er)uld  no  longer  insult  them  with  oppressive  laws,  assail 
their  freedmii,  destroy  their  rights,  and  endanger  their  lives,  tho 
time  would  liuvo  arrived  again  wherein  it  would  be  advan- 
tngeoua  for  society,  and  for  eaeli  other, 'lliat  dilferenees  of  opiii- 
ion  should  exist.  lU'fore  the  next  daWs  formal  meeting,  there 
had  been  many  conversational  discussions,  in  which  h.-adiiig  minds 
on  diflVrent  planes  discovered  that  they  were  very  near  each 
other,  in  tho  irrcsenco  of  tho  common  enemy.  The  concessional 
spirit  was  fully  awakened  when  the  convention  resumed  on  tho 
loth.  The  resolutions,  concerning  which  there  seemed  no  elianco 
of  an  agreement,  were  earned  unanimously,  when  a  few  really  un- 
important aineiidments  in  form  and  exjiression  had  been  intro- 
duced, and  in  adilition  to  that,  it  wa.s  resolved,  with  similar  uiiiiii- 
imity,  that  the  central  committee,  appointed  us  tho  pojmlar  exec- 
utive pro  Intijxm;  by  the  convention  at  Lawrence  on  the  2.")lh  of 
June,  shoulil  be  .solicited  to  call  a  "  free  state  convention,"  to 
meet  at  Big  Sjiring.*?,  on  the  5th  day  of  September,  to  take  such 
action  as  tlu;  exigencies  of  the  time,  always  becoming  more  criti- 
cal, might  render  necessary.  It  was  provided  that  the  elections 
for  that  convention  should  be  held  on  the  2r)th  day  of  August,  in 
every  precinct,  and  that  every  electoral  district  should  send  live 
men  to  the  representative  body. 

There  were  not  yet  strings  enough  to  the  bow  to  secure  every 
interest  in  one  direction,  hence  it  happened,  that  on  the  afternoon 
of  the  last  day  of  the  mass  convention,  August  15tli,  ji  meeting 
was  convened  by  men  of  nil  y>artics,  for  citizens  of  every  view 
who  were  agreed  that  Kansas  should  govern  herself.  The  object 
sought  by  this  meeting  was  tho  appointment  of  an  executive  to 
call  a  territorial  convention  as  a  preliminary  to  the  formation  of  a 
state  government.  Dr.  Hunting  was  chosen  as  president.  Tho 
resolutions  reported  by  the  chairman  of  the  committee,  Mr.  Geo. 
W.  Smith,  were  to  the  cHect  that  the  convention  mooted  should 
meet  at  To^icka  on  September  19th,  the  convention  to  consist  of 
three  delegates  for  each  representative  elected  by  the  several  pre- 
cincts, and  tho  body  so  formed  should  determine  upon  all  sub- 
jects of  public  importance,  but  more  jiarticularly  upon  the  speedy 
framing  of  a  state  constitution,   upon  which  the  admission   of 


J 
I 


^ 


} 


I 


'ill- 


# 


186  TiTTf.K's  IflSTOItY  OF  KaSSAS. 

Kansas  to  tlic  union  could  be  sought.     When  so  many  aiflercnt 
inducucos  wore  at  work  to  secure  unanimity  in  the  popuhir  party, 
it  is  very  evident  that  tlie  general  desire  for  organization  and  ad- 
mission "to  Llie  union  as  a  free  state  must  have  been  very  strong 
amoncr  the  citizens  of  Kansas.     The  ratilication  meeting  held  the 
same  evening,  when  ^Ir.  C.  K.  Ilolliday  presided,  was  cne  of  the 
most  entirely  resolved  and  unanimous  assemblies  ever  seen  m  tne 
territory.     Thus  we  are  brought  up  in  order  of  growth  and  tune 
from  the  people  to  the  delegate  convention  at  Big  Springs,  as  re- 
solved upon  by  the  mass  convention  at  Lawrence  on  the  loth  of 
August.     The  unanimity  born  in  that  time  of  trial  had  extended 
its  sway  over  the  whole  community  in  Kansas,  excepting  only 
the  few  slave  owners  and  their  immediate  emissaries  of  itissouri, 
and  every  district  was  represented  in  the  body  of  more  than  one 
hundred  delegates.     Every  man  was  so  well  known  that  there 
was  little  time  spent  in  verifying  credentials,  and  stdl  there  vvere 
present  such  hitherto  diverse  materials,  that  every  individual  m 
the  group  might  have  asked  his  neighbor,  in  amazement,  "IIow 
came  you  here?"  if  there  had  not  been  a  common  agreement  that 
for  this  occasion  all   differences  should  be  forgotten,   that   the 
wron-s  of  their  territory  might  be  sooner  healed.     The  central 
fires  we  are  sometimes  told,  have  melted  the  most  heterogeneous 
elem'ents  into  the  mighty  rocks  which  form  the  bulwarks  of  the 
piobe  so  the  fires  of  oppression   had  subdued  the  angularity  of 
ten  thou.-^and  various  minds  to  make  the  granite  from  which  the 
state  of  Kansas  should  be  shaped;  and  every  man  m  that  multi- 
farious gather"  ng; 

•  "  Wrought  ill  a  sad  sincerity: 

Ilimsdf  from  God  he  could  not  free; 

He  builded  better  tliau  he  knew; 
The  consciou3  stone  to  beauty  grow." 

Five  committees,  of  thirteen  members,  were  elected  to  report  a 
platform;  to  consider  the  propriety  of  a  state  organization  ;  to 
consider  the  duty  of  the  community  toward  the  Shawnee  legio.a- 
ture  ■  to  advise  as  to  the  course  to  be  pursued  in  the  coming  elec- 
tion of  a  delegate  to  congress;  and  the  fifth  committee  of  thir- 
teen were  allowed  ample  scope  and  verge  enough  under  the  head 
of  miscellaneous  business.     The  members  of  the  several  commit 


iji^l'iiiimliiiiliiiilTWif" 


Ti-:miiToi;iM.  Ifismny 


187 


lany  ilifTercnt 
lopnlar  party, 
nation  !unl  ad- 
sn  very  strong 
cting  liL-lil  the 
fas  one  of  the 
,'er  seen  in  the 
)wtli  and  time 
Spring?,  as  re- 
on  the  loth  of 
liad  extended 
xcepting  only 
js  of  Missouri, 
more  than  one 
)\vn  tiiat  there 
still  there  were 
f  individual  in 
zement,  "How 
acrreement  that 
)ttcn,   that   the 
1.     The  central 
;  heterogeneous 
ulwarks  of  the 
e  angularity  of 
from  which  the 
a  in  that  multi- 


cted  to  report  a 
irganjzation  ;  to 
jhawnee  lej^iola- 
:he  coming  elec- 
iimittee  of  thir- 
under  the  head 
several  commit- 


tee.  sixty-livc  men  of  ability,  had  l.oen  s.loctcd  for  the.r  mental 
pcnver  and  social  weight,  wl>ich  must  soon   be  of  panun.u.nt  un- 
portance  in  their  united  action.     Judge  G.  \\  .  buuth  was  chosen 
vernmnent    president  of    the  convention.  Col.    Lane  was  eha.r- 
Ln  of  the  platform  c.m.ndttee,  and   the  other  selccUons  were 
quite   as  well  considered    from   every   standpoint.     Col.  Lanes 
report  was  a  masterly  production  ;  it  commenced  by  rec.lu.g  m  us 
pieamble  the  mair.  features  of  the  struggle,  and  the  surroundings 
of  Kansas  settlers,  which   nuule   up  the  critical  and   unparalleled 
condition  of  the  territory,  and  made  it  imperative  upon  all  tree 
men,  to  unite  in  the  formation  of  a  party,  in  winch  for  the  tnno 
M  nunor  considerations  should  be  merged,  to  secure  the  rights 
guarantied  by  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  the  constitution 
of  the  United  States  and  the  Kansas  act.     The  abolition  .piestum 
per  se  was  quieted  for  the  time  by  announcing  the  union  of  all 
classes,  that  fronr  principle  or  for  their  own  interests  preferred 
free  labor  to  employing  slaves;  and  the  resolutions  springing 
from  the  preamble  were  equal  in  tone  to  the  occasion.     All  minor 
issues  were  banished  from  the  field  of  vision,  in  proposing  an  or- 
ganization  which  was  to  embrace  Democrats  and  Whigs,  citizens, 
native  and  naturalized,   and  which    was   to  continue  until  the 
grand  purpose  had  been  served;  after  which  the  old  innuences 
mi^ht  once  more  resume  their  sway  over  each  individual.     Ihe 
first  wrong  to  be  crushed  out  was  the  virtual  disfranchisement  of 
K^.nsas  settlers  by  the  action  of  nonresident  voters  at  the  po  ling 
places     Next  to  that,  in  point  of  importance,  came  the  cardinal 
enunciation  that  Kansas  must  be  a  free  state :  but  the  main  point 
was  gained  on  the  lower  ground  of  expediency,   which  might 
unite  them  all,  whereas  the  higher  ground  of  principle  must  have 
driven  them  asunder  in  the  then  condition  of  public  sentiment. 
The  most  vigorous  abolitionist  was  able  to  admit  "  that  slave 
labor  is  a  curse  to  the  master,"  and  it  was  worth  while  to  leave 
the  other  questions  unargued  for  the  time.     Many  were  desirous 
that  all  negroes,  bond  or  free,  should  be  excluded  from  Kansas, 
but  the  convention  was  not  asked  to  indorse   that  view.     Ihe 
charge  of  seeking  the  abolition  of  slavery,  which  was  industriously 
imputed  to  all  free  state  men,  was  next  denied,  and  the  motives 
of  the  accusers  stigmatized  with  becoming  energy,  inasmuch  a? 


■  t— ■!  Mil  «ii  iiifvrmimlWMifBinia't' " 


[■ff^ryy- 


188 


Tuttlk's  History  of  Kaxsas. 


tlje  party  contained  many  men  who  could  not  have  been  induced 
by  pressure,  to  identify  themselves  with  the  abolition  movement, 
■which  nevertheless,  they  were  most  ciFicicntly  helping  for  expe- 
diency's sake,  at  that  stage.     The  charge  was  denounced  as  stale 
and  ridiculous,  and  the  repudiators  were  undoubtedly  correct. 
The  jilatform  concluded  with  the   resolve  that  the  tciritory  or 
state  of  Kansas  would  concede  to  other  states  the  Jght  demanded 
in  this  instance,  to  manage  their  own  affairs,  and   promised  the 
slave  owners  that  there  should  be  no  molestation  nor  obstructiori 
put  in  their  way  by  the  people  of  Kansas,  in  holding  or  recover- 
ing their  slaves.     Such,  in  the  main,  was  Col.  Lane's  i)rogramme. 
The  definition  of  the  aims  of  the  convention  was  to  be  the  re- 
sultant of  many  forces  more  or  less  eccentric,  but  all  agreeing  in 
the  main  direction ;  so  there  was  a  very  warm  debate.     The  old 
question,  "what  will  happen  when  an  irresistible  force  collides 
with  an  immovable  body?  "  could  not  be  determined  by  contem- 
plating the  proceedings  at  Big  Springs.     None  were  iri'csistible, 
none  immovable  -on  that  occasion.     For  many  of  the  men  the 
platform  was  not  sufhciently  radical ;  they  wanted  slavery  to  be 
denounced  fs  from  an  abolitionist  standpoint;  but  they  succeeded 
at  last  in  tonivi-'  down  their  expectations  to  a  workable  stand- 
point.    To  many,  on  the  other  hand,  who  had  been  trained  to 
consider  the  negro  neither  a  man  nor  a  bn  ;.her,  the  paragraphs  in 
■which  the  question  of  slavery  was  referred  to  seemed  censurable, 
because  it  did  not  expressly  provide  that  the  hated  color  should 
not  be  seen  in  the  territory.     Those  men  abominated  slavery,  not 
out  of  love  for  the  slave,  and  their  detestation  for  the  name  "  abo- 
litionist "  had  long  been  almost  a  frenzy.     Slavery  was  looked 
upon  with  horror  by  many  men  who  could  not  help  extending  to 
the  individual  held  in  bondage,  the  animosity  which  belonged 
only  to  the  system  of  which  he  was  u  victim.    Such  men  came  in  to 
accept  the  more  moderate  platform  at  last,  and  by  their  influence, 
not  a  few  men  in  Missouri  were  brought  over  to  more  rational 
views  of  the  demand  enforced  by  Kansas.     Many  consented  to 
the  platform  because  they  knew  that  the  end  was  yet  far  off  and 
that  the  men  who  were  convening  to  train  with  them  against  Mis- 
souri interference  would,  in  the  long  run,  arrive  at  more  advanced 
ideas  on  the  other  issue.     The  programme  was  not  precisely  what 


TKUUITOiaAL  IIlSTORV. 


189 


been  induced 
jn  movement, 
ing  for  expe- 
inccd  as  stale 
tedly  ccjiTOct. 
e  tcu'itory  or 
^ht  demanded 
promised  the 
3r  obstruction 
ng  or  recover- 
's  programme. 
3  to  be  the  re- 
dl  agreeing  in 
late.     Tlie  old 
force  collides 
3d  by  contem- 
re  irresistible, 
the  men  the 
slavery  to  be 
hey  succeeded 
)rkable  stand- 
en  trained  to 
paragraphs  in 
ed  censurable, 
1  color  should 
!d  slavery,  not 
le  name  "  abo- 
'y  was  looked 
.)  extending  to 
liich  belonged 
men  came  in  to 
iheir  influence, 
more  rational 
y  consented  to 
ret  far  off  and 
m  against  Mis- 
more  advanced 
precisely  what 


any  man  expressing  individual  views  only  would  have  written, 
but  as  a  resultant  of  the  ideas  of  many  men,  modifying  and  being 
modified,  it  was  the  best  that  at  the  time  could  be  effected,  and  it 
served  its  purpose  passing  well.     Tlie  committee  on  state  organi- 
zation did  not  think  that  such  a  movement  was  at  that  time  ex- 
pedient, but  the  report  of  that  committee  was  not  adopted,  and 
anamendm..it  expressing  approval  of  the  object  to  be  avowed 
by  the  people's  convention,  which  had  been  called  together  for  the 
19th  of  that  month  in  Topeka,  was  carried.     ^h\  Emery,  repre- 
senting the  committee  to  which  had  been  entrusted  the  considera- 
tion of  the  duty  of  the  people  toward  the  legislature  reported  in 
effect,  that  the  men  assuming  the  task  of  law  makers  for  Kansas 
were  a  foreign  body  influenced  by  the  demagogues  of  Missouri, 
whom  alone  they  represented,  and  that  the  people  must  therefore 
repudiate  all  their  acts  as  consummations  of  violence  unparalleled 
in  the  history  of  the  union.     In  eloquent  terms  the  report  de- 
nounced the  usurpation  under  which  the  community  then  suffered 
in  consequence  of  the  tyrannous  interference  of  armed  bands  vastly 
outnumbering  the  resident  population,  having  robbed  them  of  the 
right  of  self  government     The  mockery  of  a  government,  which, 
under  cover  of  fraud  and  violence,  hud  thus  been  imposed  upon 
Kansas  was  disavowed  with  scorn,  as  a  merely  hypocritical  pre- 
tense cf  republican  rule,  adopted  by  a  despotism.     The  report 
went  on  to  recite  the  monstrous  deeds  of  the  invaders ;  their  dis- 
regard of  the  organic  act  by  bxpelling  members  who  had  been 
duly  elected,  and  by  seating  others  who  had  not  been  chosen  by 
the  people  ;  by  holding  their  sessions  in  a  place  not  authorized 
by  law;  by  usurping  the  appointments  of  officers  who  should  be 
chosen  by  the  people,  and  conferring  such  appointments  upon 
Missourians  not  even  temporarily  residing  in  the  territory ;  by 
selling  at  the  ballot  boxes  to  all  comers  the  privilege  of  outvoting 
the  resident  elector,  in  all  congressional  and  other  elections,  which 
could  not  be  abrogated ;  by  compelling  men  who  would  offer 
themselves  for  office,  or  to  vote  at  an  election,  to  submit  to  an  in- 
vidious oath,  referring  of  course  to  the  fugitive  slave  enactment ;  by- 
suppressing  freedom  of  the  press  und  free  speech,  and  in  all  usurp- 
ing in  such  acts  powers  forbidden  to  congress  ;  it  was  very  prop- 
erly resolved  that  such  conduct  libelled  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 


'  ? 


.««MMaibi 


190 


Ti'TTLIc's  IflSTOItV  or  Kaksas. 


pendcncc,  violated  tlie  Bill  of  Rights,  and  brought  disgrace  on 
republican  institutions.  The  report  further  resolved  that  no  alle- 
giance was  due  to  the  so-called  legislature;  that  their  laws  had  no 
validity,  and  that  every  man  was  entitled  to  resist  them  if  ho 
thought  proper.  The  conduct  of  the  judicial  bench  in  becoming 
partizan,  and  carrying  the  ermine  of  the  court  into  contests,  incon- 
sistent with  the  high  function  and  impartiality  incident  to  the  po- 
sition of  a  judge,  was  denounced  with  manly  vigor,  and  it  was 
resolved  that  inasmuch  as  the  judiciary  had,  by  extra  judicial 
utterances,  prejudged  every  case  that  could  come  before  them,  as 
between  the  people  and  the  "outlaws"  called  a  legislature,  the 
people  should  resist  by  legal  means,  every  attempt  to  carry  the 
unjust  laws  into  practice,  and  upon  decisions  being  given  against 
them  by  the  territorial  judges,  should  carry  every  such  case  by 
appeal  to  the  higher  courts,  where  dispassionate  law  and  justice 
•would  govern  the  final  utterance  of  authority.  The  report  further 
resolved  that  the  laws  .should  be  resisted  peacefully  only  so  long 
as  the  best  interests  of  the  territory  seemed  to  demand  such  a  con- 
cession, and  as  long  as  there  seemed  to  be  a  hope  of  such  means 
sufficing  to  procure  relief ;  but  that  upon  the  failure  of  peaceful 
weapons,  force  should  be  used,  and  to  that  end  men  should  form 
volunteer  companies,  procure  arms,  and  accustom  themselves  to 
discipline,  that  they  might  be  ready  for  any  emergency.  They 
would  not  allow  themselves  to  be  deprived  of  the  elective  franchise, 
and  therefore  they  repudiated  especially  the  so-called  election  law 
for  the  appointment  of  a  congressional  delegate,  and  concluded  to 
appoint  their  own  day  for  consummating  the  election  of  a  delegate. 
The  very  able  and  comprehensive  report  thus  summariiied  was 
eventually  adopted  without  amendment. 

The  committee  on  the  congressional  delegation  reported  that 
the  time  named  for  holding  the  election  of  a  delegate  should  be 
changed  from  the  date  fixed  by  the  so-called  legislature,  to  Octo- 
ber 9th ;  that  the  rules  prescribed  for  the  March  election  should 
govern  this  procedure,  except  that  the  returns  should  be  made  to 
the  territorial  executive  committee.  "This  recommendation  was 
embodied  in  the  proclamation  issued  in  the  name  of  the  people 
for  the  October  election.  Probably  few  or  none  supposed  that 
the  delegate  thus  to  be  chosen  would  be  recognized  by  congress, 


HWMMiWi*MMHIai«l*Ml>H*>>r. 


^iliMijWinillimw 


'/■/■.7.7.7  nil! 1. 1 L  llisroii r, 


191 


iijflit  tlisLrracc  on 
vcd  that  no  allc- 
tlicir  law.  had  no 
csist  tlicm  if  ho 
lu'h  in  btooming 
n  contests,  incon- 
icidcnt  to  the  po- 
•igor,  and  it  was 
)y  extra  judicial 
L!  before  them,  as 
I  legislature,  the 
npt  to  carry  the 
ing  given  against 
ry  such  case  by 
law  and  justice 
'he  report  further 
Lilly  only  so  long 
nand  such  a  con- 
e  of  such  means 
lure  of  peaceful 
nen  should  form 
Ti  themselves  to 
lergency.  They 
elective  franchise, 
lied  election  law 
md  concluded  to 
;ion  of  a  delegate, 
summariised  was 

ion  reported  that 
legate  should  be 
islature,  to  Octo- 
1  election  should 
ould  be  made  to 
mmendation  was 
e  of  the  people 
e  supposed  that 
zed  by  congress, 


but  it  would  emphasize  the  statement  already  made,  that  the  peo- 
ple had  no  share  in  el'ctions  conducted  by  the  Shawnee  fraud. 
It  was  expedient  to  \\nV.  t'.;eir  election  at  a  time  when  it  might 
n(jt  be  convenient  for  ilissouri  to  send  over  armed  mobs  to  inter- 
meddle, and  there  was  also  a  principle  involved  in  refusing  to 
recognize  and  act  upon  the  fraudulent  enactments  of  the  legisla- 
ture. 

The  committee  on  miscellaneous  business  afTorded  an  oppor. 
tunity  to  the  convention  to  express  an  opmion  on  Mr.  lleeder's 
conduct  as  governor,  by  recommending  his  nomination  as  delegate 
to  congress.  The  committee  eulogized  the  late  governor's  con- 
duct in  ofTiee  in  the  very  highest  terms,  defending  him  with 
logical  acumen  and  unanswerable  force  against  the  accusations  of 
his  enemies ;  and  the  nomination  was  carried  in  a  furore  of  en- 
thusiasm. Many  of  the  addresses  made  during  the  session  were 
masterly  efforts.  At  one  time  the  difficulties  which  were  inter- 
posed seemed  overwhelming  against  the  pos.sibility  of  men  .so 
wide  apart  in  general  politics  being  able  to  discover  common 
ground  of  union  ;  but,  at  a  critical  moment,  a  speech  full  of  feel- 
ing, which  was  made  by  Judge  Smith,  carried  all  hearts  by  storm, 
and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  the  heads  soon  came  to  an  agreement 
after  that  had  been  accomplished.  When  Mr.  Keeder  had  been 
infoi-med  of  his  nomination  as  a  delegate,  subject  of  course  to  the 
vote  of  the  people  in  October,  he  made  a  very  admirable  address, 
which  showed  that  he  combined  within  him  the  powers  of  the 
orator  as  well  at  "^he  tact  and  prevision  of  a  statesman.  He  saw, 
as  all  good  men  had  long  seen,  that  rashness  must  be  avoided  in 
the  interests  of  the  union,  and  he  enforced  that  idea  very  effect- 
ively. He  did  not  think  that  the  soubh  generally  indorsed  the 
action  of  Missouri  in  Kansas ;  he  hoped  that  the  other  part  of  the 
pro-slavery  organization  would  rebuke  the  wrongs  which  had 
been  perpetrated;  but  failing  the  corrective  force  of  public  opin- 
ion in  that  way,  should  moral  force  be  unavailing,  and  the  tribu- 
nals of  the  country  afford  no  relief,  then  it  must  become  a  solemn 
duty  to  defend  our  rights  by  force;  and  the  governor  con*  luded 
with  a  few  inspiring  lines  from  Fitz  Greene  Halleck's  Bozzaris, 
which  roused  his  hearers  to  a  perfect  frenzy.  The  scene  when 
Mr.  Reeder  concluded  with  the  words. 


199 


TUTTUfs  lIlsrOKY  OF  KAy^A>i. 


"  Strike  for  your  altftrs  aiul  yoiir  llrLS. 

Strikp  fur  tliu  uricii  graves  of  ji)ur  Bires, 

God  and  your  nulivc  land," 
positively  l)o-ars  description.      CouUl   the  Missourian   faction 
have  seen  the  spirit  of  that  assembly  then,  when  the  ult.njalo 
possibility  was  brou-ht  viviiUy  before  their  mental  visi  -n,  tl.cy 
mnst  have  pcreeived  that  sueh  men  could  not  be  trampled  on 
xvith  in.punity.     They  had  in  them  the  indomitable  eon  rage  of 
their  forefathers,  and  the  weapons  laid  aside  at  Saratoga  could  bo 
replaced  by  others  more  elTective  whenever  the  moment  of  dread 
Jcessity  should  arise.     That  speech  capped  the  climax  winch 
had  been  reached  by  Judge  Smith,  and  the  once  heterogeneoua 
mass  had  been  fused  into  igneous  rock.     A  cojiy  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  session  was  ordered  to  be  made  for  Governor  Shannon, 
and  a  delegation  of  three  was  appointed  to  wait  upon  that  gentle- 
man as  soon  as  convenient.     So  ended  a  momentous  gathering 
or  rather,  so  commenced  a  gathering  together  which  was  to  last 

for  many  vears.  '  i   -      i,     i  q+i,    f 

The  delegate  convention  at  Topeka  was  called  for  the  19th  ot 
September,  and  the  men  were  there  on  time,  ready  to  initiate  the 
preliminary  steps  for  framing  a  constitution  and  applying  to  be 
admitted  to  the  union  as  a  free  state.     The  session  lasted  two 
days.     The  Big  Springs  spirit  was  at  work  leavening  the  whole 
lump,  and  many  men  who  had  never  approached  the  liberal  ele- 
ment before  were  present  throughout  the  proceedings,  and  from 
that  time,  were  identified  with  the  movements  of  the  free  state 
party     The  first  day  was  spent  in  making  ready,  but  ail  the 
or^^ani/ation  was  completed  before  the  convention  rose,  and  the 
^v^y  was  cleared  for  more  stirring  business  on  the  morrow.     1  he 
morning  of  the  second  day  saw  a  committee  of  eighteen  at  work 
prci>arincr  an  address  which  would  challenge  the  attention  of  the 
Ihole  union  to  a  simple  and  vigorous  statement  of  the  wrongs 
endured,  so  far,  with  exemplary  patience  by  Kansas.     Among 
manv  other  noteworthy  things  said  and  done  by  the  Topeka  con- 
vention, the  most  important  were  embodied  in  three  reso  utions, 
which,  after  reciting  the  more  prominent  events  that  made  such 
action  a  necessitv,  announced  the  preliminary  steps  which  were 
to  be  taken  to  make  the  constitution  a  reflex  of  tlie  public  opin- 


urian  faction 
the  ultimalo 
1  visi  -11,  tlicy 
trampled  on 
lie  courage  of 
toga  could  bo 
neut  of  dread 
.•liinax  wliieh 
heterogeneous 
E  the  procecd- 
rnor  Shannon, 
)n  that  gentle- 
His  gathering, 
jh  was  to  last 

or  the  19th  of 
to  initiate  the 
pplying  to  be 
ion  lasted  two 
ling  the  whole 
the  liberal  ele- 
ings,  and  from 
the  free  state 
y,  but  all  the 
I  rose,  and  the 
morrow.     The 
o-hteen  at  work 
ttention  of  the 
;  of  the  wrongs 
msas.     Among 
le  Topelca  con- 
ree  resolutions, 
hat  made  such 
3ps  which  were 
;he  public  opin- 


TKJtiiiTQiiiAL  UrsTonr. 


193 


ion  of  the  territory.     The  delegates,  speaking  in  their  becoming 
dignity  as  representatives  of  the  people  of  Kan.sas,  resolved,  that 
the  election  to  bo  held  for  delegates  to  form  a  constitution,  adopt 
a  bill  of  rights,  and  do  all  other  things  necessary  in  that  relation 
preparatory  to  organizing  a  state  government,  and  asking  for  ad- 
mission to"  the  union,  should  be  held  in  every  precinct  on  the 
second  Tuesday  in  October,  and  that  the  convention  so  to  be  chosen 
should  assemble  at  Topcka  on  the  fourth  Tuesday  of  the  same 
month,  at  noon,  to  proceed  with  their  onerous  duties.     The  com- 
mittee resolved  further,  that  a  committee  of  seven,  to  be  named 
«'  The  Executive  Committee  of  Kansas  Territory,"  should  be  nom- 
inated by  the  president  of  the  convention  ;   and  the  appointments 
were  made  immediately  to  superintend  the  affairs  of  the  territory 
so  far  as  was  necessary  for  the  organization  of  the  state  govern- 
ment.    Another  step  had  been  taken,  and  a  duly  authorized  ex- 
ecutive, composed  of  able  men,  stood  charged  with  the  details  of 
the  general  issue  which  had  been  and  which  still  must  be  deter- 
mined by  the  popular  voice.     Col.  Lane  was  chosen  chairman  of 
the  executive,  Mr.  J.  K.  Goodin  was  secretary,  and  the  other 
members  were  M.  J.  Parrott,  P.  C.   Schuyler,  C.  K.  llolliday, 
Judge  Smith  and  G.  W.  Brown ;  the  mere  mention  of  whose 
names  in  conjunction  sufTices  to  show  how  great  a  revolution  had 
taken  place  already.     The  people,  by  their  representatives,  issued 
a  proclamation,  which  has  already  been  mentioned  in  connection 
with  the  convention  at  Big  Springs,  appointing  the  second  Tues- 
day in  October  for  the  election  of  a  delegate  to  congress ;  but  the 
details  of  that  proceeding  were  left  to  be  determined  by  the  ex- 
ecutive committee  appointed  at  Topeka.     The  proclamation  call- 
ing for  the  election  of  delegates  to  the  convention  on  the  same 
day  followed  immediately,  the  regulations  to  be  ob-served  were 
prescribed,  the  qualifications  of  electors,   and  the  oaths  to  be 
taken  by  the  judges  of  election  had  been  prescribed  in  the  first 
proclamation,  and  in  the  absence  of  any  duly  organized  govern- 
ment, the  people  were  approaching  that  desideratum  by  the  best 
means  at  their  disposal.     In  every  circle  the  prospects  of  the 
movement,  the  manly  resolution  of  the  people,  the  exigencies  of 
the  time,  came  uppermost,  and  even  in  churches  it  was  neither 
(possible  nor  desirable  to  banish  the  topic  of  the  hour.     Every 


J 


.J 


^1 


tijiMiiiMiitffti'ir^"'!*'- 


i»ia**Wwiftj*»Muto>H»(«sJ*»«s;*i**r*^  i»tW*!'*--l^*«i-^^i**«*^'' 


10^  Tl'TTf.E's  JfisTonr  OF  A'.i.v.sM.''-. 

,i,.,o  <-..nlor  cn„ve„c,,  to  talk  *o  n,»l.nr  o«r  ;Yf;;;:,.J:;':X 
relocate,,  iu,.  1,o„,0  fron,  0,0  ""vontu,n,tou  .,".-- 
ionl  lo  a.Wrcs  tlicir  cn„slil«olit»  <■«  >"•>■■■■'•  »''•"  '" 

rei„,.«...tativc ;  a„d  every  -ach  gatl.ermg  .^»     i        ;,  L";  „:„ 
,„  make  »me  vcmotc  l-omt  or  »ocl,o„  ot  .l,e  l.o.ly  r»  '»°  " 

their  inmost  aspirations  took  the  san.o  diroetion,  for  it  is  even 

Pope  Wil  CS  .  ^^  J,y^^ycr  is  the  soul's  sincere  desire, 

Uttered  or  unexiircsscd, 
*'      The  motion  of  a  liidden  fire, 
Tliiit  trembles  in  the  breast." 

•  .a  r.i  <5ilpnt  thou^'ht"  were  full  of  prayer 
"T"hp  sweet  sessions  oi  siieni  uiuu^m- 
everv  L  and  .hen  men  rose  to  speak  they  drifted  back  insen- 
B^v  to  tl  e  fine  phrases  and  glorious  passages  in  the  old  Iltb  cw 
Ws  lich  described  a  people  fighting  against  barbarians,  and 
tht  .kcd  tith  unction,  as  a  question  of  their  own  time,  as  cer- 
tainlv  as  that  it  belonged  to  Israel : 

'.Why  do  the  hcuthen  rage,  and  the  wieked  imagine  a  vain  thing- 

Thcv  were  approaching  that  frame  of  mind  in  which  heroism 
ihcy  weie  -u  i  o  ^^^^  ^^^.,    g^pcnenoes 

unknown  to  common  1^^^'  ^^^ ^^^^^^  ^.^e  considerations  of 
of  -nl-^-  f -;  7,  Zo^^e  to  imagine  Curtius  leap- 

''::::^^::t^^^^^'^^  --^^-^^  when  AmoM  von 
;*;?;  -red  ^an  be'understood  grasping  that  sheaf  of  Austrian 
Winktlneti  can  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^j,. 

;rrrr;^;r«":v:'*e ...  p..o,.„.e. ... 


itH  bonrinjriJ. 
uorc  eonvoii- 

rehcarsc  foi' 
pwrsurd  ns  a 
rus  of  ncrvc:^ 

politic  more 
0  of  the  men 
ittor  of  prayer 
itnily,  the  vol- 
ually  inclined 
ICC,  founil  that 
r  it  is  even  ua 


full  of  prayer 
;ctl  back  insen- 
;hc  old  Hebrew 
barbarians,  and 
vn  time,  as  cer- 

vain  thing?" 

which  heroism, 
ally  experiences 
onsiderations  o! 
ine  Cartius  leap- 
■hen  Arnold  von 
leaf  of  Austrian 
;ast,  that  the  ser- 
broken,  and  that 
rise  into  the  pro- 
oman  that  came 
province,  to  sac- 
5e,  knew  that  her 
•edominated  over 


Ti:i!i!iTi>itiM.  IIisTony. 


196 


the  individual,  as,  thank   God,  it  often  will    do  in  nin-n;.niinou3 
souls.     Just  so  was  it,  when  the  serf  and  shepherd  girl  of  Doin- 
ermy,  Joan  of  Arc,  her  soul  allainc  with  the  wrongs  of  her  pros- 
trato  country,  could  penetrate  the  minds  of  the  downtrodden  pco- 
pic  with  a  liolief  that  God  cared  for  tiicni,  and  that  their  condi- 
tion therefore  was  not  without  hope.     In   the  mere  act  of  their 
turning  to  fight  under  that  idea,  there  waa  salvation  f.)r  France; 
the  troops  of  England  were  not  enthusiastic  for  conquest ;    they 
cared  infinitely  more  for  the  island  they  had  left  than  for  all  the 
territory  they^  had  conquered  by  their  prowess.     Victory  meant 
routine,  not  e (Tort ;  tht;  muscles  of  mind  and  body  had  grown 
flaccid  from  comparative  disuse,  and  when  their  supremacy  waa 
questioned,  it  was  gone.     The  ideal,  and  not  the  mere  material, 
is  the  invincible  force  with  mankind.     "Give  me,"  "said  Archi- 
m^des,  "a  fulcrum  for  my  lever,  and  I  will  lift  the  world."     The 
ideal  in  man  is  both  fulcrum  and  lever,  and  the  world  answers  its 
impulse  every  day.     It  was  not  only  the  failure  of  the  mitrail- 
leuse that  prostrated  France,  nor  the  terrible  weapons  of  the  Ger- 
man force,  but  the  awful  demoralization  of  the  French  soldiery. 
What  were  the  weapons  of  the  half-starved  populace  that  cap- 
tured the  Bastile,  defended  by  De  Lannay  and  his  troops?     Yet 
the  people  razed  that  fortress  to  the  ground  ;  and  the  same  frenzy 
of  patriotism,  which  would  not  be  repulsed,  rolled  back  the  tide 
of  invasion  from  the  soil  of  France  when  all  Europe  had  com- 
bined against  the  nation.     The  ideal  is  the  ruling  power  in  the 
mind  of  the  artist,  the  statesman,  the  soldier,  and  the  church  haa 
its  ffrand  mission  in  every  age  to  lift  the  aspirations  of  the   race 
to  the  highest  pinnacle.     The  church  was  true  to  its  work  in 
Kansas,  during  the  terrible  ordeal  through  which   the  territory 
was  passing,  and  from  every  pulpit  there  rose  up  before  God  the 
sweet  savor  of  earnestness  and  zeal  for  a  cause  that  deserved 
success.   Sermons  mounted  to  the  highest  plane  of  heroic  thought 
without  an  effort;  men  put  aside  their  laboriously  prepared  manu- 
script and  extemporized  undreamed-of  discourses  which  answered 
the  magnetic  thought  in  a  thousand  hearts  at  once.     The  very  air 
seemed  full  of  the  theme  which  compelled  utterance.  The  preacher 
became  a  priest  and  soldier  of  the  Most  High  God,  and  there  wag 
prophecy  in  the  molten  words  which  came  from  him,  as  though 


! 


■II 


19Q  Ti  ttlk's  IlisTour  of  Kassas. 

ho,  alsc,  had  bocii   tuM,  "  I'ako  i..,  liccl  of  wluil  30  shall  a'vy.' 
A  iK.o,,lo  .so  iini.miU'd  couM  not  bo  con-iuercil     Thoy  liugi.t  be 
BJuor.a  and  oi-prcssea  for  a  ti.m.,  as  vv.r.  the  Covenantor,  u. 
Prcsbytorian  Scotland;  as  wcro  the  rurilans,  thou-  ncKhbors,  m 
Kn.Himd;  but  Nasoby  and  Marsloii  Moor  answond  ovory  iloubt 
ns  t";.  tho  victory  vvh.ol.  niust  oon.u  to  tho  right  sido  undor  propor 
direction.     Kor  a  tinio,  there  seemed  to  be  no  other  subject  worthy 
of  thouglit  in  Kansas  save  deliverance  from  oppression,  and  every 
nerve  was  being  prepared  for  the  final  issue  -  "  the  iron  had  entered 
into  their  .souls."     There  arose  a  reas.mable  hope  among   many 
tliat  congress  would  be  nu)ved  by  the  spectacle  now  o  Icrcd,  by 
nion  of  every  party  united   in  one  phalan.x,  again.st  M.ssour.au 
domination,  ai>d  that  the  tyrannously   impo.sc.l   Icgi.s  aturo    tlio 
fruit  of  cotispiraoy  and  violence,  which  had   assembled  at  bhaw- 
nee  defying  law  and  justice,  would  be  repudiated  by  the  larger 
representative  body.     Unhappily,  congress  was,  as  it  too  often  is 
lull  of  the  machinations  of  persons  and  coteries,  and  the  voice  of 
the  suffering  people  could  not  be  heard.     The  forces  o    log.sla- 
tion  and  administration  alike  failed.     The  settlers  were  driven  in 
upon  themselves.     Stephen  A.  Douglas  missed  the  best  oppoi^u- 
ni-  V  of  a  hidierto  successful  life  ^vhen  he  failed  to  i>erce.vo  that 
Ids  place  was  on  the  side  of  the  settlers  in   Kansas      llis  influ- 
ence  in  congress  would  have  compelled  justice  and  sanctioned 
moderation,  but  he  drifted  with  the  worst  current  of  the  p.-o- 
sluvery  party  until  the  proper  hour  had  passed,  and,  when  the 
time  came  for  his  eyes  to  be  opened,  he  could  only  look  back  to 
the  point  where  victory   might  have  been  his  for  the  asking. 
That  union  of  Whigs  and  Democrats  was  understood  by  hiin  too 
late     lie  struggled  to  recover  the  ground  once  lost,  but   iime 
has  a  forelock  only,  and  his  effort  lost  him  the  unanimity  of  the 
pro-slavery  organization,  after  the  purer  and  better  spirit  of  Lin- 
coln had  already  won  upon  the  sympathies  of  more  liberal  minds. 
DouMas  could  have  concentrated  for  his  support  the  whole  of  the 
democracy -north,  east  and  west,  and  the  best  elements  of  the 
south,  which  would  have  left  the  residue  too  weak  for  a  schism  - 
but  he  allowed  himself  to  be  attracted  by  the  worst  section  of  his 
party  iust  when  his  ambition  was  ready  for  its  final  spring  and 
he  fell  back  humbled  and  dying,  because  he  had  omitted  the  duty 


111' 


«MtaMMa#tiMsMMlMs 


ctiwiiiiiinKnfjmiiriairirii 


THitumntiM.  Ifismi; y. 


I'.ti 


all  all  sny.' 
ly  uiiglit  be 
ciiuiilL'irt  in 
iCM^liUors,  ill 
jvury  iloubt 
imlur  ))roi)or 
jjecl  worthy 
11,  iiiul  every 
I  hail  ciiltM'ci.1 
luong   nmiiy 
V  ollurcd,  by 
,  Missouriiiu 
fislaturo,  the 
ed  lit  Sluiw- 
y  the  larger 
too  olten  is, 
.  the  voiec  of 
us  of  legisla- 
ore  driven  in 
best  opportu- 
perceive  that 
i.     His  influ- 
id  sanetiuned 
t  of  the  pro- 
ud, when   the 
look  buck  to 
r  the  asking, 
id  by  hiin  too 
ost,  but  Time 
miniity  of  the 
'  spirit  of  Lin- 
liberal  minds, 
e  whole  of  the 
lements  of  the 
'or  a  schism  — 
t  section  of  his 
al  sjjring,  and 
aitted  the  duty 


to  be  proHfipnt  and  just.  Linonln,  in  liis  home  in  Springtield,  had 
bo(Mi  contiMit  to  he  just  and  honest  in  tlie  aims  of  his  life,  and 
the  triumph  which  had  been  denied  to  policy,  and  the  undoubted 
talents  of  the  "  f-ittle  (liant,"  were  laid  at  the  feet  of  the  L'rcatcr 
man.  T-ineoln,  standing  in  the  place  of  Doni^das,  woiiM  have  won 
the  acclamation  of  the  union  by  recognizing  the  right  of  the  peo- 
])lc  to  be  governed  by  republican  institutions  and  by  men  of  their 
own  choosing,  and,  under  the  influence  of  such  as  he,  eongl'cs^ 
would  have  allowed  s<|uatter  .sovereignty  to  deal  with  its  own 
problem,  uiitrammeled  by  the  action  of  Missourian  mobs;  but 
the  surroundings  of  Douglas  would  not  permit  him  to  perceive 
where  justice  lay  until  the  die  was  cast.  The  petitions  to  con- 
gress fell  unheeded  upon  the  table.  The  voices  which  would 
have  championed  their  cause  were  clamored  down  or  unheeded, 
and  the  final  ifsiio  w.as  once  more  relegated  to  the  soil  of  Kansas, 
to  find  its  solution  in  blood. 

On  the  first  day  of  October  Gen.  Whitricld.  the  only  candidate 
for  the  oHico  of  delegate  to  congress,  under  the  proclamation 
issued  by  Gov.  Shannon,  pursuant  to  the  regulations  made  by 
the  Shawnee  assembly,  was  declared  to  be  chosen.  Nearly  two- 
thirds  of  all  the  votes  cast  for  him  came  from  Mis.souri,  but  there 
were  only  about  three  thousand  ballot  papers  handed  in,  so  much 
had  the  price  to  be  paid  for  voting  moderated  the  zeal  of  the 
pro-slavery  party.  Of  course  there  was  not  much  necessity  for  a 
large  vote,  where  only  one  candidate  was  before  the  public,  but 
prudential  considerations  had  not  been  allowed  to  weigh  with 
them  in  the  former  elections,  when  they  had  brought  nearly 
five  thousand  men  to  outvote  less  than  half  that  number,  even 
assuming  that  there  was  not  one  man  in  the  territory  to  cast  a 
ballot  in  the  pro-slavery  interest.  Beyond  all  doubt  the  tax  of  one 
dollar,  which  the  sheriff  stood  ready  to  receive  in  every  precinct, 
before  a  non-resident  could  be  polled,  was  a  powerful  sedative 
among  men  who  valued  their  possessions  in  proportion  to  the 
quantity  of  whisky  for  which  they  were  the  equivalent,  and  who 
objected  on  principle  to  inorea.se  the  funds  from  which  their 
friends,  recently  assembled  at  Shawnee,  could  plunder.  The 
free  state  party  held  their  election  on  the  second  Tuesday  in 
October  for  the  same  ofTice,  and  Gov.  Reeder  received  their  sup- 


ipg  TllTl.L-'s  IllSIOltY  or  /\'.I.V5.I.V. 

,.ort  unaui,.u>..sly,  .n-v  tl>an  two  thou.uul  eight  ^-^^^^^^^ 
Ling  cast,  uliLough    in   ,nany  juvcinctH   thr  .lo.MU.aut  f.v.  Uo. 
a      'bl.l    .l.oir  force,  an.l  wouM  not  allow  a  voto  to  ho  poll.! 
T  wore  thuH  two  .VlogatoH  ..ho.on  to  .ill  one  vacancy,  an. 

i     ;  C  nal.l«  to  avoia  tlu>  M>.-i''n  alto.H,her,  .n  the  pre^^^^ 

:    nvo  Jauaiaat..,  wh.re  there  was  only  one  s.-at  to  bo  occ    -  ^ 
eonelnaea  to  reject  l.o,l^l.nt  to  pay  tennleaKcocM- 

rejeotca  aelegate.     Thoy  <-onia  not  help  s..n.,  U       NU     U    U r 
1„  a  pollea  a  very  hn-e  nnjority  ot  the  whole  of  tl>e  icsulens 
K.n  "  but  they  knew  also  that  the  eleetio,.  lu.l  not  been  hehl 
:"   t;  '  :e.raanee  wit!,  the  provisions  of  the  or.an.e  aet  unae    a 
;.llan.ationfro„.thegovcrno.-.    '''l'- -••""^>"'  f '=f '^^^^    ; 
Lia   haa  receive<l  a  n.ajority  ot  all  the  voles  polled  on    he  1    st 
a  y<>        t  ir/bnt  the  ivulenee  before  then.  wa«  u.Hiuest.onable, 
S  nearly  all  his  supporters  were  non-rciaents  who  haa  . H  - 
flea  in  u  way  repugnant  to  the  eonst.tutu.n,  u.uler  a    aw  .1 
viohitca  the  organic  act,  ana  which  Inul  been  passea  by  a  Ug.s 
Lilt:  ilnbl^he  result  of  fraua  ana  riot       .^.snj^^^ 

conclusion  testiluul  the  weakness  of  congress  toi  it  th*^  g^ncru 
r!u,t  the  aelegate.  the  Shawnee  assembly  1>^^^  --J^^  ^^ 
legislature,  an.l  the  work  of  inaugurating  representative  mst  tu 
t  ons  in  Kansas  luul  yet  to  be  begun,  uiuler  the  guaranty  of  tlio 
w  le  u  'on  for  the  maintenan-e  of  repuhlicanisn,  in  essence 
Is  w  11  s  in  form.  The  recognition  of  Mr.  Ueeaer,  who  eaine 
::  Ihem  as  a  delegate  not  certi.iea  ^^y^^-  , Shannon  was  n 
eviaenee  that  they  knew  he  repre.<entea  public  ^'l'-  "  J  - 
territory,  yet  they  haa  not  the  courage  to  give  elleet  to  their 

"mtZ  saia  that  the  Missourians  objeetea  to  be  taxed  .hen 
tl,e  proceeas  of  the  oi-eration  woukl  i.uu-ease  the  chance  of 
p  una  by  the  Shawnee  assembly.  That  boay  was  no  longer  in 
r  "on  but  before  their  aajournment  they  haa  votea  numerous 
ll"  rprivileges  ana  offices  to  each  other,  contrary  to  the  organic 
a  r  la  theii  unofUcial  eomraaeson  the  border  had  be.ome  sadly 
con V  sunt  with  the  fact,  that  there  is  not  always  "  honor  among 
thieve."  There  was.  indeed,  the  beginning  of  a  veiy  pr  t  y 
Ji^l  in  the  ranks  of  the  faction,  and  it  was  mtensilied  shortly 
^^^.^n  the  several  towns  began  to  divide  the  .,oUa  o,.aa.    Leaven  - 


Tt:uiiW>i!i  II.  Ili-imiiY. 


V.)0 


.iiitlroil  votes 
iiaiit  fivc'lioii 
:,()  he  polled, 
lu'iiiicy,  mill 
till)  presoiico 
bo  oocupiod, 
:   ^'^M•.]\  of  tlu! 

il  Mr.  UiihKt 
(!  rosiiUiiits  in 
lot  1)0011  lieM 
ic  aot  uiuU'r  a 
iKli}!!.  Whit- 
a  on  tlio  lir.st 
Kpio.slioimblo, 
■ho  hiul  tpiali- 
r  a  law  whioU 
cd  by  a  U'jj;is- 
s  inconclu.sivo 
it   tho  goneral 
never  boon  iho 
ilative  iiistitu- 
uaranty  of  llio 
iin,   in  essonco 
ilor,  who  came 
iiuKni,  was  an 
;)pinion  in  the 
olloot  to  their 

be  taxed  when 
tlie  chance  of 
as  no  longer  in 
otod  numerous 
f  to  the  organic 
d  become  sadly 
"  honor  among 
a  very  pretty 
unsified  shortly 
piniu.    Leaven- 


worth was  r'Mtitlcd  to  be  tho  .Ho:it  of   jusli.-e  for  Leavenworth 
county,  but  In  tli^-'  ha.^te  with  which  the  Shawnee  men  had  rushed 
cvoryihitig  through  during  tho  forty  days  for  wliieli  alone  they 
could  draw  pay,  however  loflg  the  Hossion  might  continue,  they 
had  .mi.llCKl  to  sptx'ify-  Leavenworth  as  tho  county  seat  ;  an.l  in 
nuui)  other  .  ountics  there  had   been  similar  onii.ssions,  .so  that  a 
popular  vote  ha-l  to  ho  enat  to  determine  upon  locations.     Tliero 
wore  three  towns  ambitious  of  tho  distinction  in   tho  county  of 
Loavonw.rtli,  and  they  spared  no  cfT-rt  in  their  .several  ways  to 
Beeviro  tlie  prize.     The  town  and  fort  of  Leavenworth,  had  a  largo 
,u-..i.ortioii  of  pro-slavcry  men  in  its  poi>ulation,  but  tho  majority 
was  composed  of  frco  state  emigrants,  wh.)  were  niilliiiod  every 
balloting   day  bv  irruptions  from   beyond   the    .NLssouri    river. 
Tims  Leavenworth  was  not  a  (Mty  of  refuge  upon  which  tho  pro- 
slavery  could  depend  unless  they  came  in  force  tr.  .settle  every 
question.     Kickapoo,  which   to  this  day  is  but  a  village  of  less 
than  two  thousand  souls,  had   then  tho  merit  of  being  strong  on 
tho  pro-.slavory  side,  and  there  were  no  emigrants  there  to  exer- 
cise the  ingenuity  and  waU^htubuMs  of  the  Missourians.      It  was, 
moreover,  only  ten  miles  above  Leavenworth  on  the  Missouri,  so 
that  it  (H)uUl  be  easily  reached  by  non-resident  voters,  whenever 
it  might  bo  neces.sary  to  pay  a  tax  for  the  prvilcgo  of  doe.dmg  an 
election  there.     This  was  a  consideration  of  some  weiglit.     Del- 
aware  stood  in  the  same  category  of  Kickapoo,  and  it  was  eight 
miles  below  Leavenworth,  just  as  easy  of  access  as  Kickapoo  or 
Leavenworth  to  unlawful  help.     The  claims  of  the  three  towns 
were  submitted  tc  the  ballot  box,  and  Delaware  i)olled  a  consider- 
able majority  over  Leavenworth,  besides  distancing  Kickapoo  by 
nearly  fiftv  votes.     Leavenworth  was  humiliated  and  in.hgnant 
at  being  foiled  by  its  own  weapons.    Like  Cinsar  folding  his  robe 
about  him,  when  he  saw  his  own  natural  son  among  Ins  assail- 
ants, Leavenworth  also  said  el  tu  Brute,  but  tho  city  did  not  die 
with  dicaiity  like  the  Roman  Impcrator,  leaving  some  interested 
Mark  Antony  to  make  a  moan  over  "  the  rent  the  envious  Casca 
made  "   Leavenworth  lived  and  protested,  much  to  tho  enlighten- 
ment  of  outsiders,  who  could  scarcely  forbear  saying,  "  physician 
help  thyself."     Leavenworth  had  given  the  juvenile  frauds  their 
first  lessons  in  Kansas  oppression  and  now  it  was  destroyed  by 


i^^img^^ 


^*m^  rtitmrfitr^-*'^-'^ 


200 


Tuttlk's  IIistohy  of  Kansas. 


its  own  pupils.     The  city  could  poll  about  six  liumlrcd  votes 
without  foreign  aid  ;  Kickapoo  had  one  hundred  and  fifty  resi- 
dents within  its  area,  and  Delaware  bad  only  fifty,  but  activity 
and  perseverance  will  go  further  than  right  sometimes,  so  while 
Leavenworth  rested  at  borne  secure  in  its  domestic  strength,  tlio 
small  competitors   ordered   as  much  assistance  as  was  t!  ought 
necessary  from   foreign  consignors.     When  the  polls  closed  on 
election   day,  Leavenworth  was   nearly  three   hundred   behind 
Kickapoo,  as  that  town  had  imported  seven  hundred  voters  to 
assist  the  resident  force.     Dela  vare  had  the  mortilication  to  dis- 
cover that  her  exertions  had  not  been  equal  to  the  emergency,  but 
she  had  not  yet  fired  her  last  shot,  and  the  ballot  was  ivei)t  open 
two  days  beyond  the  original  limit  to  permit  of  further  consign- 
ments of  fraud  determining  the  issue.     Thus  Deleware  came  out 
ahead  about  fifty,  having    polled  nearly   nine  hundred   in  all. 
Had  the  other  competing  towns  been  occupied  by  free  state  men 
only,   the  result  would  have  been  good  enough,  but  although 
"  birds  in  their  little  nests  agree,"  pro-slavery  men  did  not.  ^  The 
Kickapoo  claimants  carried  the  question  into  a  court,  where  it  was 
not  necessary  for  litigants  to  appear  with  clean  hands,  and  the 
three  days  polling  proved  fatal  to  Delaware ;  but  Leaveworth  had 
no  redress,  and  no  consolation,  except  in  the  tearful  monodies  of 
an  indignant  press. 

The  weapons  which  were  meritorious  as  against  free  govern- 
ment in  the  territory  as  a  whole  were  diabolical,  when  Leaven- 
worth could  "  be  wounded  in  the  house  of  its  friends."     The 
papers  of  Kickapoo  opened  a  fusilade  against  the  larger  guns  in 
the  city  of  Leavenworth,  and  especially  reminded  the  editor  of 
the  Leavenworth  Ilemld  that  he  had  been  elected  to  the  legisla- 
tive assembly  convened  in  Pawnee  by  precisely  similar  means. 
There  was  much  necessity  for  special  pleading  under  the  circum- 
stances, and  it  was  amusing  to  observe  the  long  winded  columns 
of  drivel  which  were  devoted  to  distinguishing  between  tweedle- 
dum and  tweedledee.     It  was  grand  work  for  an  army  of  border 
ruffians  in  self  defense  to  impose  a  legislature  upon  abolitionists 
because  of  the  high  purpose  which  ruffianism  could  be  made  to 
vindicate,  but  it  was  pronounced  absurd  that  "  the  demagogues 
and  hucksters  "  of  "  Platte  City  and  Weston  "  should  be  allowed 


mammmss$mismiimismmmiem:- 


TKimiTORiAL  History. 


201 


1(1  red  votes 
lI  fifty  rcsi- 
ut  activity 
2S,  so  while 
;i'engtli,  tlio 
as  t!  onglit 
;  closed  on 
"cd  behind 
d  voters  to 
tion  to  dis- 
irgency,  but 
>  kept  open 
icr  consign- 
e  came  out 
I  red  in  all. 
e  state  men  , 
it  although 
I  not.  The 
,vhere  it  was 
ds,  and  the 
,'eworth  had 
monodies  of 

"ree  govern- 
len  Leaven - 
ends."  The 
i-ger  guns  in 
he  editor  of 
)  the  legisla- 
nilar  means. 
•  the  circum- 
ded  columns 
een  tweedle- 
ny  of  border 

abolitionists 
I  be  made  to 

demagogues 
\  be  allowed 


to  settle   the   location  of  a  county  seat.     Sir  Pckr    Tmdo  was 
amused  by  the  vices  of  Joseph  Surface  as  long  as  he  supposed 
there  was  only  "a  little  French  milliner"  behind  the  screen,  but 
when  the  article  of  furniture  had  been  removed,  there  was  a  much 
deeper  tone  in  his  voice  as  he  said,  "  Lady  Teazle  by  all  that  is 
damnable."     The  School  for  Scandal  was  being  played  on  a  new 
stage  in  Leavenworth  county.    But  Kickapoo  was  not  secure  even 
yet°in  her  victory ;  she  had  not  been  sufficiently  unlawful  to  de- 
serve success.  111  a  territory  where  the  legislature  disclaimed  the 
limitations  of  the  organic  act  under  which  it  came  into  existence, 
and  where  judges  could  give  extra  judicial  opinions  when  called 
upon  by  illegal  authorities;  so  Delaware,  with  her  three  days 
polling,  carried  away  the  golden  apple  for  which  the  three  claim- 
ants had  been  contending.     "Like  cures  like,"  is  the  maxim  of 
our  friends  of  the  globule  who  can  carry  the  medicine   for  a 
whole  city  in  a  pennyweight  parcel,  and  Leavenworth  found  a 
very  small  globule  of  her  own  pliysic  more  than  a  dose  for  her 
own  complaint.     The  system  would  have  cured  itself  in  time  if 
the  patient  did  not  die  while  the  contending  forces  were  being 
marshalled,  but  something  better  was  in  store  for  Kansas. 

The  free  state  party  was  coming  more  closely  into  communion, 
while  the  pro-slavery  organization  quarreled,  as  we  have  seen. 
Topcka  soon  welcomed  the  "  constitutional  convention,"  and  the 
men  composing  that  body  were  among  the  most  prominent  persons 
in  the  territory,  irrespective  of  the  old  distinctions.  There  was 
hardly  a  state  in  the  union  which  had  not  one  of  its  sons  in  that 
representative  body,  and  the  sects  came  very  near  being  all  re- 
flected in  some  one  or  more  of  the  members;  certainly  every 
political  party  icnown  to  the  union,  except  the  Missourian  faction 
of  the  pro-slav.  ry  organization,  could  find  a  voice  in  that  diverse, 
but  goodly  company,  which  had  met  to  shape  a  constitution 
tinder  which  Kansas  would  enter  the  union  as  a  free  state.  Men 
who  had  gradua.<^d  in  the  best  seats  of  learning  stood  shoulder 
to  shoulder  with  proletarians  who  could  do  little  more  than  write 
their  names.  Old  men  were  there  who  could  remember  the  vivid 
word  pictures  of  their  revolutionary  forefathers,  and  were  ready 
to  imitate  their  example.  Young  men  were  foremost  in  word  and 
act  as  they  are  apt  to  be,  but  they  were  sustained  by  the  deliber- 


t 


202 


Tittle's  HisTonr  of  Kaxsas. 


m 


ate  M'soliUiou  of  older  heads.     Kot  a  few  were  tlierc  because  tliey 
could  forecast  events,  and  being  sure  which  side  would  win,  wero 
ready  to  dare  all  odds  for  a  time,  tt)  make  a  sphere  in  which  their 
reasonable  ambition  might  be  gratified.     Many  had  cast  in  their 
lot  with  the  movement  because  they  hoped  to  find  some  "coign 
of  vantage  "  for  the  negro,  in  the  action  of  men,  the  major  part 
of  wlioin  would  have  been  rejoiced  could  the  race  be  banished  to 
the  remotest  regions  of  the  earth,     rrofessional  politicians  were 
there  also  in  force,  "with  a  heart  for  any  fate,"  except  being  left 
out  in  the  cold,  and  not  sufliciently  wedded  to  any  principle  to 
let  it  stand  between  themselves  and  the  sweets  of  office.     Every- 
body was  prepared  to  make  the  best  fight  possible,  for  the  cause 
which  had  been  taken  in  hand,  and  "  hojie  told  a  flattering  tale" 
to  many  of  a  victory  apparently  near  to  their  grasp,  which  would 
not  be  attained   until   years  of  conllict  had    passcil.     Fifty-two 
members  had  been  chosen,  and  forty  took  part  in  their  delibera- 
tions, which  were  described  in  the  lucubrations  of  correspondents 
of  the  press  all  over  the  union.     The  deliberations  of  the  con- 
vention were  opened  with  prayer,  and  there  was  a  semi-official 
organ  published  every  day  that  the  sitting  lasted.     Topeka  had 
long  entertained  the  idea  that  the  capital  of  Kansas  was  to  be 
located  on  the  spot  where  the  superb  magnesian  limestone  capitol 
now  stands,  and  with  the  approach  of  such  halcyon  days,  the  cit- 
izens smiled  more  graciously  than  ever  upon  the  cause  which  the 
residents  had  always  favored  on  principle ;  while  the  convention 
occupied  all  the  days,  the  evenings  were  mainly  devoted  to  a 
round  of  gayeties,  in  which  were  readily  found  the  company  best 
adapted  to  their  particular  tastes.     For  a  brief  season  it  seemed 
as  though  the  reverie  of  Longfellow  was  being  fulfilled,  and  that 
the  time  had  really  come,  when 

"  The  nights  shall  be  filled  with  music, 
Ami  the  cures  that  infest  the  day, 
Shall  told  their  tents  like  the  Arabs, 
And  as  noiselessly  steal  away." 

There  were  stirring  debates  on  every  point  among  the  dele- 
gates, but  in  the  desire  of  every  district  to  secure  as  many  of  the 
leading  democrats  as  possible,  that  party  had  a  majority  in  the 
convention,  and  upon  the  question  whether  •'  the  word  white  " 


aBsagawSHiWWwwwwa-. 


Tr.iiVirouiM.  Jfisronr. 


203 


)ecause  they 
d  win,  were 
which  their 
:;ast  in  their 
oine  "coign 
;  major  part 
banished  to 
itieians  were 
)t  being  left 
principle  to 
ice.     Every- 
[or  the  cause 
Ltering  talc" 
vhicli  would 
.     Fifty-two 
eir  delibera- 
rrespondents 
5  of  the  con- 
,  senii-ofiicial 
Topeka  had 
;as  was  to  be 
!stone  capitol 
days,  the  cit- 
.se  which  the 
e  convention 
devoted  to  a 
!oinpany  best 
;on  it  seemed 
led,  and  that 


)ng  the  dele- 

raany  of  the 

TJority  in  the 

word  white  " 


should     be    struck     out     from    iho    conslilulion,     there    were 
twenty-four    against     the    proposition,    and   only    seven    in    its 
favor.      Many,     perhaps,    would    have   supported    the    abstract 
rirrht   of  the  negro,  who  were  not  prei)ared  to  embody  it  m  a 
law,  which    would    be   caviled    at  all  over  the   continent:    but 
very  many  actually  thought  that  the  blacks  could  not  wilh  safety 
or  prolit  be  entrusted  with  a  right  so  precious  as  the  franchise. 
The  names  of  t\w  foremost  abolitionists,  such  as  Schuyler,  Brown, 
Kobinson  and  Hunting,  were  of  course  among  the  supporters  of 
crpial  riuiits,  but  they  perhaps  knew,  that  at  that  momoment,  they 
might   have  been  defeated  by  success.     The   vote   was   almost 
equally  divided  on  the  question  of  Squatter  Sovereignty,  but  by 
seventeen  votes  against  fifteen,  it  was  decided  tliat  neither  con- 
gress nor  the  states  should  interfere   in  local  ail'airs  of  slates  and 
territories.     Very  wisely  there  was  no  vote  taken  on  the  proposal 
that  free  negroes  should"  be  excluded  from  the  territory  ;  the  ques- 
tion stood  o°ver  to  be  determined  by  a  vote  of  the  people  after  the 
state  lecrislature  should  come  into  existence,  then  to  operate  as  an 
instruction  for  that  body.     The  consequences  of  a  vote  on  the 
issue  at  that  early  stage  of  the  proceeding  might  have  proved  dis- 
'astrous  to  all  concerned,  and  the  constitution  was  never  disgraced 
by  an  anti-black  law. 

Sixteen  days  were  well  spent  in  moulding  the  first  constitution, 
and  in  the  main  the  document  so  formed  was  the  basis  of  further 
lecrislation,  so  that  the  instrument  which  was  at  length  made  the 
balis  of  the  recognition  of  Kan.sas  as  a  state  by  congress  was  only 
an  amended  version  of  the  work  now  accomplished  in  Topeka. 
Slavery  was  expressly  prohibited  within  the  state  by  the  first  con- 
sti'tution  and  that  was  the  vital  principle  of  the  measure.     "  In- 
voluntary servitude  "  should  only  be  possible  as  a  punishment 
for  crime,  and  the  time  fixed  for  the  coming  into  operation  of  that 
clause  was  on  or  before  July  4,  1857.     Male  Indians,  who  had 
conformed  to  the  customs    of   civilization,    might  vote.      The 
boundaries  of  the  territory,  as  set  forth  in  the  organic  act,  which 
of  course  included  nearly  all  of  Colorado,  were  adopted  into  the 
constitution.     Topeka  won  the  location  as  the  capital,  beating 
Lawrence  by  four  votes,  in  an  aggregate  of  thirty-six,  but  the 
permanent  location  was  to  be  determined  by  the  first  general  as- 


t'l^yif^g'^  ■  iBi-J--- 


204 


TvTTi.Kta  HisrouY  of  Kassas. 


1(191' 


II' 


iili^i 


semLly.     Curiously  enough,  among  men  who  were  perhaps  more 
interested  in  education  tlian  any  average  population  in  the  United 
States,    the  arrangements    as  to  education    and   supervision  of 
schools  were  the  most  defective  features  in  the  whole  measure,  as 
there  was  not  even  a  sui)erintendent  of  publio  instruction  named 
in  the  draft.     The  constitution,  thus  prepared,  provided  for  its 
own  submission  to  the  people  to  be  ratified  or  rejected  on  Decem- 
ber 15, 1855,  and  after  ratification  there  could  be  no  change  made, 
'nor  any  convention  to  consider  a  new  constitution   until  after 
1865.     The  general  banking  law  was  to  be  voted  up  or  down  by 
tlie  same  constituency  at  the  same  time  as  the  constitution,  and  to 
be  included  or  rejected  according  to  the  result.     Supposing  the 
constitution  to   be   ratified,    the   executive    committee    already- 
named  stood  authorized  to  conduct  elections  for  state  officers,  and 
for  representation  in  congress,  and  the  first  assembly  should  be 
convened  on  July  -i,  1856,  a  celebration  which  could  not  be  oth- 
erwise than  gratifying  to  good  men.     The  convention  prescribed 
all  details  as  to  the  districts  and  polling  for  the  election  on  De- 
cember 15th,  to  decide  the  fate  of  the  constitution  and  the  general 
banking  law.     The  executive  committee  was  empowered  to  or- 
ganize the  elections  for  state  officers,  representative,  and  general 
assembly,  and  to  issue  scrip,  within  the  limits  of  $25,000,  to  de- 
fray the  necessary  outlay,  the  redemption  of  which  should  be  the 
first  duty  of  the  legislative  body.     The  deliberative  action  of  the 
convention  came  to  an  end  on   Saturday,  November  10th,  and  it 
was  late  at  night  when  the  delegates  were  called  upon  to  sign  the 
constitution  to  which  they  had  agreed.     Thus  they  gave  their 
manifesto  to  the  world,  bearing  the  sign  manua"  of  each  member, 
and  by  their  act  said  to  the  Missourian  horde,  we  are  ready  to  do 
.md  dare  all  that  may  be  necessary  to  secure  for  our  children  and 
for  ourselves  the  advantages  of  free  government.     It  was  not 
bombast  on  their  part,  for  the  dark  days  came  when  they  were 
sorely  tried  by  adversity,  but  they  were  equal  to  their  task,  and 
the  people  by  whom  they  had  been  chosen  were  worthy  of  loyal 
service. 


r>si.«iw 


Becoxxa  ISSAS'CE. 


205 


lerhaps  more 
n  the  United 
pcrvision  of 
?  measure,  as 
iction  named 
'ideil  for  its 
(1  on  Decem- 
liange  made, 
I  until  after 
1  or  down  by 
ution,  and  to 
jpposing  the 
itee  already 
officers,  and 
ly  should  be 

not  be  oth- 
)n  prescribed 
ction  on  De- 
i  the  general 
wered  to  or- 
,  and  general 
15,000,  to  de- 
hould  be  the 
action  of  the 
•  10th,  and  it 
m  to  sign  the 
ey  gave  their 
jach  member, 
3  ready  to  do 
children  and 

It  was  not 
m  they  were 
leir  task,  and 
rthy  of  loyal 


CHAPTER   IX. 

RECONNAISSANCE. 
(,A  brief  Digreation.) 

PRINCIPAL  CITIES    OF   MISSOURI. 

Kcconnoitcring  the  Enemy  —  Jefferson    City— K(\nsas  City  — St.  Louis  — 
St.  .Toseph-  Iluuuibal  —Inilepenaeuce  —  Westou  —  Lcxiugtoa  — Boone- 

ville. 

Having  brought  up  our  Territorial  History  to  the  point  at 
which  the  first  steps  toward  a  state  government  had  been  effected, 
we  may  as  well  turn  our  attention  toward  the  powerful  antago- 
nist with  which  Kansas  had  to  contend.     The  settlers  knew  some- 
thing of  the  strength  of  their  foes,  and  we  cannot  understand 
their  position  without   sharing  in    that   knowledge.     It   is  not 
enough  that  we  know  what  was  the  feeling  on  the  border,  it  is  es- 
sential that  we  should  see  the  volume  of  power  back  of  that 
manifestation.     The  ruffianism  which  could  disturb  a  series  of 
elections  might  be  the  effervescence  of  an  element  locally  influ- 
ential, but  expressing  only  the  rage  of  a  small  community,  hence 
it  is  important  that  we  should  ascertain,  and  note  for  reference, 
the  age  and  extent  of  the  Missourian  force  which  sought  to  ex- 
tend and  perpetuate  itself  in  Kansas  first,  and  then  over  an  al- 
most illimitable  empire.     The  tone  of  the  press  in  all  parts  of 
Missouri  applauded  Gen.  Atchison  and  his  compeers  in   their 
disreputable  work,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  the  pulpit  did  not  strive 
to  set  public  opinion  right,  save  in  a  few  important  instances, 
which  could  not  affect  the  mass,  but  which  were  more  or  less  dis- 
astrous to  the  men  who  tried  to  stem  the  torrent  of  prejudice  and 
anger.     What  the  tone  of  the  press  on  Mis.souri  soil  was,  at  the 
time  of  the  first  settlement  after  Mr.  Douglas'  Kansas-Nebraska 
act  passed,  has  been  already  described  in  one  or  two  pregnant  ex- 
tracts in  former  chapters;  it  remains  only  to  show  in  that  relation 
the  complete  accord  established  between  the  Missouriau  at  home 


V 

I 


7 


-'ii'tiiitiil"' 


flEf?' 


206 


TvTTufs  HisTonr  of  Kaxsas. 


nnd  liis  nlly  and  friend  in  Kansas  Territory.  Dr.  Jolin  TI.  String- 
follow,  who  edited  Y/ic  Squatter  Sovori':/)),  in  Atoliison,  a  pro- 
slavery  settlement,  named  for  the  cx-AHco  President,  thus  an- 
swered some  eriticisms  ui)on  the  pro-slavery  party,  which  had 
sippearcd  in  the  organ  of  Horace  Greeley,  the  New  York  Tn'hinw: 
"  We  can  tell  the  impertinent  scoundrels  of  the  Trilmne  that  they 
mav  exhaust  an  ocean  of  ink,  their  Emigrant  Aid  Societies  spend 
their  millions  and  billions,  their  rei.resentatives  in  congress  spout 
their  heretical  theories  till  doomsday,  and  his  excellency,  Frank- 
lin Pierce,  a]ipoint  abolitionist  after  free  soiler  as  our  governor, 
yet  wo  will  continue  to  lynch  and  hang,  to  tar  and  feather  and 
drown  every  white-livered  abolitionist  who  dares  to  pollute  our 
soil."  Nor  was  this  mere  idle  talk,  only  meant  to  aflfect  persons 
at  a  distance,  as  we  find  in  the  columns  of  the  same  journal,  a 
description  of  a  street  fight,  in  which  bowie  knives  were  freely 
used,  and  a  free  soiler  badly  injured,  the  following  brutal  com- 
nientary  :  "  We  are  happy  to  state  that  the  free  soiler  is  in  a 
fair  way  to  peg  out,  while  the  pro-slavery  man  is  out  and  ready 
for  another  tilt.  Kansas  is  a  hard  road  for  free  soilers  to  travel." 
Thus  the  practices  of  the  streets  found  approval  in  the  columns  of 
the  press,  and  every  ruffian  that  could  cut  his  mark  upon  the 
body  a  free  soiler  was  sure  of  an  enthusiastic  indoi-sement  in  tuu 
organs  of  his  party.  The  Luminary,  published  in  ParkviUe, 
Missouri,  was  raided  and  the  press  destroyed  and  flung  into  the 
Mi.ssouri  river,  for  no  other  fault  than  having  dared  to  condemn 
Mis.souri  proceedings  in  Kansas  in  the  election  of  a  delegate  to 
congress ;  and  the  editor  of  the  Jell'erson  Inquirer,  in  the  same 
state,  for  similar  disturbing  remarks,  was  informed  through  the 
columns  of  a  contemporary,  that,  "lie  was  a  nigger  stealer  at 
heart,  and  would  have  voted  with  the  abolitionists ;"  the  most 
crushing  form  of  condemnation  known,  among  the  literati  of  Mis- 
souri. President  Pierce,  in  spite  of  all  his  unmistakable  anxiety 
to  carry  with  him  their  suffrages,  could  not  satisfy  the  pro-slavery 
party  by  any  of  his  nominations  to  the  ofBce  of  governor ;  nor 
couM  anything  in  the  way  of  concession  meet  their  views,  ex- 
cept an  unreserved  submission,  such  as  Chief  Justice  Lecompte, 
or  Gen.  Atchison,  embodied  in  their  daily  lives.  When  the  first 
legislature  for  Kansas  had  been  elected  by  Missourian  invaders, 


-SMI 


jipg^i^:p£-r^-;?^:^S^ 


BfJCOXyAISSAKCE. 


207 


n  ir.  String- 
ison,  a  pro- 
it,  thus  nti- 
,  wliioh  hail 
)rk  Trlhunc: 
ne  tliiit  they 
:;ietio.s  spend 
rif^rcss  ppout 
;ncy,  Frank- 
11  r  governor, 

feather  and 

pollute  our 
ffoct  persons 
le  journal,  a 

were  freely 
brutal  com- 
soiler  is  in  a 
it  and  ready 
rs  to  travel." 
;  columns  of 
rk  upon  the 
ement  in  tho 
n  Parkville, 
ung  into  the 
.  to  condemn 
a  delegate  to 
in  the  same 

through  the 
er  stealer  at 
!;"  the  most 
erati  of  Mis- 
able  anxiety 
e  pro-slavery 
jvernor ;  nor 
ir  views,  ex- 
ze  Lecompte, 
^hen  the  first 
ian  invaders, 


the  Pktlc  Anjiis  said  :     "  The  Missourians  have  conquered  Kan 


sas 


lot  them  hold  it  or  die  in  the  attempt." 


The  purchase  of  Louisiana  and  of  all  claims  upon  western  ter- 
territory  from  France  was  effected  under  the  managemont  of 
Thomas  Jcffer.son,  for  $15,000,000,  in  the  year  1801 ;  although 
some  time  clap.sed  before  all  the  transaction  had  been  completed, 
in  Itivu,  and  at  that  time  there  were  no  civili/.ed  inhabitants  in 
the  region.  In  the  year  1804,  Messrs.  Lewis  and  Clark  came  up 
the  Missouri,  and  held  a  council  with  the  Lidians  on  the  spot 
where  Fort  Calhoun  was  afterwards  built,  at  a  point  on  the  Ne- 
braska side  of  the  river,  long  afterwards  known  as  Council  Bluffs, 
about  twenty  miles  above  the  city  of  the  same  name,  in  Iowa, 
•which  is  connected  by  the  fine  railroad  bridge  with  Omaha.  In- 
dians were  then  the  only  residents  on  either  side  of  the  great 
river  in  a  vast  extent  of  territory;  and  many  years  elapsed 
before  the  country  was  opened  for  settlement.  Tribes  of  Indiana 
had  to  be  removed  before  white  men  could  be  made  occupants 
and  owners  of  the  soil  under  the  sanctions  of  civil  government, 
and,  in  consequence,  the  work  went  on  very  slowly ;  but  in  the 
year  1818-19  there  had  been  sufficient  progress  to  warrant  an  appli- 
cation from  the  inhabitants  of  the  territory  of  Missouri  to  congress 
for  admission  to  the  union  as  a  state.  The  bill  founded  upon  that 
movement  was  amended  in  the  house  of  representatives  by  the  intro- 
duction of  a  clause  excluding  slavery  from  that  section  of  the  coun- 
try, and  in  that  form  it  was  passed  by  the  lower  chamber,  but  re- 
jected in  the  senate.  The  restriction  on  slavery  was  acrimoniously 
discussed  by  all  classes  of  men  in  the  press,  and  in  every  walk  of  life, 
with  such  heat  as  must  always  be  evoked,  when  vested  interests  long 
established  are  assailed  by  an  advancing  thought  Men  identified 
prominently  with  either  side  were  invited  to  expound  their  views 
on  the  question  in  many  great  centers  of  population,  and  the  best 
thinkers  in  eastern  and  northern  churches  pronounced  for  and 
against  the  proposed  restriction,  until,  not  merely  in  every  lecture 
hall,  but  almost  by  every  fireside,  the  intricacies  of  the  difficulty 
had  been  discussed.  Both  sides  were  fully  alive  to  the  magni- 
tude of  the  issue,  and  when  the  subject  was  revived  in  congress 
in  the  session  of  1819-20,  there  was  more  bitterness  displayed  on 
this  issue  than  on  all  other  items  of  the  congressional  programme 


'S 


■y,^^-,i£'-'J,*      t-.i.-..-    .--5    . 


I 


,'1 

■! 


208 


TI'TTLE's  JIlSTOHY  OF  K.i.WS.iS. 


combined.     Tlu;  Missouri  coinproinise  was  tlio  rortiilt  of  that  de- 
lilu'ratioii,  the  liiiiitiitioiiri  of  the  state  tlien  formed  were  imule  the 
Loiiiidiiries  of  the  slave  power  ui  the  Louisiana  purchase,  and  all 
territory  lying  north  of    36'  30'  north,    was  forever  exein;itc(l 
from  their  domination,  so  far  as  human  legislation  can  be  made 
Jinal.     Tlio  law  which  embodied  that  compromise  was  signed  by 
^'resident  Monroe  on  the  0th  day  of  March,  1820 ;  and  for  more 
than  thirty  years  there  was  a  general  assumption  that  the  prob- 
lem of  negro  slavery  was  left  to  its  own  operation,  not  further  to 
be  touched  by  congress.     Of  course  it  is  not  possible  for  one  con- 
gress to  tie  the  hands  of  another ;  the  jjcople,  by  their  representa- 
tives, are  always  free  to  annul  wrong  actions,  or  what  may  be 
assumed  to  be  wrong  by  a  majority,  in  constitutional  ways;  but 
contending  parties  were  inclined  to  rest  and  be  thanktul  upon 
their  several  standpoints  for  many  years.     Holders  of  extreme 
views  would  not  be  satisfied,  but  the  public  can  never  be  logical 
and  precise ;  and,  in  this  case  as  in  many  others,  the  formula  of 
thought  which  was  accepted  as  the  finale  of  the  controverted 
claims  for  limitless  extension  of  slavery  on  the  one  hand,  and  for 
abolition  of  slavery  on  the  other,  contained  elements  which  must 
liave  disrupted  the  settlement  if  the  mass  of  the  community  became 
logical,  and  determined  to  follow  their  premise  to  its  conclusion. 
The  public,  governed  by  feeling  and  by  prudential  considerations, 
allowed  the  compromise  to  stand  unquestioned  in  legislative  cir- 
cles for  many  years,  and  when  the  limits  of  Missouri  were  ex- 
tended, there  was  no  express  provision  sought,  nor  was  there  any 
granted  to  carry  slaves  beyond  the  line  of  the  previously  enacted 
compromise.     The  additional  territory  was  given  to  Missouri  in 
1836,  and  slaves  were  held  therein  from  the  first  cession,  but 
there  was  no  sanction  of  law  for  such  proceedings.     There  was  a 
general  impression,  until  1853,  that  the  territory  now  covered  by 
Nebraska,  Kansas  and  Colorado,  would  be  the  home  of  the  In- 
dian tribes  until,  in  the  course  of  time,  they  should  die  out,  be- 
fore a  civilization  which  they  fail  to  comprehend ;  but  in  that 
year  there  was  a  bill  introduced  to  congress  to  organize  that  vast 
expanse  under  the  title  of  Nebraska  Territory,  and  throw  it  open 
to  white  settlement.     The  summit  of  the  Eocky  mountains  on 
the  west,  the  states  of  Missouri  and  Iowa  on  the  east,  the  territory 


a^4..u.uu.miimaiW!iwM 


iiwiwiiiiriniiiiiiiiniii 


mmmmmumit 


PiiisrirM.  CiT!::s  or  Missinir. 


209 


lit  of  that  de- 
veie  nunlo  the 
chase,  and  all 
vev  exempted 
can  be  made 
vas  signed  by 
and  for  more 
hat  the  prob- 
not  furtlier  to 
e  for  one  con- 
L'ir  representa- 
what  may  be 
lal  ways ;  but 
lianktul  upon 
•s  of  extreme 
ver  be  logical 
10  formula  of 
controverted 
hand,  and  for 
;s  which  must 
lunity  became 
ts  conclusion, 
onsidei'ations, 
egislative  cir- 
ouri  were  ex- 
?as  there  any 
jusly  enacted 
3  Missouri  in 
cession,  but 
There  was  a 
V  covered  by 
ne  of  the  In- 
l  die  out,  be- 
but  in  that 
lize  that  vast 
hrow  it  open 
nountains  on 
the  territory 


of  Xew  ^[cxico  and  the  parallel  of  00"  30'  north  latitude  on  the 
south,  and  -lo '  CO'  north  latitude  on  the  nortii,  ,  t  to  bo  the 
couipivliuMsive  limits  of  the  new  govenmu'ut.  Towa,  by  one  of 
her  representatives,  took  the  initiative  in  the  movement  in  Do- 
cendjcr,  1853;  and  after  reference  to  tlie  committee  on  territories, 
there  were  so  iii:iny  and  such  important  alteraiious  made  that  the 
chairman,  Mr.  Douglas,  of  Illinois,  the  famous  Sl('|)lu'n  A.  Doug- 
las, founded  thereupon  his  substitute  measure,  the  Kansas-Ne- 
braska bill,  which  eventually  became  law,  and  was  accompanied 
by  a  repeal  of  the  Missouri  compromise.  The  provisions  of  that 
organic  act  are  familiar  to  our  readers.  The  debates  in  congress 
and  in  the  press  had  seemed  violent  when  the  ^[issouri  comprom- 
ise was  arrived  at,  when  the  slave  power  snatched  at  and  obtained 
an  extension  of  soil  by  consenting  to  a  definition  of  limits;  but 
when  the  limits  were  removed  in  the  prosecution  of  an  aggressive 
])oliey,  which  was  never  mcjre  to  be  abandoned,  until  the  party 
fell  into  irreparable  defeat  after  the  rebellion,  the  tone  of  the  dis- 
putants had  already  the  ring  of  war  in  its  menaces  on  both  sides. 
The  measure,  several  times  amended,  became  law  in  May,  185J:, 
being  finally  i)a.ssed  on  the  2oth,  and  being  signed  by  the  Presi- 
dent on  the  30th.  That  was  the  event  which  practically  brought 
invasion  and  civil  war  into  Kansas  territory,  and  wiiich  eventually 
removed  the  stain  of  negro  slavery  from  our  institutions. 

It  was  pretended  that  the  substituted  bill  was  a  compromise 
under  which  Kansas  should  become  a  slave  state,  and  Nebivaska 
should  balance  that  increase  by  admission  on  the  free  soil  basis, 
but  the  value  of  such  compromises  was  too  well  known  to  allow 
of  the  popular  leaders  being  fooled  a  second  time.  No  such 
arrangement  was  made,  nor  was  it  dreamed  of  by  the  free  soil 
party ;  but  tlic  proslavery  leaders  were  not  slow  to  use  the  pre- 
text as  a  means  of  inspiring  the  Missourian  population  with  a  hate 
m^re  intense  than  had  theretofore  been  realized,  against  every  ap- 
pearance of  northern  intermeddling  with  the  territory  which,  under 
another  name,  was  to  have  been  a  repetition  of  Missouri. 

Jekfeksox  City  was  made  the  capital  of  the  state  of  Missouri, 
by  popular  vote,  in  the  year  182],  but  it  was  not  until  the  follow- 
ing year  that  the  town  was  laid  out,  the  attraction  to  the  spot 
U 


J 


no 


Ti'TTLf's  lIlsrOUY  UF  K.ISSAS. 


£■■: 


consisting  in  its  nearness  to  tho  geograpliieal  centre  of  the  state. 
It  is  tlio  seat  of  justice  for  Cole  county,  and  it  stands  on  tlic  south 
bank  of  the  Missouri  river,  one  hundred  and  twcntyfive  miles 
from  St.  Lonis,  and   nine  hundred  and  ei},dity  miles  from  Wash- 
ington.    Tlio  location  of  .TclTer.son   City   is  very  beautiful,  as  it 
occupies  a  coinmandin^,'  blnll,  from  which  an  extensive  '.  icw  can 
"be  liad  of  a  remarkably  pictures(iuo  country.     The  streets  are 
regularly  laitl  out,  and  well  graded,  the  draiiuigc  of  the  city  being, 
Bccurcd  by  its  position.     The  public  buildings  of  Jeller.son  City 
arc  numerous  and  notcwortliy.     Tlic  state  capitol  is  a  particularly 
line  structure,  dating  from  tho  year  18^(5,  when  the  reprcsentativea 
and  senators  of  tho  state  had  just  practically  broken  through  the 
Missouri   Compronuse  in  congress,  by  procuring  an  addition  to 
the  territory  of  the  state,  without  guaranties  of  any  kind  for  the 
iionextension  of  slavery  into  the  region,  wliith  had  been  specially 
exempted  by  tho  legislation  of  1820-21.     'i'lio  court  house  is  a 
county  building,  and  of  course  it  cannot  compare  witli  the  capitol, 
but  it  is  a  very  good  looking  edifice,  and  is  made  useful  for  nu- 
merous purposes,  as  is  common  with  such  structures.     The  state 
penitentiary  is  located  at  this  point,  and  tho  mode  of  discipline 
■which  obtains  within  its  walls  helps  to  atone  in  some  degree  for 
the  want  of  .school  discipline  which  was  noticeable  in  tlie  earlier 
history  of  Missouri.      Tlio  state  armory  is  an  establishment  in 
whieli  it  is   much  e(vsicr  to  tr'.-o  pride  than  in  a  prison,  however 
■well  conducted,  and  tlie  institution  is  one  of  the  lions  to  which 
country  cousins  are  invariably  escorted.     The  executive  mansion 
is  not  superb,  nor  does  it  attempt  to  be  gaudy,  but  it  is  well 
adapted  for  the  purpose  which  it  serves,  as  the  official  headquar- 
ters of  the  government  of  the  state.     Lincoln  Institute  is  a  worthy 
monument  erected  in  honor  of  a  good  man,  whose  name  was  at 
one  time  almost  a  byword  of  reproach  among  Missourians,  but 
who  lived  long  enough  to  vindicate  his  holy  purpose  in  the  grand 
work  which  sanctified  and  ennobled  his  career.     Missouri,  trem- 
bling almost  on  the  verge  of  rebellion,  recovered  itself  in  time  to 
avoid  that  calamity,  although  many  of  those  who  had  taken  an 
active  part  in  her  political  life,  up  to  the  Fort  Sumter  era,  went 
over  to  the  enemy.     The  normal  school  for  colored  youth  in  Jef- 
ferson City  betokens  a  vast  advance  in  public  sentiment  since  the 


-««». 


Puiscii'M.  Cities  of  Mis       la. 


911 


3  of  the  state. 

I  oil  tlio  south 
>ty-fivc  milo!* 
s  from  Wash- 
L'iuitiful,  us  it 
sivo  '.  low  can 

10  streets  uro 
the  eity  being 
Jeltersoii  City 
a  particularly 
ipresoiitatives 

II  through  the 

11  aiUlitioi)  to 
y'  kiiul  for  the 
been  specially 
irt  house  is  a 
til  the  eapitol, 
useful  for  nu- 
cs.  The  state 
3  of  tliseipline 
•me  degree  for 

in  the  earlier 
ablishmciit  in 
■ison,  however 
lions  to  which 
utive  mansion 
but  it  is  well 
cial  headquar- 
ite  is  a  worthy 
e  name  was  at 
issourians,  but 
e  in  the  grand 
klissouri,  trem- 
,self  in  time  to 

had  taken  an 
mter  era,  went 
.  youth  in  Jef- 
meut  since  the 


days  wlicn  the  (.^iiakor  College  at  Salem,  Iowa,  was  attacked  by 
our  border  ruflians  under  the  direction  of  some  of  the  secret  stx'i©- 
ties  of  the  proslavery  party,  for  fear  of  the  inlluenee  which  migh*. 
be  exerted  on  Mis.-<ouri  l)y  the  ap[>arent  successes  of  an  ediuiational 
cstalilishnient.  Tiie  normal  school  is  well  attendeil,  and  "  (iod's 
image  carved  in  ebony"  displays  an  interest  in  the  work  of  edu- 
cation which  might  be  emulated  by  the  other  youth  of  the  country 
with  very  groat  advantage.  The  teachers  provided  by  this  insti- 
tution have  a  wide  range  of  usefulness  before  them,  and  their  at- 
tainments are  highly  creditable.  There  is  an  excellent  seminary 
for  young  ladies  hero,  and  it  is  gratifying  to  observe  that  its  ad- 
vaningos  are  being  used  by  an  always  increasing  number  of  pupils. 
The  curriculum  of  the  school  is  high,  and  the  immber  of  gra<lu- 
ntes  improves  every  year.  Some  of  the  most  successful  lady 
teachers  in  the  state  have  found  here  their  best  assistance.  The 
ncw.spaper  press  of  JefTer.son  is  not  extensive,  as  there  is  only  one 
paper  published  in  the  eity,  but  it  is  a  matter  for  some  congratu- 
lation that  at  a  time  when  nearly  all  the  journals  in  the  state  of 
Missouri  were  applauding  the  demoniac  excesses  of  the  border 
ruffians  in  Kan.sas,  which  culminated  in  the  election  of  the  Paw- 
nee-Shawnee legislative  assembly,  the  city  of  Jefferson  possessed 
an  editor  who  was  true  to  his  vocation,  and  who  was  denounced 
for  expressing  disapproval  of  such  conduct.  There  is  no  merit  in 
echoing  the  cries  that  prevail  in  the  streets,  but  there  is  honor 
■won  for  the  profession  of  letters  when  a  man,  having  the  example 
of  mob  violence  under  his  observation,  dares  to  rebuke  fanaticism 
in  the  interest  of  the  common  weal.  That  distinction  was  well 
earned  in  the  city  of  Jefferson  when  the  slave  power  was  ranipant 
in  Missouri  in  the  year  1855,  and  the  sympathetic  writer  was 
broadly  accused  of  abolitionism.  Really,  the  man  had  no  such 
proclivities  at  that  time,  but  he  could  not  look  down  upon  the 
rowdyism  which  raged  around  him  without  expressing  his  abhor- 
rence of  conduct  which  disgraced  humanity.  The  state  library  is 
a  fine  institution  and  an  ornament  to  Jefferson,  for  the  purpose 
•which  it  serves  rather  than  for  the  splendor  of  the  building,  which 
is  devoted  to  letters.  The  post  office  is  not  handsome,  but  it  ia 
sufficiently  commodious  for  all  present  purposes.  Jefferson  City 
College  is  an  Episcopal  institution,  and  many  ornaments  of  the 


21'2 


Trrn.ic's  llisrony  »»/•'  A'.i.vs.i'*. 


\ 


climvli  Imvc  heir  rowivcl  tlu'ir  tmininjr.     MaimfiK-tiiriii^,'  intcre.stM 
ar(!  !i.lviiiiciii«  li.'iv;    tlioro  am  two  l:l^^'o  ll..iiriii^'  miU.^,  ulmost 
ulvvios  ill   full  wc.rk  ,  nn  I'stuhlisliiuoiit  for  ll.o  uKiiiufncturc)  of 
ngriculliirul  iiniiltunonts,  tin  iiultistry  ftlwayrt  liXtciulin^;  u  foun- 
dry, aiul  a  lumt  of  minor  iii.lustrii-s.     'I'Iumo  aiv  tlnv,,  bunks,  and 
the  miii.Tal   ivsourcfs  of  tho  locality  in.'lu.l.!  iron,  coal,  and  nn 
i.luiiral.lo  sand,  a-laptcd  for  ^,'lass  niaUin-.     Tlio  agricultural  mv 
n.imdingH  of  .IclTcrson  arc  Huch  as  to  assuro  tho  cMty  of  an  ox- 
tcmlcd  time  of  prosperity.     The  line  position  of  tlio  city,  well 
built  find  drained,  on  an  elevated  plateau,  secures  for  the  peop  o 
uu  enviable  avera-e  of  health,  and  the  populiitiou  -oes  on  steadily 
inereasinj,'.      In  the  year  IbtiU,  tlie  number  of  inhabitants  m  .lei- 
fcMNoii  City  was  8,082,  and  when  the  last  census  was  taken,  in 
1S7(I,  the  number  had  increased  to  4,120,  so  that  we  may  now 
safely  assume  a  i.opulation  of  about  (5,000  souls.     The  eity  is  w.ill 
served  by  competing  railroads.     Tlie  Missouri   I'aeilie  company 
have  a  depot  here,  and  a  ferry  transfer  from  a  depot  in  tliiB  city 
conveys  pa.ssenj;ers  to  the  Louisiana  divisi.)n  of  tho  Chicago  and 
Alton  railroad  in  Cedar  City,  in  tlie  same  state,  on  the  other  sido 
of  the  Missouri  river,  which  is  the  southwestern  terminus  of  that 
line.     Civil  rights  arc  now  conceded  in  Missouri  to  men  and 
women  that  were  once  chattels  only,  and  some  wrongs  and  much 
Bunering  have  been  inseparable  from  an  overturn  so  sudden  and 
complete;  still  it  would  be  folly  to  close  our  eyes  to  the  compcn- 
Biiting  advantages  which  will  give  to  the  successors  of  the  nu:. 
who  have  sullercd  most  more  than  an  eciuivuleiit  m  the  future,  in 
the  commercial,  manufacturing  and   agricultural   developments, 
which  would  have  been  impossible  under  the  thriftless  systems  of 
slave  life;  and  in  the  mental  and  moral  tone,  which  the  domestic 
institution  rendered  impossible  in  thousands  of  homes,  a  condition 
of  existence  in  every  way  more  to  be  desired.     The  city  of  Jefier- 
son  was  comparatively  little  identified  with  the  border  outrages, 
although  some  of  her  citizens  were  active  therein  ;  but  the  status 
of  the  city  as  the  capital  of  the  state  made  it  imperative  upon  us 
to  sketch  the  predominating  features  of  the  locality. 

Kansas  City  and  Westport  were  among  the  most  active  par- 
ticipants in  the  outrages  in  the  neighboring  territory.     Many  car- 


I  ■Tft^^'lriMf.litHI'"*'!'' """'■■*■' 


ill;-,'  intoroMts 
I  111  Is,  almost 
111  facta ro  of 
iig;  u  fouri- 
!  l)anks,  ami 
.'oal,  and  nti 
rultm-rtl  rtiir- 
,y  of  nn  ox- 
10  city,  well 
.r  the  ponplo 
s  oil  steadily 
iants  in  .Fof- 
raa  taken,  in 
ivo  may  now 
10  city  is  well 
ilic  company 
in  this  city 
Chicago  and 
ho  other  sido 
iiinus  of  that 
to  men  and 
igs  and  much 
sudden  and 
the  compen- 
s  of  the  mt:. 
the  future,  in 
levelopments, 
;s3  systems  of 
the  domestic 
39,  a  condition 
city  of  Jcfler- 
■der  outrages, 
but  the  status 
ative  upon  us 


st  active  par- 
f.     Many  car- 


Pnisrii' II.  Cuius  ()/•'  ]fi^sitt'Rr. 


213 


loads  of  nifTianism  mado  a  parade  of  having  ('^n\w  from  tli^-  locidi 
tie«  named  by  Hliouting  "  All  aboard   for  Wcstiiort  and   Kntisart 
City,"  as  soon   as  ilic   business  erf  intimidation   and   fraudulent 
voting  had  been  accoinplisli.Ml  in  many  precincts.      Western  Mis- 
Boiiri,  along  its  wliolc   frontier  line,  was   joined  to   Kansas  by 
iiunieroiis  stcaml)oats  on  the  river,  and   Kansas  City,  standing 
close  to  the  line  of  ilemarcation,  witli  tlie  Missouri  as  a  higliway 
to  any  point  where  operations  might  be  found  necessary,  and  with 
Wyandotte  close  at  haml,  s<"parated  only  by  the  river,  which  in 
traversed  1)/  a  very  Ibie  bri  Ige  and  a  street  railroad,  there  were 
cspet;ial  facilities  for  reacliing  the  debatable  land.     When,  later 
in  the  day,  an  attack  was  to  bo  made  in  force  upon  the  city  of 
Lawrence,  Kansas  Chy  and  Westport  were  the  great  nitrrpnl.'^  of 
military  stores  and   the   halting   place   for  camp   followers,  wlio  . 
hoped  to  find  something  more  prolita'ulo  tlian  hard  knocks  upon 
the  battle  lieUls  in  the  territory.     Kansas  City  limits  were  origin- 
ally mapped  out  one  mile  from  tlie  boundary  line  which  separates 
Kansas  from  Missouri,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Missouri  river, 
just  below  the  moiit'.i  of  the  Kaw  or  Kansas  river,  two  huntlrcd 
mid  thirty- five  miles  west  of  St  Louis,  and  just  whei-c  the  Mis- 
Houri  bonds  Anally  to  the  east,  after  many  curves  in  its  sinuous 
course.     Tlio  city  is  tlie  capital  of  Jackson  countv  and  is  rapidly 
becoming  of  immense  commercial  importance,  blading  fair  to  bo 
a  yet  nearer  rival  to  tlie  greatness  of  St.  Louis.     When  the  quar- 
rel began  between  free  soilers  and  the  pro-slavery  party  on   Kan- 
sas territory,  the  population  of  the  city  could  not  have  been  much 
more  than  two  thousand  persons,  as  in  tlie  year  18(50,  there  were 
only  four  thousand  four  hundred  and  eigliteen  inhabitants  within 
the  city  limits,  and  the  act  of  incorporation  had  been  procured 
seven  years  earlier.     The  natural  advantages  of  the  situation  were 
entirely  stunted  by  the  wretched  system  of  oppression  and  un- 
thrift  which  the  people  were  striving  with  all  their  might  to  jier- 
petuatc  for  themselves  and  for  their  neighbors.     Soon  after  the 
trade  with  Santa  Fe  was  commenced  across  the  plains.  Independ- 
ence, Mo.,  the  first  great  depot  of  the  commercial  caravan,  fovnid 
a  persevering  and  dangerous  nval  in  Westport,  a  town  just  four 
miles  from  the  site  of  Kansas  City.     When  the  trade  grew  into 
still  larger  proportions,  the  position  now  occupied  by  the  city  was 


214  TUTTUfs  JIlSTOIlY  OF  Kassas. 

found  to  offer  so  many  advantages  that  a  settlement  was  made  on 
the  spot,  and  almost  immediately  a  business  was  being  effected 
■which  went  on  increasing  slowly  for  many  years. 

When  civil  strife  commenced  in  the  territory,  commercial  pros- 
perity came  to  a  halt,  and  within  the  state  of  Missouri  the  limits 
of  progression  under  the  slavery  regime  were  supposed  to  have 
been  reached  long  before,  so  that  the  prospect  for  Kansas  City 
was  not  brilliant.     On  the  other  side  of  the  Missouri  river  stood 
a  fair  territory  which  could  be  coined  by  commerce  within  a  few 
years,  supposing  settlement  to  be  allowed  to  proceed  peacefully  ; 
but  the  dominant  party  in  the  state  could  only  permit  settlement 
on  condition  that  it  should  be  accompanied  by  slavery,  and  on 
that  basis  the  difficulty  was  to  be  settled  by  the  use  of  bowie 
knives  and  rifles,  articles  by  no  means  consistent  with  prosperity 
for  trade,  commerce  and  agriculture.     Kansas  City  had  many 
men  in  her  ranks  who  could  see  the  impolicy  of  the  course  on 
which  they  had  entered,  but  they  were  so  completely  hedged  m 
by  the  slave  power  and  its  influences,  in  the  form  of  spies  and 
secret  associations,  that  it  was  dangerous  to  breathe  a  thought  to 
the  nearest  friend,  lest  by  some  inadvertency  on  his  part,  or  even 
by  fear  where  deliberate  treachery  might  be  impossible,  he  should 
hand  over  the  incautious  talker  to  be  dealt  with  by  unscrupulous 
organizations.     Practically  for  such  men  there  was  less  freedom 
in  Kansas  City  than  there  would  have  been  in  the  territory  be- 
yond the  river,  because  over  there  they  would  have  found  a  party 
with  which  to  train,  and  from  which  support  in  some  degree 
could  be  expected;  but  on  the  Missouri  side  of  the  river  there 
could  not  be  a  popular  party  formed,  seeing  that  no  man  dared 
trust  his  neighbor.     Ten  years  of  growth  under  proslavery  rule 
had  brought  up  Kansas  City  to  a  population  of  about  two  thous- 
and in  the  year  1854,  when  the  Kansas-Nebraska  act  came  into 
operation,  and  six  years  added  thereto  had  only  given  a  total  of 
four  thousand  four  hundred  in  1880,  as  the  result  of  sixteen  years 
progression,  up  to  the  point  when  a  free  soil  president  held  the 
destinies  of  the  states  in  his  hands  as  a  solemn  trust.     That  elec- 
tion was  tbe  turning  point  in  Kansas  City  affairs,  although  many 
of  her  leading  citizens  looked  upon  the  event  as  a  deplorable  mis- 
fortune, hardly  dreaming  of  a  possibility  that  within  ten  years 


PiiiKciPAL  Cities  of  Missouiti. 


215 


as  made  on 
ig  effected 

srcial  pros- 
.  the  limits 
;!d  to  have 
ansas  City 
river  stood 
ithin  a  few 
peacefully ; 
settlement 
iry,  and  on 
e  of  bowie 
prosperity 
had  many 
I  course  on 
•  hedged  in 
f  spies  and 
thought  to 
art,  or  even 
3,  he  should 
nscrupulous 
2SS  freedom 
territory  be- 
und  a  party 
ome  degree 
river  there 
man  dared 
slavery  rule 
;  two  thous- 
t  came  into 
sn  a  total  of 
Lxteen  years 
nt  held  the 
That  elec- 
lough  many 
•lorable  mis- 
n  ten  years 


from  that  time,  their  population  would  rise  from  4,418,  a  number 
which  the  city  aud  settlement  had  been  sixteen  yours  in  attaining, 
to  32,260,  with  a  prospect  of  almost  geometrical  increase  for 
many  decades  to  come,  aa  the  great  center  of  prosperous  traffic  by 
river  aud  railroad,  grasping  both  sides  of  the  continent,  and  min- 
istering to  the  progress  of  an  always  increasing  free  population 
on  every  side.  The  problem  was  solved  without  the  assistance 
of  Kansas  City,  or  rather  in  spite  of  the  virulent  opposition  of  the 
community  that  was  to  be  advanced;  so  true  it  is,  as  Shakspere 
wrote,  that :  "  Some  are  born  great,  some  achieve  greatness,  and 
some  have  greatness  thrust  upon  them." 

The  city  is  built  upon  somewhat  broken  ground,  commencing 
originally  upon  the  bottom  lands  and  gradually  ascending  the 
bluffs,  but  by  careful  grading,  the  major  part  of  the  consequent 
irregularities  have  been  obliterated  or,  at  any  rate,  overcome. 
The  streets  are  wide  and  somewhat  irregular,  but  they  are  well 
lighted  with  gas ;  the  sidewalks  are  as  a  rule  very  good  indeed, 
and  the  sewerage  of  the  city  is  being  brought  near  to  perfection. 
There  are  nine  railroad  lines  converging  to  this  center  from  all 
points  oE  the  compass,  and  meeting  in  Kansas  City  in  one  com- 
mon depot,  facilitating  business  to  an  extent  which  millions  of 
slaves  and  ten  states  in  which  to  coin  their  labor  could  never 
have  approached  in  profit,  in  speed,  and  in  satisfaction.  Besides 
these  roads  with  all  their  attendant  advantages,  five  others  are 
now  in  course  of  construction,  and  some  of  that  number  will  be 
ready  for  operation  before  many  months  have  passed.  The  Mis- 
souri is  spanned  by  a  very  beautiful  bridge  fourteen  hundred  feet 
in  length,  which  cost  one  million  of  dollars,  and  over  that  magnif- 
icent structure  the  products  of  two  hemispheres  pass  and  repass 
a  thousand  times  every  year.  The  little  town  of  Westport,  with 
its  population  of  nearly  two  thousand  persons,  has  been  attached 
to  Kansas  City  as  a  suburb  by  a  system  of  street  railways,  four 
lines  of  which  have  knit  together  Wyandotte,  in  Kansas,  and 
Westport,  Mo.,  some  seven  miles  distant,  with  Kansas  City  as  the 
common  center.  The  city,  which  was  once  in  danger  of  having 
no  press  at  all,  or,  even  worse,  of  having  a  press  which  would 
obey  the  dictation  of  wealth  allied  to  brutality,  has  now  one  of 
the  best  conducted  series  of  newspapers  that  can  be  produced  by 


siMtrMali 


iiBiiliilliiillH 


wiiM 


i.U  j;t'.,g«. 


216 


Tittle's  HisTour  of  Kaxsas. 


any  place  of  its  age  and  dimensions,  and  in  tlieir  columns  every 
question  of  the  ago  can  be  and  is  discussed  with  all  the  freedom 
that  sound  thinkers  can  desire,  without  the  least  fear  that  a  specula- 
tive association  on  the  part  of  tlie  writer,  or  the  freest  denuncia- 
tion of  a  wrong,  will  call  tofpther  an  excited  crowd  to  hang  an 
editor  and  drown  his  broken  press  in  the  ^lissouri.  Tiiere  are 
six  daily  papers  published  in  the  city,  three  of  these  morning 
})apers  and  tliree  evening,  besides  nine  others  which  are  weekly, 
tri-weekly  and  bi-monthly,  one  of  the  number  being  a  German 
periodical,  and  another  devoted  entirely  to  the  live  stock  trade, 
which  is  one  of  ihe  principal  industries  now  prosecuted  in  the 
city.  The  farming  interest  is  very  intelligently  cared  for  in  the 
prcLiS,  one  of  the  vvecklies  being  devoted  entirely  to  the  granger 
industry,  but  it  is  not  narrow  and  sectional  in  its  tone  notwith- 
standing, and  it  deals  with  every  questi()n  that  arises  in  a  truly 
philosoi)hical  and  scientific  manner.  The  importance  of  that  ele- 
ment in  society  is  rapidly  changing  the  whole  tone  of  the  body 
politic,  and  will  go  on,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  until  Cincinnatus  will 
once  more  be  found  ready  to  abandon  the  plow  to  save  the  nation, 
and  just  as  ready  to  resume  the  plow  when  the  emergency  has 
passed  away. 

The  vast  increase  of  mechanical  facility  which  has  fallen  in 
the  way  of  the  agriculturist,  within  the  last  twenty  years,  has 
reduced  the  number  of  laborers  employed  in  farming  by  just  one 
third,  and  has  double  the  wages  of  those  who  remain  in  such 
avocations,  as  a  consequence  of  the  greater  skill  now  demanded 
in  cultivating  the  earth ;  from  which  facts  we  come,  of  necessity, 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  men  who  are  now  engaged  in  wrest- 
ing food  for  the  millions  from  the  broad  acres  of  our  soil  are 
better  qualified  than  were  their  predecessors  for  any  intellectual 
task  which  may  devolve  upon  them.  Every  stroke  of  help  that 
science  gives  to  the  workman,  in  whatever  grade,  makes  him  a 
more  thoughtful  man,  because  it  aflords  him  leisure  for  brain 
culture  and  an  incentive  to  the  right  employment  of  his  opportu- 
nity. Assuming  that  as  the  starting  point,  how  great  must  be 
the  mental  power  which  has  been  liberated  by  the  $oOO,000,000 
which  has  been  invested  in  the  farm  implements  and  machinery 
now  in    use  within  the  bounds  of  the  Union,  all  representing 


,Peixcii'al  Cities  of  Missol'iu. 


217 


Dlumns  every 

tlio  freedom 
lat  a  hpcculu" 
ist  denunjia- 
1  to  hang  an 
.  There  are 
lese  morning 
I  are  weekly, 
ig  a  German 

stock  trade, 
cuted  in  the 
ed  for  in  the 

the  granger 
one  notwith- 
ss  in  a  truly 
e  of  that  ele- 

of  the  body 
cinnatus  will 
/e  the  nation, 
nergency  has 

has  fallen  in 
,y  years,  has 
y  by  just  one 
lain  in  such 
•w  demanded 
of  necessity, 
jed  in  wrest- 

our  soil  are 
y  intellectual 
of  help  that 
nakes  him  a 
ire  for  brain 

his  opportu- 
eat  must  be 
$500,000,000 
id  machinery 

representing 


labor-saving  contrivances  which  aim  at  lifting  man  above  the 
mere  savage,  or  the  poor  unrequited  toiler,  which  for  so  many 
centuries  he  remained.  The  struggle  which  ended  so  gloriously 
on  this  continent  in  the  interests  of  oppressed  humanity  depend- 
ed on  two  requisites  —  money  and  muscle.  Shorn  of  cither  of 
these  essentials,  we  might  have  lost  our  opportunity  to  liberate 
the  black.  Our  crops  represented  the  money  necessary  to  i)ro- 
cure  the  materiel  of  war,  as  well  as  the  food  necessary  for  our 
combatants  and  others;  but  the  labor  required  for  reaping  under 
the  old  system  would  have  thinned  our  ranks  to  such  an  extent 
that  defeat  would  have  been  among  the  possibilities.  At  that 
point  machinery  came  to  the  rescue  of  the  human  chattel ;  the 
grain  was  reaped  by  ingenious  mechanism,  and  our  thews  and 
sinews  so  liberated  won  the  battle  for  the  Union  and  for  human- 
ity. It  is  only  one  of  the  boons  that  scientific  methods  have 
conferred. 

There  are  no  less  than  twelve  banks  in  Kansas  City,  and  there 
are  twenty-eight  churches,  so  that  the  money-changers  are  proba- 
bly helping  to  sustain  the  temples  in  our  day,  from  which  they 
were  driven  nearly  nineteen  centuries  ago  in  Jerusalem.  The 
educational  interests  of  Kansas  City  are  in  excellent  keeping; 
there  are  fourteen  schools  well  graded,  and  presided  over  by  first- 
class  teachers  of  both  sexes,  who  are  as  well  paid  as  the  average 
of  ladies  and  gentlemen  engaged  in  tuition  in  the  northwest,  but 
not  well  enough,  considering  their  talents  and  fitness,  and  the 
responsibilities  under  which  they  labor.  The  attendance  of 
children  is  quite  up  to  the  average  of  the  states  generally,  but  it 
may  be  safely  averred  that  not  more  than  half  of  the  children  in 
any  city  of  the  Union  reap  the  advantages  which  society  offers 
for  their  acceptance  in  the  public  school  system.  Kansas  is  nob 
an  exception  to  that  rule,  and,  perhaps,  so  long  as  teachers  con- 
tinue to  rank  among  the  worst  paid  professionals  among  us,  it 
will  continue  to  be  fallacious  on  our  part  to  anticipate  that  boys 
and  girls  will  give  themselves  enthusiastically  to  learning.  The 
golden  age  for  study  was  when  every  avenue  to  preferment  de- 
manded scholarship  on  the  part  of  the  candidate,  and  when 
learned  men,  for  their  own  sakes  alone,  were  welcomed  in  every 
court  in  Europe.     Erasmus,  a  monk  relieved  from  the  obligations 


'  - ii'imiBliiiiTr 


■MS««i«Mi»MiitatiiiB>Beati 


■  ■WWjiii'll  "tiiP'M»li.i.'    H'^ 


!^^^ 


218 


Tuttle's  IIistoet  of  Kansas. 


of  his  onlcr  by  the  Pope,  as  a  recognitition  of  liis  attainments, 
visited  all  tlie  principal  trans-Atlantic  kingdoms,  and  was  hon- 
ored by  special  concessions  everywhere,  because  of  his  wit  and 
his  mastery  of  the  lore  of  his  time,  yet  there  were  many  more 
learned  than  he  in  that  age,  immediately  ushering  in  the  Kefor- 
mation  in  Europe,  and  the  scholar  had  not  even  the  honor  of 
legitimate  birth  to  commend  him  to  the  notice  of  the  great  world. 
He  was  honored  and  rewarded  with  pensions  from  many  courts, 
that  he  might  be  enabled  unreservedly  to  devote  himself  to  a 
studious  life,  in  an  era  when  the  publication  of  books  did  not 
pay  the  author,  and  his  example  was  quoted  in  every  seat  of  Eu- 
ropean learning.     We  give  scarcely  any  honor  to  our  teachers, 
and  we  pay  them  so  badly  that  they  are  actually  compelled  to 
"  board  round  "  to  eke  out  a  subsistence  in  innumerable  instances, 
yet  we  wonder  that  our  youth  does  not  become  penetrated  with 
admiration  for  a  calling  which  is  fed  with  husks  such  as  the  swine 
did  eat  when  the  prodigal  was  in  a  far  country.  We  must  amend 
our  school  regulations  in  that  particular,  before  the  best  possible 
results  can  be  achieved;  and,  only  when  teachers  can  win  first- 
class  emoluments  by  proficiency  in  their  avocation,  will  the  rage 
for  school  training  become  general  and  beneficent  among  all  classes 
in  the  community. 

There  are  two  medical  colleges  in  Kansas  City,  and  they  are 
very  well  sustained  in  the  work  which  they  have  assumed  — 
teaching  the  men  and  women  of  this  age  how  to  make  life  a 
blessing,  and  how  to  mitigate  the  woes  of  the  afflicted.  It  is  as- 
tounding that  so  little  is  really  known  about  our  common  hu- 
manity even  among  ,the  students,  but  when  we  compare  what  ia 
compiehended  now  with  what  was  commonly  accepted  among 
professional  men  as  truth  in  the  beginning  of  this  century,  it  be- 
comes difficult  to  realize  that  the  human  race  has  lived  upon  the 
globe  so  many  years,  that  . 

"There's  not  a  dust  that  floats  on  air, 
But  once  was  living  man." 

Modern  science  has  effected  more  for  humanity  within  thiscen- 
tury  than  had  been  accomplished  before  in  the  same  direction 
since  the  commencement  of  the  Christian  era,  and  yet  every  dis- 


w>iim_'.i.'^f"j!^' 


Principal  Cities  of  Mlssovhl 


219 


attainments, 
nd  was  hon- 
his  wit  and 
I  many  more 
in  the  Kefor- 
die  honor  of 
I  great  world, 
many  courts, 
himself  to  a 
)oks  did  not 
y  seat  of  Eu- 
our  teachers, 
compelled  to 
ble  instances, 
netrated  with 
ii  as  the  swine 
1  must  amend 
best  possible 
can  win  first- 
will  the  rago 
ong  all  classes 

and  they  are 
e  assumed  — 
I  make  life  a 
ted.  It  is  as- 
common  ha- 
npare  what  is 
cepted  among 
century,  it  be- 
ived  upon  the 


vitbin  thiscen- 

same  directioa 

yet  every  dis- 


coverer feels  that  ho  has  but  gathered  one  pebble  upon  the  beach 
of  the  vast  sea  of  knowledge,  whicli  God  holds  in  the  hollow  of 
his  hand,  waiting  only  for  the  proper  means  of  search  to  bo  used, 
to  become  the  heritage  of  our  race.     Every  college,  opened  for 
the  dissemination  of  science,  widens  the  range  of   observation, 
and  improves  the  capacity  to  recognize  phoenomcna,  upon  which 
sounder  views  of  our  condition  and  powers  may  become  possible ; 
and  one  of  the  most  hopeful  features  of  the  medical  faculty  ot 
our  own  time  is  the  fact  that  most  of  the  limitations  which  pre- 
vented reforms  in  theory  and  practice  in  former  days,  are  being 
wisely  removed  by  the  leading  minds.     Kansas  City  has  much 
reason  to  be  proud  of  the  learning  which  is  embodied  in  the 
faculties  of  her  two  colleges,  as  well  as  of  the  spirit  which  is 
daily  growing  more  and  more  manifest,  which  would  open  all  the 
stores  of  knowledge  to  both  sexes,  so  that  the  patient,  the  nurse, 
the  medical  attendant  and  the  consulting  physician  can  meet  upon 
common  ground  with  such  intelligence  as  will  assist  materially  m 
combatting  disease.    There  is  an  able  medical  journal  published 

in  this  city.  .  . 

The  Roman  Catholics  ire  as  usual  foremost  in  identifying 
themselves  with  good  works,  and  they  have  been  ably  seconded 
by  many  worthy  Protestants  in  providing  a  hospital  for  the  alilict- 
ed,  and  a  seminary  for  young  women,  from  which  much  good  has 
already  come.     The  city  hospital  is  a  fine   building,  and   the 
means  of  the  institution  are  well  administered,  the  ward  room 
being  usually  sufficient  to  allow  of  the  reception  of  urgent  cases. 
The  claims  of  charity  in  other  respects  are  not  overlooked,  as  the 
spacious  accommodations  devoted  to  the  orphan  asylum,  and  the 
workhouse  ami  women's  home  amply  testify.     Pleasure  as  well  as 
benevolence  have  their  efficient  staffs  of  servitors  here,  and  the 
two  theaters  which  flourish  in  Kansas  City  are  at  least  as  well 
supported  and  as  well  managed  as  the  average  of  such  establish- 
ments in  provincial  cities.     The  opera  house  is  used  for  many 
purposes  besides  legitimate  opera,  but  it  is  in  nearly  every  re- 
spect a  benefit  to  the  people,  so  far  as  it  affords  wholesome  and 
irnocent  entertainment  for  faculties  apt  to  be  too  much  engrossed 
in  the  pursuits  of  the  almighty  dollar.     The  government  of  the 
city  is  in  the  hands  of  a  mayor  and  council  chosen  by  the  people, 


iiaiiiiftii-ti  i'  inn 


„.tmmm 


220 


TvTTufs  JFisToKi  or  Kas-sas. 


a' 


and   the  police  system  is   moderately   cfTcctivc.      The  dangers 
which  arise  from  conflagrations  are  guarded  against  uy  an  excel- 
lent fire  department,  and  the  fire  signal  method  in  operation  here 
secures  srreat  ].romptitudc  at  all  times.     The  surrounding  coun- 
try, which  makes  Kansas  City  its  shipping  and  trading  renter,  is 
very  fertile  and  well  settled,  so  that  its  agricultural  resources 
will  not  be  soon  exhausted,  and  in  addition  to  farming,  stock 
raising  and  dairy  operations,  there  are  abundant  mineral  treasures 
whicirwill  give  employment  to  thousands  of  men  in  the  future. 
Coal  is  already  mined  to  a  very  considerable  extent,  a  soft  bitu- 
minous deposit  being  found  underlying  an  immense  area  of  coun- 
try.    The  coal  mines  at  Fort  Scott  are  developing  very  rapidly, 
as  we  may  gather  from  the  subjoined  figures.     Five  years  ago 
the  railroad  lines  which  centered  in  Kansas  City  were  almost ^en- 
tirelv  dependant  upon  wood  for  fuel;   now  coal  from  the  Fort 
Scott  mines  is  almost  the  only  fuel  consumed,  not  only  upon  all 
the  roads,  but  through  all  the  Missouri  Valley,  as  far  north  as  the 
city  of  Omaha,  Nebraska.     The  state  of  Kansas  has  the  majority 
of  the  mines  at  present,  but  the  deposit  extends  so  far,  and  is  so 
generally  in  good  form  for  working  that  shafts  will  be  sunken  in 
many  localities  in  Missouri  within  a  few  years  at  farthest.     The 
quantity  of  coal  which  was  received  in  Kansas  City  in  the  years 
1869-70  aggregated  less  than  1,500  car  loads,  but  the  year  1871 
saw  an  incivuse  to  5,000,  the  following  year,  9,900,  and  the  year 
1873  brought  to  the  city  11,022  car  loads  of  coal.     The  deposit 
is  said  to  contain  fully  twenty-five  per  cent  more  available  power 
for  the  generation  of  steam,  than  the  average  of  coal  used  in  the 
eastern  states,  and  if  that  claim  can  be  sustained  the  industry 
will  be  found  still  more  elastic  in  the  future.     Manufacturers  as 
well  as  railroad  companies  will  see  the  advantages  to  be  secured 
by  the  use  of  such  fuel,  and  the  number  of  mills  and  factories  in 
Kansas  City   must  increase  immensely.     Lead,  iron  and  other 
minerals  are  found  in  this  locality  in  such  quantities  as  must  as- 
sist to  build  up  the  future  of  this  manufacturing,  commercial  and 
mining  metropolis. 

The  live  stock  traffic  of  the  vast  area  west  of  the  Mississippi  is, 
however,  the  main  reliance  of  Kansas  City  at  the  present  time, 
and  that  industry  has  increased  with  wonderful  rapidity  since  the 


—II  .ijiiiilWilii«ilW''Wi^ 


I'uiscii'AL  ('irii:s  OF  Missouri. 


S91 


The  dangers 
;  uy  an  cxcel- 
)»ieration  liere 
■)unding  cjun- 
(ling  renter,  is 
iral  resoureea 
farming,  stock 
neral  treasures 

in  the  future. 
It,  a  soft  bitu- 
e  orca  of  coun- 
;  very  rapidly, 
:'^ive  years  ago 
irere  almost  en- 

from  the  Fort 

only  upon  all 
far  north  as  the 
as  the  majority 
)  far,  and  is  so 
,1  be  sunken  in 

farthest.  The 
ity  in  the  years 

the  year  1871 
0,  and  the  year 
.  The  deposit 
ivailable  power 
oal  used  in  the 
id  the  industry 
anufacturers  as 
^s  to  be  secured 
and  factories  ia 
iron  and  other 
lies  as  must  as- 
commercial  and 

e  Mississippi  is, 
he  present  time, 
ipidity  since  the 


year  1873,  wher.  the  Missouri,  Kansas  and  To.Kas  Iladroad  was 
completed,  opening  up  tlio  stock  raising  regions  of  Icxas  to  tuo 
cntcruriso  of  the  Atlantic  states.     Before  that  time  a  great  trade 
had  been  carried  on,  but  the  droves  of  cattle  suflcred  terribly  from 
ill  treatment,  added  to  the  waste  incidental  to  traveling  across  the 
plains,  and  the  cost  of  the  food  thus  brought  into  market  was 
largely  increased,   while  the  (luality  was  yet  more  depreciated. 
Sto"  k  raisers  found  the  Texan  cattle  profitable  for  crosses,  and  the 
meat  excellent,  when  due  care  was  observed  in  watering  the  stock 
on  the  overland  journey;  but  railroad  companies  arc  adepts  lu 
the  process  of  "  waioring  stock,"  and  the  public  must  lu  the  end 
be  great  gainers  from  their  operations  in  that  respect.     1  he  cattle 
which  find  their  distributing  center  in  this  city  are  now  brought 
through  Indian  Territory  at  a  mere  tithe  of  former  cost,  without 
takin"  into  account  the  loss  of  time  under  which  the  purchaser 
suftered  in  having  his  capital  so  long  locked  up  in  a  venture  al- 
ways diminishing  in  value  from  the  time  of  starting.     In  the  year 
1873  the  receipts  of  cattle  were  227,669  head,  and  the  aggregated 
value  $3,il5,035;  .luring  the  same  year  there  were  over  four 
thousand  horses  and  nearly  six  thousand  sheep,  also  among  the 
receipts  of  live  stock.     Pork  packing  is  an  industry  which  has 
commanded  much  attention  for  many  years  past,  and  it  is  still 
progressing,  as  we  find  that  in  the  year  1868,  there  were  only 
13,000  hogs  packed  in  this  city,  but  five  years  later,  there  wera 
220,000  packed,  and  the  amount  of  capital  invested  has  been 
largely  augmented  since  that  date.     The  receipts  in  the  year  last 
mentioned  showed  an  aggregate  of  220,956  hogs,  valued  at  $2,- 
181 178.     The  figures  are  small  by  comparison  with  that  industry 
in  Chicago,  but°the  results  are  grand  for  Kansas  City.     Every 
branch  of  business  testifies  to  a  corresponding  advancement  in  the 
city  which  feared  ruin  unless  slavery  could  be  made  a  part  of  the 
constitution  of  the  neighboring  state.     The  sales  of  merchan'lise 
at  wholesale  in  1873  showed  an  augmentation  of  nearly  $2,000,- 
000  over  the  business  of  the  preceding  year,  and  the  receipts  of 
grain  during  the  same  term  increased  by  717,000  bushels.     Like 
many  other  places,  Kansas  City  has  triumphed  in  a  defeat  that 
has  brought  blessings  to  a  community  which  must  have  been 
cursed  by  success.     Comfort  as  well  a?  the  salvage  of  property 


■^ 


Miniaiinnimmmiiiifiiii 


<^yY"^^'--'-    "■  ^MH-  ■'■1^-?'VliWri»i» 


«iilil»i»iiii.uui.;ii» 


222 


TuTTLnfs  History  of  Kassas. 


from   fire  have  been  consulcred  by  the  city  corponition.  by  tlio 
establishment  of  water  works  on  the  Holly  system,  comi-nsiug 
the  reservoir  and  stand  pipe,  as  well  as  the  general  features  of  the 
Holly  method,  at  a  cost  of  $1,000,000,  which,  when  fully  cj^rK-a 
out,  will  have  provided  twenty  miles  of  supply  lupcs,  served  by 
two  spacious  reservoirs  which  arc  capable  of  containing  twenty 
million  gallons  of  water.     The  risk  of  fire  will  be  miminized  by 
the  construction  of  three  hundred  hydrants  in  ei>mmanding  posi- 
tions, when  the  works  are  completed,  and  should  the  city  extend 
until  it  joins  Westport,  there  will  be  no  practical  difiiculty  in  in- 
creasing the  water  supply  accordingly.     Kansas  City  has  long 
since  dispensed  with  vigilance  committees,  but  the  watchfulness 
of  the  city  has  multiplied  rather  than  diminished  with  the  change, 
until  even  the  lightnings  are  set  to  work  by  the  Metropolitan  Tel- 
egraphic Agency,  to  convey  to  every  fireside  and  counting  bouse 
the  messages  of  affectionate  solicitude  and  business  acumen  which 
help  to  diffuse  the  blessings  of  civilization  and  prosperity  through- 
out the  land.     The  commercial  development  of  Kansas  City  is 
presided  over  by  a  board  of  trade,  which  has  been  in  operation 
since  1872,  and  has  distinguished  itself  by  very  able  contributions 
toward  the  comprehension  of  the  great  problem  of  transportation, 
which  can  never  be  fully  solved  until  the  industrial  populations, 
capital  and  machinery  o'f  Europe  are  brought  en  masse  to  our  fer- 
tile prairies  and  wooded  streams,  to  build  up  cities  great  enough 
to  consume  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  and  to  supply  in  return  all  that 
is  wanted  by  a  rural  community  to  enable  them  to  participate  in 
the  triumphs  of  art  and  science,  in  the  successes  of  mechanical 
invention,  and  in  all  the  comforts  and  luxuries  which  render  life 
enjoyable  without  tending  toward  effeminacy.     Kansas  City,  by 
her  delegates,  won  favorable  notice  in  the  convention  of  congress- 
men at^'st.  Louis  in  the  summer  of  1873,  and  when  the  senate 
transportation  committee  sat  in  that  city,  a  report  from  this  board 
was  one  of  the  ablest  papers  submitted  on  that  question.     The 
National  Board  of  Trade  received  delegates  from  this  city  shortly 
afterwards,  and  accorded  recognition  to  the  local  body  as  repre- 
senting the  tenth  city  among  the  trade  centers  of  the  union. 
With  the  extension  of  railroads,  the  river  has  of  course  become  of 
less  importance ;  but  in  the  year  1873,  the  steamboat  arrivals 


e^wf^tv^j^iw 


mm^m^^ 


iM    II  .H'HIHW" 


JUIU .  llEiJliA  _.  _. 


PiiiscirAL  Cities  of  Missouri. 


223 


nitiDii.  by  tl\o 
11,  coiiiprisiiig 
features  of  the 
n  fully  CPiTied 
pes,  served  by 
aining  twenty 

miniinizetl  by 
imanding  posi- 
he  city  extend 
liiTiculty  in  in- 
City  lias  long 
le  watchfulness 
■ith  the  change, 
jtropolitan  Tel- 
counting  bouse 
)  acumen  which 
perity  through- 
Kansas  City  is 
en  in  operation 
le  contributions 

transportation, 
lal  populations, 
nasse  to  our  fer- 
es great  enough 
1  return  all  that 
;o  participate  in 

of  mechanical 
hich  render  life 
Kansas  City,  by 
tion  of  congress- 
rhen  the  senate 
from  this  board 

question.  The 
this  city  shortly 
il  body  as  repre- 
s  of  the  union, 
ourse  become  of 
amboat  arrivals 


amounted  to  sixty  five,  and  companies  are  being  extcndal  to 
make  the  Missouri  a  more  ciTicient  aid  to  the  growth  of  Ka.m3 
City  Since  the  rebellion  was  quenched,  Kansas  City  has  dis- 
played an  admirable  courage  and  perseverance,  and  her  successes 
indicate  her  acquiescence  in  the  policy  against  which  the  pro- 
slavery  party  fought 

Sr  Louis,  the  capital  of  St  Louis  county,  is  beyond  question  the 
oldest  settlement  in  the  state  of  Missouri,  and  the  city  stands  next 
to  New  York  and  Philadelphia  in  population,  being  the  third  city 
in  the  Union  in  that  respect     The  numbers  inhabiting  the  three 
cities  now   may  be  roundly  estimated  at  500,000,  750,000  and 
1  000,000,  the  largest  being,  of  course.  New  York  city,  and  the 
third  St  Louis.     The  first  settlement  on  the  site  of  the  city  was 
made  in  the  year  1764,  when  M.  La  Clede  established  the  Louisi- 
ana Fur  Company  on  this  spot,  calling  the  settlement  Saint  Louis, 
in  honor  of  his  royal  master.  King  Louis  XV,  who  was  no  saint 
at  all,  unless  history  and  the  Duchesse  du  Barri  were  both  very 
much  mistaken.     The  Governor  General  of  Louisiana  gave  to  his 
countryman,  M.  La  Clede,  the  charter,  under  which  the  settlement 
was  founded  and  the  company  established.     The  population  of 
St  Louis  did  not  progress  very  rapidly,  but  colonizing  is  not  a 
work  in  which  France  has  ever  been  very  successful.     In  the  year 
1780   when  the  French  soldiery  were  narrating  to  their  families 
and  friends  the  possibilities  and  the  prowess  of  a  free  people  on 
this  continent,  the  young  city  in  its  sixteenth  year  numbered  687 
people,  and  nineteen  years  later  the  population  was  only  92o,  m 
the  year  1799,  four  years  before  the  sale  was  effected  to  this  gov- 
ernment.   Nor  does  it  appear  that  after  the  Louisiana  purchase 
in  1803,  there  was  any  considerable  acceleration,  as  in  the  year 
1810  there  were  only  about  fourteen  hundred  souls  in  the  city  ; 
but  from  that   period  there  was  rapid  growth,   comparatively 
sneakincr,  as  in  1823  there  were  4,800,  in  1830,  6,694,  m  1840 
^^  1850,  74.439,  in  1860,  160,773,  in  1870,  310,923  and 
subsequent  enumerations  have  brought  the  numbers  up  to  4o0,000 
in  the  year  1873.     The  railroads,  which  wait  upon  the  conveni- 
ence and  necessities  of  the  citizens  of  St  Louis,  are  the  St  Louis 
andiron  Mountain;  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific;  the  Pacific  Kail- 


T-"-.!,' ---■*'«.**'''*'"'  " 


■I 


224 


TvTTi.hfs  JTisTonr  or  K.wsAfi. 


I'iiU 


roii.l   of  Missouri ;  tlio   St.  Louis,    Kaiisna   City   uikI   Northern, 
foniicrly    known  as   llio  Northern  Missouri;  all  ot  which  havo 
thfir  ti'fuiinii   here.     Ik-siik's  these,  by  way  of  the  great  l)ri(l^o 
t)Vir  the  Mississippi,  there  are  additional    facilities  by  the  Koclc 
ford,  Uoek  island  and  St.  Louis;  the  Toledo,  Wabash  and  West- 
ern ;  the  Chieago  and  Alton;  the  Indianapolis  and  St.  Louis  ;  the 
St.  Louis,  Vandalia,  Terre  Haute  and  Lidianapolis;  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi:  the  St.  Louis  and  Southwestern,  and  the  St.  Louis, 
Alton  and  Terre  Haute  Kailroad.s,  besides  other  lines  whieh  are 
projected,  and  some  of  them  considerably  advanced.     AVith  such 
aiils  toward  development  it  would  be  strange  indeed  if  St.  Louis 
should  not  thrive,  and  as  we  saw  recently,  when  the  great  bridge 
across  the  Mississipjii  was  opened   to  commerce,  the  people  aro 
-well  worthy  of  the  opportunities  with  which   they  are  and  have 
been  favored.     When  Kansas  Territory  was  first  thrown  open  to 
settlement,  St  Louis  iiad  a  popu'vtion  of  over  one  hundred  thou- 
sand souls,  but  the  small  malignity  which  found  utterance  in  the 
columns  of  the  J'lattc  Aiyu.s,  was  only  in  a  very  modified  way 
echoed  by  the  press  of  the  metropolis,  in  whreh  better  sentiments 
ruled,     ^he  people  were  in  favor  of  slavery  as  a  domestic  insti- 
tution, but  the  more  repulsive  features  of  Missourian  proceedings 
in  the  adjoining  territory  were  not  realized  by  the  nuiss  of  the 
people  who  were  too  far  from  the  debatable  land  to  take  an  active 
part  in   the  conllict.     Assessments  were  made  and  responded  to 
occasionally  by  the  St.  Louis  men  to  sustain  the  policy  of  annex- 
ation, and  some  of  the  more  adventurous  spirits  visited  the  seat 
of  war,  but  the  city  as  a  whole  was  exempted  by  its  geographical 
position  from  being  incriminated  in  the  raore  blamable  excesses 
of  the  day.     The  commercial  and  mining  ventures  of  St.  Louis, 
and  the  capital  already  at  that  time  invested  in  manufactures  put 
the  city  in  a  very  different  category  from  those  places  which  re- 
lied entirely  upon  the  slave  owners,  and  carried  all  their  eggs  in 
one  basket.     The  analysis  of  occupations  which  now  lies  before 
us  shows  how  the  population  of  the  city  was  employed  in  1870, 
but  there  had  been  no  violent  overturn,  so  far  as  this  particular 
place  was  concerned,  to  disrupt  old  industries,  and  it  may  be 
safely  assumed  that  the  relative  proportions  of  the  several  avoca- 
tions had  undergone  no  material  alteration.     There  were  then  two 


IliM*  W  I  — |i|IB!H*W«iWffl>Wl 


a^wlWUlwWlllii    II u8*MWiWM*Wil|MWWIMi>*>*»^'*- 


■**-1^r'>-*"T=^»IMjPM»^  T-WI)P»M»iJ^lj^=y^ 


Pbincipal  CiTiF.ft  OF  }fissomi. 


S85 


I  Northern, 
wliieli  liiivo 
;rt'!it  hriili^o 
y  tlio  JvDclc 
1  iiiid  West- 
,  Louis ;  tlio 
lie  Ohio  ami 
10  St.  Louis, 
L'3  wliirh  uro 

With  such 
if  St.  Li)uis 
great  bridge 
L»  pcojilo  aro 
re  and  have 
own  open  to 
indrcd  thou- 
Tancc  in  the 
iodified  way 
r  sentiments 
tnestie  insti- 
procecdings 

mass  of  tho 
kc  an  aetive 
•e.spondcd  to 
3y  of  annex- 
litcd  the  seat 
geographieal 
ible  excesses 
of  St.  Louis, 
ifactures  put 
;es  which  re- 
thcir  eggs  in 
w  lies  before 
yed  in  1870, 
lis  particular 
d  it  may  be 
Bveral  avoca- 
ere  then  two 


Imndrcd  clergymen,  over  ninety  journal i.st.<»,  six  hundred  lawyer.-*, 
five  hundred  surgeons  and  doctors,  nine;  hundred  and  fifty  teach- 
ers, thirty  thousand  laborers  and  domestic;  stirvants,  over  twenty- 
eight  lliousand  men  engaged  in  trade  and  transpnrtfition,  and 
more  tlian  thirty-eight  thou.sand  occupied  in  mining  and  in  manu- 
facture.-J,  end)raciiig  all  tho  various  avocations  in  demand  wlierc  a 
population  of  some  hundreds  of  thousands  have  coiigrrgated. 
Tlie  tone  of  such  a  great  center  could  not  be  governed  l»y  tho 
jiclty  wire  pullers  of  Westport  and  Weston,  and  the  interests  of 
the  people  were  too  numerous  to  allow  of  fanatical  unanimity  on 
such  an  issue  as  that  which  would  have  enslaved  Kansas. 

Tho  city  of  Su  Louis,  on  tho  west  bank  of  tlie  Mississip[)i, 
sixteen  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Mi.ssouri,  is  one  of  tho 
most  beautiful  in  the  Union,  and  it  covers  an  area  of  flfty-five 
square  miles,  extending  fourteen  miles  along  the  Mississippi 
bank,  on  which  it  stands,  and  stretching  inland  from  the  "  Father 
of  Waters  "  fully  nine  inile.s.  The  usual  phenomena  of  terraces 
rising  above  the  river's  baidcs  can  bo  seen  hero  in  great  per- 
fection, the  city  standing  on  three  terraces,  the  highest  fully  two 
hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  stream.  The  .streets,  which 
aro  well  graded,  run  parallel  to,  and  at  right  angles  with  the 
course  of  the  Mississippi  as  it  flows  past  the  city,  and  the  bu.sy 
wharves,  b.icked  by  handsome  and  commodious  buildings  of  every 
description,  produce  a  very  favorable  impression  upon  travelers 
who  approach  the  metropolis  by  the  river.  Indeed,  it  would  be 
diflicult  to  name  a  direction  from  which  St.  Louis  could  be 
entered  by  a  peison  blessed  with  eyes,  which  would  not  produce 
upon  him  an  impression  of  that  kind.  The  streets  are  wide,  and 
most  of  them  well  shaded;  the  warehouses  indicate  by  their 
massive  proportions  the  value  of  the  area  on  which  they  aro 
erected,  and  tho  wealth  of  their  owners  ;  the  factories  aro  standing 
protests  that  their  proprietors  have  the  command  of  abundant 
capital  to  marshal  an  army  of  industry,  whenever  desirable  for 
the  accomplishment  of  their  aims.  The  hotels  are  superb  edifices 
which  embody  all  that  is  most  beautiful  and  commodious  for  the 
convenience  of  the  traveling  public,  and  for  the  large  section  of 
the  people  of  St.  Louis,  who  find  it  more  to  their  taste  to  live  in 
such  caravanseras,  than  to  occupy  cottages  of  their  own  and 
16 


lis  Trrri.i'^  Uisthuy  or  K.iss.is. 

nHSiuno  the  rc«i)nnsil)ilitiort  of  hotisokopping.  Many  of  the  huhit' 
lies  of  tliost!  gnnid  hotels  iiw  men  niid  woiiion  of  j/iTut  wciiltli, 
niul  otlitTrt  iir«i  c'IitUs  just  I'litcring  ujioii  flu'ir  inatiirnotiial  ciucit 
on  Htiiiill  f<!ilarics,  hut  for  ovcrv  one  tho  Hita(;ious  cstahUsliriitMitH 
havir  aiiipio  ronrii,  ami  iho  UM;  d'lmlr  is  as  vaiiod  and  rich  a* 
might  servo  for  tho  groat  Mogul.  Tlio  private  resiliences  vary 
just  as  widely  as  the  eircuinstaiiecs  of  the  persons  hy  whom  they 
are  o;'enpied.  Hero  is  a  niiseralile  rookery  of  a  plaee,  whieli 
might  he  dated  from  the  days  of  M.  lia  Clode,  for  all  that  appear- 
ances my,  and  the  poopl('  that  throng  the  habitation,  irrespoetivo 
of  the  <lemands  for  so  many  eiihie  feet  of  hreathing  room,  as  per 
hygienie  regulations,  are  always  under  the  eyes  of  the  police,  or 
HUppoHcd  to  1)0  so,  except  when  they  arc  serving  their  often 
allotted  sentonecs  in  jails  and  penitentiaries.  This  is  almost  a 
palace,  and  the  man  for  whom  it  was  built  began  life  completely 
under  the  weather,  but  thanks  to  his  native  courage  and  sagacity, 
thanks  to  his  luck,  as  some  of  the  less  fortunate  phrase  their 
e.Kplaiuition,  he  has  touched  a  hundred  ventures  with  the  finger 
of  Miilas,  and  now,  not  yet  an  old  man,  he  is  one  tlio  richest 
inhabitants  of  St.  Louis,  lie  might  have  honors  innumerable, 
but  he  (iLv-lincs  them,  and  is  content  to  enjoy  his  declining  years 
surrounded  by  his  family  and  friends.  lie  lives  in  an  elegant 
building  and  the  luxuries  of  both  hemispheres  are  at  all  times 
available  in  his  unostentatious  way  for  his  friends,  but  he  fares 
simply  as  a  philosopher  him.self,  and  the  result  is  seen  in  the 
bright  light  which  dances  in  his  eyes,  and  the  merry  smile  which 
is  forever  waiting  about  his  mobile  lips.  He  was  not  favored 
with  a  first  class  education  in  his  boyhood,  but  when  opror- 
tunities  served  he  made  up  for  all  deficiencies  in  that  line  by 
reading  men  and  things  with  the  deep  scrutiny  of  experience,  and 
there  are  now  few  (i[uestions  of  moment  likely  to  arise,  upon 
which  he  cannot  indicate  the  point  where  all  the  ascertained  facts 
and  phenomena  are  lost  in  vague  conjecture,  waiting  for  the 
master  whose  key  shall  unravel  the  mystery  by  unveiling  the  full 
orbed  truth.  The  house  inhabited  by  our  friend  is  large  and 
elegant,  but  it  is  not  so  beautiful  as  his  own  career  has  been,  and 
the  city  honored  by  the  presence  of  such  men  is  tolerably  sure  to 
win  prosperity.     The  higher  terrace  is  very  largely  occupied  by 


■MIWMMMIi 


jr  of  tlio  hithlt- 
groat  wealth, 
rnoiiial  caiccr 
.stahlislitiinils 
I  iiiid  ricli  as* 
siileiiccH  vary 
ly  whom  they 

phico,  which 
1  tliat  ajipwir- 
1,  irri'spectivo 
J  room,  as  jut 
tlic  police,  or 
g  their  often 
s  is  almost  a 
fo  completely 
and  sagacity, 

phrase  their 
ith  tlio  linger 
10  the  richest 
innumerable, 
cclining  years 
in  an  elegant 
e  at  all  times 
,  but  be  fares 
s  seen  in  the 
y  smile  which 
i  not  favored 

when  opror- 

that  line  by 
:perience,  and 
0  arise,  upon 
iertained  facts 
liting  for  tho 
eiling  the  full 

is  large  and 
has  been,  and 
erably  sure  to 
r  occupied  by 


I'lllS'ilI'M.   ClTIF.S  or  }flSSOItil. 


•ja7 


private  residences,  and  it  is  CMy  to  sec  that  the  average  resident 
in  this  busy  center,  believes  in  making  liis  homo  as  comloriablo 
as  his  means  will  permit  without  caring  too  much  for  appear- 
ances.     The  public  buildings  are,  some  of  them,  very  hamlsomo 
indeed,  but  they  arc  so  numerous  that  wc  must  content  ourselves 
with   merely  cataloguing  their  names  ami  purposes,  only  saying 
in  addition,  that  they  assist  to  make  St.  Louis  look  like  a  city  of 
c.Miuisitc  beauty  and  boundless  wealtli.     Tho  city  hall  and  court 
house  with  its  graceful  dome  cost,$l,(l(i(»,000,  and  is  built  of  magne- 
sian  limestone,  occui>ying  the  center  of  u  lino  square,  bounded  by 
Fourth  street,  Fifth,  Chestnut  and  Market.    It  is  one  of  tho  most 
l)rominent  ornaments  of  a  city  whicii  has,  during  the  last  twenty 
years,  been  stcadly  improving  its  architectural  appearance.     Tho 
custom  house  and  post  ofllce  is  built  of  Mis.souri  marble,  and  tho 
building  is  also  used  by  tho  United  States  courts.     The  founda- 
tion on  whicli  the  splendid  edifice  was  to  bo  erected,  not  bcin<' 
supposed  sulliciciitly  stable  to  endure  tho  superincumbent  weight, 
the  didicully  was  obviated  by  driving  numerous  iron  shod  piles 
into  tho  earth,  to  a  depth  of  twenty  feet,  with  a  ponderous  tilt 
hammer,  which  seemed  powerful  enough  to  have  disturbed  tho 
granitic  rocks  themselves.     Since  the  building  was  raised,  tiiero 
has  been  no  settlement  observable,  nor  is  it  likely  that  there  will 
bo  a  misfortune  of  that  description  to  bo  chronicled.     Tho  first 
theater  built  in  St.  Louis  stood  where  the  custom  house  and  post 
ofiicc  are  now  erected.      In  the  southeastern  quarter  of  tho  city 
the  United  States  arsenal  stands,  and  it  is  one  of  the  most  sub- 
stantial looking  edifices  in  the  neighborhood.      The  merchant's 
exchange  is  the  temple  of  commerce  and  manufactures,  and  Pluto 
could  hardly  desire  a  handsomer  representali .  o  of  the  twin  wealth 
producing  factors  of  civilizition.     The  asylum  for  the  insane  is  a 
very  admirable   institution,  tho  building   being  orocted  on  the 
best  modern  plans  which  are  found   much  more  conducive  to 
recovery  than   the  methods  which  were   in  vogue  at  the  com- 
mencement of  this  century,  and,  of  course,  that  idea  is  the  ruling 
thought  among  men  who  devote  their  lives  to  the  treatment  of 
mental  alienation.     The  marine  hospital  is,  as  its  name  implies, 
mainly  devoted  to  the  treatment  of  diseases  and  accidents  among 


,, -, ..jii.iji.iTO^Miiiv.  ijn-.>gmi  t  i««ii  .liljiimi :' in  .1 


njiiimn'i^^,  n  i^r«iui,i»ij«i!jiii*i»i' 


228 


TuTTLhfs  llisroiir  of  Kaxsas. 


men  "  who  go  down  to  tUo  sea  in  ships,"  but  under  peculiar  cir- 
cunistunces  the  liniitutions  are  sometimes  disreguraed. 

it  will  give  our  readers  some  idea  of  tlie  importance  of  the 
shipping  interest  in  St.  Louis,  when  we  mention  that  in   1860, 
the  last  year  belore  the  commencement  of  the   rebellion,  there 
were  no  less  than   4,371   steamboat  arrivals,  representing  a  ton- 
nage of  1,120,039,  and  although  the  long  continued  war  almost 
destroyed  the   river  traffic,    there   has  already  been  secured   a 
very    near   approximation   to   the   old    figures,    notwithstanding 
that  railroads  are  now  competing  for  the  carrying  trade  of  the 
continent  as  they    never  competed    before  that    time.      It   will 
be  seen  that  there  were  good  reasons   why  a  marine  hospital 
should   be  established   in   St.  Louis.     The   Mercantile  Library 
Uall  is  a  fine  building,  and  the  library  consists  of  about  50,000 
volumes,  many  of  the  works  being  exceptionally  valuable ;  and 
besides  this  fine  collection  of  books,  there  are  many  minor  treas- 
uries of  knowledge,  offering  to  the  men  of  this  city  and  county 
such  cliances  for  culture  as  might  have  turned  the  brain  of  half 
the  world,  could  the  same  openings  have  been  presented  a  cen- 
tury aero.     The  public  school  library  contains  30,000  volumes, 
the  St!   Louis  library   25,000,   the  court    house   library   8,000 
and  the  Washington   University   library   7,000,  many  of  them 
standard  works,  and  not  a  few  works  of  reference  whicli  supple- 
ment collections  in  private  hands.     The  Merchants  Exchange  is 
sometimes  descrioed  as  the  Union  Merchants  Exchange,  and  it 
may  be  said  to  represent  all  the  varied  interests  of  trade,  com- 
merce and  manufactures  under  one  roof,  moving  harmoniously 
together  like  motor  and  sensitive  nerves  in  one  sheath,  almost 
oire,  yet  happily  various  in  their  capacity  to  serve  and  inform  the 
brain  of  society.     The  Polytechnic  Institute  is  much  thought  of 
by  the  citizens  of  St.  Louis,  and  it  really  well  deserves  the  inter- 
est always  manifested  in  its  progress.     Tne  library  has  nearly 
thirty  thousand  volumes,  and  the  apparatus  available  for  the 
illustration  of   scientific  truths  is   truly  a  valuable  collection. 
Tlie  building  is  an  ornament  to  the  city,  and  the  purpose  to  which 
it  is  devoted  argues  a  still  higher  beauty  in  the  hearts  of  the  men 
who  are  mainly  to  be  thanked  for  its  establishment     Some  of 
the  insurance  companies  in  St.  Louis  have  very  handsome  build- 


■'■**imji'n'-rmiPf*t»'^m3Vi'i9'!?fmv»!i:: 


I  I,.  m*>»^'i*iiVfV^^ 


TFW'T^^">Ti)WLPipi 


M*i*wi?Fli«»*5^ 


•  peculiar  cli- 
d. 

)rtance  of  the 
Lhat  in  I860, 
bellion,  there 
scnting  a  ton- 
d  war  almost 
an  secured   a 
)twithstanding 
r  trade  of  the 
line.      It   will 
arine  hospital 
mtile  Library 
about  50,000 
valuable;  and 
y  minor  treas- 
y  and  county 
!  brain  of  half 
resented  a  cen- 
t.OOO  volumes, 
library   8,000 
many  of  them 
which  supple- 
is  Exchange  is 
change,  and  it 
of  trade,  com- 
harmoniously 
sheath,  almost 
and  inform  the 
uch  thought  of 
erves  the  inter- 
ary  has  nearly 
ailable  for  the 
ible  collection, 
irpose  to  which 
larts  of  the  men 
nent     borne  of 
andsorae  build- 


rnisciPAL  Cmns  of  ^fIssornl. 

ings,  but  onr  list  is  already  too  long.     Some  faint  idea  of  the 
rapidity  noticeable  in  the  development  of  St.  Louis  may  bo  seen 
in  the  fact,  that  during  the  year  1872,  there  were  no  less  than 
1,559  new  buildings  erected,  and  that  1,228  of  that  number  were 
dwelling  houses  of  various  dimensions,  from  the  cottage  adapted 
for  the  mechanic  and  his  family,  to  the  abode  of  fashion  shaped 
from  magnesian  limestone  or  Missouri  marble,  or  from  the  excel- 
lent bricks  manufactured  in  and  near  this  city.     East  St.  Louis, 
in  Illinois,  is  now  part  of  the  grander  city  in  Missouri,  having 
been  joined  thereto  by  one  of  the  finest    pieces  of  engineering 
•work  known  to  the  nineteenth  century.     Two  immense   piers  in 
the  lliver  Mississippi  and  massive  abutments  at  each  bank  of  the 
river,  sustain  this  grand  highway  fifty  feet  above  high  water  level, 
and  the  structure  consists  of  three  arches,  the  central  arch  being 
525  feet  in  its  span,  and  the  side  arches  only  ten  feet  less.     The 
The  piers  have  been  carried  down  to  the  solid  rock,  one  finding 
its  foundation  sixty  feet  below  the  bed  of  the  stream,  and  the  ' 
other  pier  being  carried  thirty  feet  deeper.     The  diflficultios  at- 
tendant upon  such  operations  need  not  not  be  insisted  upon  here ; 
it  is  enough  that  we  chronicle  a  pronounced  success.     The  bridge 
has  two  stories  sustained  by  steel  arches,  constructed  of  hollow 
cylinders,  that  being  the  form  and  material  which  gives  the  max- 
imum of  strength  and  lightness  for  such  structures.     The  upper 
story  of  the  bridge  is  appropriated  for  foot  passengers  and  for 
carriages,  and  it  is  continued  by  a  viaduct  to  Washington  Ave- 
nue, at  a  point  more  than  a  thousand  feet  west  of  the  river  shore, 
being  sustained   by  five  arches.     T.  ^.  lower  tier  is  sustained  by  a 
double  tunnel,  which  ends  in  the  Great  Central  depot,  after  an 
underground  journey  of  four  thousand,  eight  hundred  feet.     The 
bridge  itself  is  2,230  feet  long,  having  cost  the  city  more  than 
$8,000,000,  beside  the  amount  expended  by  the  various  railroad 
companies  interested  in  constructing  the  approaches  on  the  Illinois 
side  of  the  river.     This  work  alone  would  tell  the  whole  world 
the  quality  of  manhood  that  governs  in  St.  Louis.     The  pyramid 
builder   Cheops,    Suphis,   or  Shufu    has  perpetuated    his  own 
doubtful  cognomen,  by  a  work  more  curious  and  incomprehensi- 
ble, but  the  genius  of  the  people  to  whose  good  sense  an  under- 
taking must  be  commended  in  our  day  would  decline  to  vote 


S80 


TUTTLlfs  HlSTOUY  OF  K. IKS  AS. 


one  cent  toward  another  pyramid,  while  the  common  consent  of 
all  concerned  allows  the  wisdom  of  this  grand  expenditure,  for 
the  purpose  of  more  securely  knitting  together  the  commercial 
welfare  of  adjoining  states.  It  is  most  assuredly  an  advantage 
to  have  been  born  a  workman  in  the  United  States  of  America, 
in  the  nineteenth  century  of  the  Christian  era,  rather  than  ia 
Egypt,  although  one  of  the  governing  caste  in  the  time  of  Shufu, 

2,500  B.  C. 

St.  Louis  is  important  as  a  manufacturing  district;  there  is  no 
city  west  of  the  Alleghanies  to  which  she  must  give  precedence. 
The  iron  works  in  the  city  are  numerous,  extensive  and  continu- 
ally increasing.     When  the  last  census  was  taken  in  the  year 
1870,  there  were  just  eleven  foundries  and  furnaces,  and  in  the 
year  1873  there  were  forty-five,  a  ratio  of  increase  such  as  few- 
cities  can  equal.     The  iron  products  of  St.  Louis  in  the  year  1872 
may  be  stated  in  round  numbers  at  $5,500,000.     When  the  lead 
mines  of    Dubuquo  were  opened  in  the  later  years  of  the  last 
century,  Julien  Dubuque  found  in  St.  Louis  his  steadiest  support, 
and  that  branch  of  industry  still  continues  to  be  prosecuted  here. 
In  the  year  1871,  there  were  17,433,138  pounds  of    lead   and 
27,000  pounds  of  zinc  produced  here,  besides  which  there  are 
about  5,000  tons  of  white  lead  and  250  tons  of  red  lead  and  lith- 
arge produced  annually.     The  items  just  given  will  sliow  that  St. 
Louis  maintains  her    preeminence   long  since  assun>ed  in  lead 
works.     Turning  from  that  department  of  industry  we  find  that 
in   the  year  last  named,  1871,  there  were   twenty-seven  steam 
flour  mills  in  the  city,  producing  1,507,915  barrels  of  flour,  while 
the  pork  packing  houses  killed  and  salted  500,000  hogs.     There 
were  then  twenty-five  breweries  in  St.  Louis  producing  within  the 
year  411,000  barrels  of  beer,  and  only  one  of  the  many  wine  com- 
panies, operating  in  1872,  manufactured  one  hundred  thousand 
gallons  of  wine,  and  one  million  bottles  of  champagne.     The 
manufactures  of  the  city   in  the  year  1870,  approximated   to 
$158,000,000,  and  since  that  date  the  increase  has  been  steady. 
St.  Louis  owes  much  of  her  prosperity  to  her  geographical  po- 
sition, almost  in  the  center  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  the  great 
food  producing  area  which  might  sustain  the  whole  population  of 
the  globe,  supposing  the  whole  twelve  hundred  millions  to  rely  up- 


PiiiNCii-AL  Cities  of  Missouri. 


m 


m  consent  of 
)enditure,  for 
I  commercial 
in  advantage 
of  America, 
ther  than  ia 
me  of  Sliufu, 

;  there  is  no 
e  precedence, 
and  contiiiu- 
\  in  the  year 
!s,  and  in  the 

such  as  few 
the  year  1872 
^hen  the  lead 
rs  of  the  last 
diest  support, 
3secuted  here, 
of  lead  and 
lich  there  are 
lead  and  lith- 
show  that  St. 
imed  in  lead 
y  we  find  that 
f-seven  steam 
3f  flour,  while 

hogs.  Tliere 
ling  within  the 
lany  wine  com- 
Ired  thousand 
npugne.  The 
iroximated  to 
i  been  steady, 
lographical  po- 
licy, the  great 
3  population  of 
ions  to  rely  up- 


on the  granaries  of  this  region  ;  and  the  rapid  growth  o  the  com- 
mercial  center  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  the   people  come  to 
the  food,  and  build  up  their  factories  in  the  source  of  supply,  m- 
stead  of  remaining  in  Europe  to  bo  fed.     To  be  only  the  farmer 
and  food  purveyor  for  the  transatlantic  nations  is  not  the  am- 
bition  of  this  people.     The  soil  so  drained  of  its  fertility  to  sup- 
ply  the  wants  of  a  foreign  population,  must  before  many  years  re- 
alize the  worst  form  of  barrenness,  in  complete  exhaustion,  while 
the  whole  profit  of  the  transaction  would  fallinto  the  hands  of 
carriers  and  agents,  conducting  the  transfer.     The  farmer  so  c.r- 
cumstanced  would  be  little  better  than  a  hewer  of  wood  and  drawer 
of  water  for  well  fed  foreigners.     He  wisely  chooses  in  preference 
to  become  his  own  manufacturer  and  engineer,  his  own  artist  and 
writer,  master  of  the  lore  of  every  age  and  every  profession,  adept 
in  every  trade,  and  inventor  or  improver  of  every  design  to  mul- 
tiply the  results  of  human  labor.     It  is  but  the  barest  justice  to 
assert  that  there  is  more  inventive  skill  in  the  average  American 
than  in  any  other  average  man  that  can  be  found  in  any  nation 
on  the  globe,  and  he  is  wise  enough  to  cultivate  this  faculty  for 
his  own  sake  as  well  as  in  the  interests  of  mankind.     He  has  be- 
neath his  feet  supplies  of  coal  which  will  endure  for  numberless 
centuries  after  the  coal  fields  of  England  shall  have  been  ex- 
hausted,  or  will  require  to  be  followed  to  a  depth  so  great,  that 
the  deposit  so  won  will  be  too  dear  to  be  used  in  manufactures ; 
and  the  American  begins  to  assume  his  position  as  the  great  pro- 
prietor  of  fuel,  having  a  corner  upon  this  indispensable  necessary 
of  hfe     His  food  can  be  sold  to  tlte  millions  of  miners  who  will 
come  here  to  win  his  coal  from  the  earth's  crust,  and  he  is  by  so 
much  exempted  from  seeking  a  foreign  market.    He  has  iron  ores 
of  the  very  best  description  equal,  even  to  the  best  qualities  that 
are  found  in  Sweden,  and  he  builds  up  a  Pittsburgh  near  to  one 
coal  mining  region,  as  he  can  build  up  similar  communities  else- 
where, until  he  can  rival  the  whole  world  in  the  production  of 
iron  and  steel,  as  well  as  in  all  the  wares  that  can  be  manufact- 
ured  therefrom,  and  very  soon,  thanks  to  the  enterprise  o    one 
section  of  our  people,  and  to  the  ingenuity  of  another,  his  axe  drives 
the  English  production  out  of  the  market  among  woodmen  in  far 
away  Australia,  and  indeed  all  over  the  world,  while  his  cutlery 


•    ~] 


232 


TVTTLlfs  lllHTOIiY  OF  K  ASS  AS. 


finds  ready  l.uyers  among  the  wiser  manufacturer^?  in  Sl.emelcl, 
who  cl>o(.se  to  import    from  our  factories,  an    exccUcnce,  with 
which  tliey  eonnot  compete.     Thus  again  we  fetch  the  con.sumer 
to  the  soil  that  will  feed  him,  because  having   the  ores,  the  coal, 
the  market  and  the  machinery,  it  is  our  manifest  destiny  to  be- 
come the  employers  of  mankind  instead  of  only  their  farmers.    The 
whole  round  of  industry  falls  sooner  or  later  into  the  same  widen- 
in.v  circle,    and  from  all   over   Europe  the  best  handicraftsmen 
make  their  calculations  for  a  pilgrimage  to  this  Mecca  of  pr.^gress, 
in  the  country  where  the  toiling  masses  rule,  and  are  content  to 
share  with  capital  the  profits  of  every  enterprise.      The  grand 
prairies  become  now  worthy  of  the  highest  skill  of  the  husband- 
man, because  the  golden  grain  which  can  be  reaped  from  his  la- 
bors, can  be  turned  into  ingots  of  the  circulating  medium  at  the 
door  of  his  granary,  and  the  man    that  buys  his  produce   can 
change  the  fleece  of  his  sheep  into  broadcloth,  can  make  for  his 
farm°tlie  very  best  descriptions  of  machinery,  can  put  into  hi» 
pocket  a  watch  of  native  manufacture  better  worthy  of  being 
carried  and  trusted  than  one-half  of  all  the  products  of  European 
workdiops.     The  water  powers  which  were  only  availed   of  to 
saw  lumber  and  to  grind  corn,  have  now  a  hundred  other  purposes 
to  serve  in  supporting  millions  of  men  and  women  engaged  in 
hundreds  of  employments  which  convert  our  food   crops   into 
higher  forms  of  wealth,  and  we  send  to  less  favored  lands,  not  the 
products  of  our  fertile  acres  but  the  more  honorable  export,  the 
ffuit  of  our  brain  power  which  may  raise  our    clients  into  a 
better  appreciation  of  the  dignity  of  manhood.     St.  Louis  is  en- 
tering upon  that  phase  of  progress,  and  her  advancement  to  the 
first  half  million  of  her  population  within  the  Centennial  year, 
is  but  the  harbinger  of  more  rapid  growth  during  the  balance  of 
the  nineteenth  century.     The  vast  area  of  which  St.  Louis  is  the 
natur'  1  port,  the  system  of  railroads  which  offers  its  aid  in  the 
work  of  building  up  commercial  success,  the  mighty  river  which 
will  carry  to  the  ocean  whatever  wealth  is  committed  to  its  care, 
the  mines,  the  ores,  the  soil,  our  workshops,  enterprise  and  inge- 
nuity, are  all  contributing  their  quota  toward  the  realization  of  a 
future  without  a  rival  in  the  world's  history,  which  will  cause  the 
unnumbered  millions  inhabiting  the  valley,  between  the  Appal- 


?«rw?"'"^'"^WT'5r*** 


«ws!«m«5*<r 


FiiisriVAL  Cities  of  Missouri. 


888 


in  SlicfTiclil, 
Hence,  with 
iio  consiuner 
res,  the  coal, 
stiny  to  bo- 
irniors.  Tl\e 
saino  witlen- 
ndicraftsmen 
I  of  progress, 
re  content  to 
The  grand 
Aie  husband- 

froni  lii.s  Ui- 
3dium  at  the 
produce  can 
malco  for  his 
1  put  into  his 
•thy  of  being 

of  European 
ivailed  of  to 
ither  purposes 
n  engaged  in 
d   crops   into 

lands,  not  the 
lie  export,  the 
clients  into  a 
I.  Louis  is  en- 
ceraent  to  the 
ntennial  year, 
the  balance  of 
)t.  Louis  is  the 

its  aid  in  the 
ty  river  which 
ted  to  its  care, 
)rise  and  inge- 
realization  of  a 

will  cause  the 
sen  the  Appal- 


laehian  chain  and   tlie  Rocky  Mountains,  to  accept  St.  Louis  as 
their  commercial  metropolis. 

The  clmrclics  of  St.  Louis  are  numerous  and  handsome,  and 
the  educational  institutions  of  the  city  are  under  the  management 
of  a  board  of  twenty-six  citizens,  known  as  the  Board  of  Public 
Schools,  and    the   school    fund   amounts   to   nearly  $4,000,000. 
There  were  58  school  houses  in  1872,  with  482  rooms,  in  which 
were  instructed  during  that  year  34,431  pupils,  and  upwards  of 
600  teachers  were  engaged  in  the  work.     The  value  of   school 
property  was  estimated  at  that  time  at  $2,235,803,  and  schools 
were  provided  very  properly  for  colored  children  as  well  as  for 
white.     The  schools  are  graded,  and  admirably  presided  over  by 
the  several  stalls  of  teachers.     There  is  a  good  normal  school  in 
the  city,  a  cenf.ral  school,  and  there  are  four  branch  high  schools, 
fifty-four  district  schools,  six  of  that  number  for  colored  youth, 
and  seventeen  evening  schools,  to  meet  the  wants  of  those  who 
are  at  work  during  the  day.     Nor  does  this  grand  array  of  public 
and  free  schools  include  the  whole  of  the  educational  machinery 
of  St.  Louis,  as  there  remain,  in  addition  to  all  these,  the  Poly- 
technic Institute,  before  mentioned  in  naming  the  libraries  of  the 
city,  the  Washington  University,  and  three  Roman  Catholic  insti- 
tutions: the  St.  Louis  University,  the  St.  Patrick  Academy,  and 
the  Collccre  of  the  Christian  Brothers.     Beyond  these  again  there 
is  provision  for  special  training  for  what  are  now  looked  upon  as 
preeminently  the  learned  professions,  medicine,  law,  engineering 
in  its  higher  branches,  literature  and  art.     The  St.  Louis  Medical 
Colle-e,  the  Missouri  Medical  College  and  the  St.  Louis  Law 
School  are  institutions  of  great  merit,  av.d  the  associations  for 
science  and  letters  comprise  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  the  En- 
gineer Club,  the  Historical  Society,  the  Institute  of  Architects, 
the  Acrricultural  and  Mechanical  Society,  the  Medical  Society, 
the  Union  Literary  Association,  the  University  Club  and  the  Art 
Society     The  progressive  thought,  born  of  so  many  and  such 
various  institutions,  gives  a  high  tone  to  society  in  St.  Louis,  and 
the  influence  is  visible  in  the  press,  which  ministers  to  every 
phase  of  advancement.     The  newspaper  and  periodical  press  in 
St  Louis  consists  of  about  eighty  publications,  eight  of  which  are 
dailies  with   a   reputation    established    throughout  the   Union. 


i 


<m 


■> 


I 


r,>'^^^^^ 


234 


Tl'TTLbfs  IIlSTOUY  OF  K.IXSAS. 


Party  politics  have  tlioir  exponents  here  as  elsewhere,  but  there 
is  culture  to  be  found  in  the  most  virulent  of  the  effusions  of  i)ar- 
tisanship.  Abstract  thought  and  science  are  represented  admira- 
bly by  the  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal,  Medical  Archives,  The 
Southern  Iteview,  The  Inland  Monthly  Magazine,  and  although 
last  in  the  list,  by  no  means  least.  The  Journal  of  Speculative 
Pliilosoi)hy  is  one  of  the  ablest  exponents  of  abstract  thought  that 
can  be  found  on  this  continent 

Having  thus  hastily  glanced  at  the  origin  of  St  Louis,  its  pro- 
gress as  to  settlement  and  as  a  city,  to  an  eminent  position  as  a 
centre  of  trade,  commerce  and  manufactures,  its  beauty  of  posi- 
tion, and  the  added  excellence  of  architectural  adornment,  its  rail- 
way and  river  facilities  for  shipment,  and  its  immense  develop- 
ment in  the  interests  of  education,  its  engineering  works,  and  its 
numerous  libraries,  its  public  buildings  and  private  dwellings,  it 
becomes  our  duty  to  glance  at  the  charitable  institutions,  which 
minister  to  the  woes  of  the  suffering  poor,  and  at  the  parks  and 
public  grounds,  which  help  to  fend  off  the  ravages  of  sickness  in 
so  great  an  assemblage  of  humanity.  Parks  are  the  lungs  of 
great  cities,  and  they  cultivate  the  beautiful  in  thought  as  much 
as  they  stimulate  healthful  action  in  the  circulating  system. 
Until  within  the  later  years  of  the  city's  growth  parks  were 
hardly  considered  in  the  economy  of  development ;  but  there  are 
some  very  fine  inclosures  now  which  invite  the  public  at  all  suit- 
able seasons  to  come  into  the  open  air  and  enjoy  the  luxury  of 
an  invigorating  atmosphere.  One  park  of  thirty  acres  has  been 
named  after  the  Marquis  De  La  Fayette,  and  around  its  margin 
are  grouped  some  of  the  most  elegant  residences  in  the  city.  The 
largest  park,  known  as  Shaw's  Garden,  contains  three  hundred 
and  thirty  acres,  and  within  its  area  are  comprised  herb  and  flower 
gardens,  hot  houses  for  plants  whose  habitat  is  in  tropical  coun- 
tries, fruit  gardens,  and  an  arboratum,  in  the  ornamentation  of 
which  the  skill  of  the  gardener  has  been  developed  to  the  highest 
point  The  St  Louis  fair  grounds  form  a  well  grassed  park, 
shaded  by  numerous  trees,  and  its  great  extent  of  eighty-five 
acres  gives  room  for  promenaders  and  for  elegant  drives,  even 
when  the  grounds  are  occupied  by  agricultural  and  industrial  ex- 
hibitions. Tower  Grove  Park  is  an  inclosure  comprising  very  nearly 


P  It  IXC  W  A  I.   Cirih.S   OF  MlSSOVUL 


235 


*e,  but  there 
isions  of  par- 
iited  iidinira- 
rohives,  Tho 
11(1  although 
Speculativo 
thought  that 


ouis,  its  pro- 
osition  as  a 
Luty  of  posi- 
nent,  its  rail- 
ise  (levelop- 
)rks,  and  its 
dwellings,  it 
tions,  which 
B  parks  and 

sickness  in 
he  lungs  of 
ht  as  much 
ing  system. 

parks  were 
)ut  there  are 
c  at  all  suit- 
e  luxury  of 
res  has  been 

its  margin 
i  city.  The 
ee  hundred 
)  and  flower 
epical  coun- 
lentation  of 
'  the  highest 
■assed  park, 
:  eighty -five 
drives,  even 
idustrial  ex- 
;  very  nearly 


three  hundred  acres,  t)nly  second  in  beauty  to  Shaw's  Gardens,  and 
there  are  fourteen  smaller  sijuares  and  inclosures  in  the  difTorent 
parts  of  thecity.  God's  Acre,  as  the  Germans  at  one  time  called 
their  grave  yards,  has  been  made  very  beautiful  in  the  cemetery  of 
Bellefuntaine,  about  five  miles  from  the  court  house,  and  tho  in- 
closure  consists  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  in  which  monu- 
ments and  foliage  combine  to  make  the  living  envy  the  repose  of 
the  honored  dead,  whose  careers  have  ended  in  victory.  Charity, 
■which  covereth  a  multitude  of  sins,  has  been  well  considered  by 
the  citizens  here.  Two  of  the  hospitals  have  been  already  men- 
tioned, but  the  Sisters'  Hospital,  a  Koman  Catholic  institution, 
deserves  notice;  besides  which  there  are  ten  orphan  a.  urns,  un- 
der various  managements,  a  home  for  the  friendless,  a  house  of 
refuge,  and  a  reform  school,  all  in  good  condition,  whether  sus- 
tained by  contributions  from  the  treasury  of  the  state,  or  sustained 
by  direct  help  from  the  pockets  of  the  public.  The  street  rail- 
ways of  St.  Louis  are  almost  perfect ;  the  city  is  well  lighted  with 
gas,  and  supplied  with  water  pumped  by  steam  force  from  the 
Mississippi  into  an  immense  reservoir,  one  mile  from  the  city 
limits.  The  police  force  is  efficient,  the  fire  department  always 
ready  for  emergencies,  the  signal  system  simple  and  effective,  the 
city  generally  healthy  and  well  governed,  and  St  Louis  may  well 
be  pronounced  one  of  the  most  prosperous  and  promising  cities 
in  the  world,  now  that  the  enslavement  of  the  black  is  no  longer 
a  blot  upon  its  escutcheon. 

St.  Joseph  is  the  capital  of  Buchanan  county,  on  the  east 
bank  of  the  Missouri  river,  565  miles  by  the  river  from  the  city 
of  St.  Louis,  just  described,  and  by  nearly  that  distance  nearer  to 
the  seat  of  war  in  Kansas;  but  only  about  five  hundred  miles 
distant  from  the  metropolis  overland.  The  city  was  first  laid  out 
by  some  Kentuckians  in  the  year  1843,  and  consequently  the 
settlement  was  little  more  than  eleven  years  old  when  the  quarrel . 
arose  as  to  the  annexation  of  Kansas  by  the  slave  power.  The 
Black  Snake  hills  constitute  the  site  of  St  Joseph,  which  was  at 
first  very  uneven  and  broken  ground,  but  attention  to  grading 
has  reduced  such  inequalities.  When  the  border  war  com- 
menced, there  was  considerable  difference  of  opinion  between  the 


I 


■.,1- i.»i(j  I iifM'      III"" 


236  TvTTLtfs  IlisTour  of  Kassas. 

Kentiickiiui  settlors  in  St.  Joseph  and  those  from  the  free  states, 
but  th«  scnthnnent,  as  a  whole,  went  with  the  pro-slav.My  party, 
and  appeared  to  consider  that  ruin  stared  in  the  face  of  every 
man  uidess  Kansas  could  be  brought  into  the  Union  as  a   slave 
Btate.     There  was,   besides,  a  very  general  impression  that  the 
Kansas  Nebraska  act  was  the  outcome  of  a  compromise^  under 
which  Kansas  should  have  gone  for  slavery;  and  tliat  idea,  sedu- 
lously strengthened  by  certain  leaders,  was  a  cause  of  much  bit- 
terness against  the  New  England  States,  which  were  said  to  be 
violating^  an  implied  compact.     The  position  was  radically  un- 
sound, but  it  was  none  the  less  p.)werful.     The  country  around 
St.  Joseph  is  very  rich,  and,  under  free  labor  will  long  contmue 
fertile.     The  city  is  moderately  well  built,  and  contains  numer- 
ous churches  and  public  buildings,  among  which  the  structures 
erected  by  the  county  of  Buchanan  are  most  prominent.     Many 
of  the  business  blocks,  banks  and  hotels  are  very  handsome,  but 
St.  Joseph  has  lost  one  source  of  wealth  which  in  its  earlier  days 
was  of    very  great  importance :    the  outfit  of  emigrants  going 
across  the  plains  to  the  golden   land  of  promise  and  elsewhere. 
At  one  time,  this  city  was  a  favorite  point  ot  departure,  and  there 
is  still  acousiderable  trade  carried  on  in  that  direction,  but  the 
railroa<ls  have  deflected  the  line  of  traffic  very  much,  and  even 
those  who  pass  over  the  same  road  can  provide  themselves  with 
necessaries  more  conveniently  in  the  cities  where  they  efifect  their 
shipment.     The  Rocky  Mountain  settlements  and  settlers  on  the 
plains  and  along  the  Upper  Missouri   still  make  St.  Joseph  their 
base  of  supply.     In  the  exciting  days  of  the  Pony  Express,  be- 
fore  the  completion  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  this  was  the 
starting  point  for  the  mails  to  Pike's  Peak  and  the  contiguous 
country.     Railroads  are  being  forwarded  to  St.  Joseph  very  rap- 
idly from  many  points,  but  many  of  the  residents  sigh  for  the 
good  old  times  which  they  fear  will  never  be  equalled.     The  city 
has  excellent  facilities  for  shipment  by  the  river,  and,  in  addition 
to  those  advantages  the  following  railroads  have  stations  or  ter- 
mini  and  depots  here:  the  Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph,  the  St.  Jo- 
seph and  Denver  City  by  steamboat  transfer,  the  St.  Louis  and 
St.  Joseph,  the   Kansas  City,  St.  Joseph  and  Council  Bluflfs,  and 
the  Maryville  branch  of  the  road  last  mentioned.     So  far  from 


PniaviPAL  Cities  of  Missnvpi. 


23( 


free  states, 
very  party, 
:o  of  every 
as  a   slave 
)n  tliat  the 
misc.  under 
;  idea,  aedu- 
»f  much  bit- 
said  to  bo 
adically  un- 
ntry  around 
ig  continue 
ains  numer- 
c  structures 
icnt.     Many 
ndsorne,  but 
earlier  days 
grants  going 
i  elsewhere, 
re,  and  there 
;ion,  but  the 
jh,  and  even 
niselves  with 
y  effect  their 
3ttlers  on  the 
Joseph  their 
Express,  be- 
this  was  the 
e  contiguous 
eph  very  rap- 
sigh  for  the 
3d.     The  city 
.1,  in  addition 
ations  or  ter- 
h,  the  St.  Jo- 
3t.  Louis  and 
iil  Bluffs,  and 
So  far  from 


realizing  the  ruin  which  the  city  at  one  time  dreaded,  has  St.  Jo- 
seph been,  that  its  railroail  facilities  have  been  steadily  inc-rcas- 
in-'  for  many  years,  and  the  iK)puKtion,  which  was  oidy  8,0:32  m 
im,  had  become  ll>,5(5o   in   1870.     There  arc  ten  ncwspapcT.'J 
published  in  the  'jity,  and  there  arc  twelve  churches,  but  the 
schools  are  not  so  numerous  nor  so  attractive  to   the  juvenile 
population  as  they  might  be  made.     The  industries  of  St  Joseph 
arc  rapidly  extending  and  among  them  wo  (hid  enumerated  fac- 
tories tor  the  manufacture  of  carriages,  machinery,  lumber,  Hour, 
wagons,    pork  packing  houses  and  other  such  cstabli.shments. 
The  city  is  lighted  with  gas,  and  well  governed  by  a  mayor  and 
council  under  the  city  charter. 

lI.vxxiu.VL  is  the  capital  of  Marion  county,  on  the  west  bank 
of    the   Mississippi    river,   150   miles  by   that  means   of   inter- 
course from  St.  Louis,  and  only  fifteen  miles  below  Quincy,  111. 
Coal  is  quite  abundant  in  this  locality,  and  much  capital  wdl  be 
expended  in  that  branch  of   industry.     Hannibal  is  a  rapidly 
growing  city,  having  numerous  flouring  mills,  tobacco  factories 
and  other  extensive  works  which  give  large  employment  to  labor. 
The  lumber  trade  from  this  point  with  other  .parts  of  Missouri, 
with  Kansas  and  with  Texas,  is  quite  an  important  item,  the  an- 
nual sales  of  lumber  ranging  near  one  hundred  and  fifty  million 
feet     The  city  is  handsome  and  surrounded,  or  partly  so,  by 
hills  on  which  very  beautiful  residences  have  been  erected  in 
commanding  situations.     Th    business  blocks,  private  dwelli  gs 
and  public  edifices  have  a  very  substantial  aspect.     The  railro.id 
facilities  for  Hannibal,  which  supplement  and,  in  some  instances, 
supplant  the  river  traffic,  are  furnished  by  the  Hannibal  and  St. 
Joseph,  the  Missouri,  Kansas  and  Texas,  the  Toledo,  Wabash  ami 
Western,  and  the  Mississippi  Valley  and  Western  railroads.    The 
Toledo,  Wabash  and  Western  Eailroad  crosses  the  Mississippi  at 
this  point,  upon  a  splendid  bridge  built  of  iron,  but  resting  upon 
stone  abutments,  which  was  built  in  the  year  1872,  and  has  added 
immensely  to  the  importance  of  Hannibal.     The  Hannibal  and 
St.  Joseph  Railroad  Company  have  located  at  this  point  the  ter- 
minus of  their  line,  and,  in  connection  therewith  their  very  ex- 
tensive machine  shops  and  general  offices  which  are  prominent 


238 


TvTTLE's   IflSTOHY  Of  A'.I.V.s'.l^". 


features  in  tlic  elegant  city.     There  are  looatod  liere  about  three 
liundrod  business  establisiimcnts,  indu.linii  four  banks,  one  foun- 
dry, ear  works  and  machine  shops,  saw  miUs,  I'laning  nnd  flour- 
ing nulls,  and  ono  daily  nnd  two  weekly  papers.     In  the  y  ar 
18(i'>,  the  population  of  Hannibal  was  6,r.05,  and,  wbr^n  the  last 
census  was  taken,  there  were  10,125;  but  since  1870  there  has 
been  a  very  considerable  augnientation  whi.       leaves   no    doubt 
that  the  city  n(.w  contains  from  fourteen  to  fifteen  thousand  peo- 
ple.    There  are  fifteen  churches  in  the  city,  some  of  them  of 
great  beauty,  and  all  well  supported  by  the  sects  which  they  rep- 
resent.    Kducation  is  carol  for  by  several  private  schools  nnd 
academies   of    conspicuous   merit,    and   there   are   seven   public 
schools   located  in  handsome   building.s,  the  grading  well  nigh 
perfect  and  the  teachers  among  the  best  that  cnn  be  found  in 
Missouri.     The  attendance  is  slightly  above  the  average,  but  in 
this  city,  as  in  many  others  in  this  state,  the  school  system  was 
unwi.'^dy  delayed  because  of  the  peculiar  domestic  institution. 
There  is  an  excellent  college  in  Hannibal  which  draws  its  support 
from  all  parts  of  the  state,  and  many  of  the  ablest  men  in  Mis- 
souri have  participated  in  its  advantages  since  the  abolition  of 
slavery  has  removed  the   embargo  which  was  once  laid  upon 
learning  for  fear  of  its  ameliorating  influence  upon  the  degraded 
race. 

Inpkpexpkxce  was  for  a  long  time  the  great  depot  of  the  Santa 
Fe  trade,  which  flourished  here  for  some  years  before  Kansas 
City  site  was  first  settled.     Independence  was  one  of  the  strong- 
holds of  the  proslavery  party  in  Missouri,  many  of  the  Santa  Fe 
traders  having  invested  all  their  earnings  in  slave  plantations,  and 
of  course  their  influence  was  all  but  invincible  at  this  point. 
This  is  the  capita!  of  Jackson  county,  and  it  stands  ten  miles  east 
of  Kansas  City,  being  connected  therewith  by  a  narrow  guage 
railroad.     The  city  was  first  founded  in  1827,  but  until  the  over- 
land routes  to. Oregon,  California  and  New  Mexico  made  this  set- 
tlement a  kind  of  headquarters,  there  were  but  few  people  who 
knew  anything  about  the  location,  three  miles  from  the  Missouri 
Kiver,  which  had  slowly  arrived  at  its  very  moderate  importance 
after  the  passage  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  under  the  directing 


-■.w 


PniSriPAL  ClTlK>i  OF  ,V/>.vOfff/. 


230 


about  throe 
s,  (tiic  foun- 
;  and  flour- 
[\\  the  yar 
i(;n  the  hist 
0  there  ha.s 
3  no  (U>ubt 
ousand  peo- 

of  them  of 
ich  tliey  rep- 

scliools  ami 
loven  public 
ig  well  nigh 

be  found  in 
erage,  but  in 
[  system  was 
c  institution, 
vs  its  support 

men  in  Mis- 
5  abolition  of 
cc  laid  upon 
the  degraded 


)t  of  the  Santa 
lefore  Kansas 
of  the  strong- 
the  Santa  Fe 
antations,  and 
at  this  point, 
ten  miles  east 
narrow  guage 
until  the  over- 
made  this  set- 
!w  people  who 
n  the  Missouri 
tte  importance 
r  the  directing 


Land  of  Ilonry  Clay,  in  1820.     There  are  two  collcgos  .n        c,t 
besides   public  and  private  .sch.oI« ;  but  Independc-ncc   has  not 
burst  its  old  bonds  compU-loly,  and  may  not  develop  into  a  re- 
Humplion  of  the  influential  pla.e  it  on-e  (,ccupied  i,.  pubhc  estoen. 
for  many  years.     The  city  is  well  built,  but  .t  doe.s   not  extend, 
,Uhough  it  contains  among  its  residents  many  wealthy  and  ente.- 
prisinJmen.     There  are  two  banks  and  two  weekly  newspapers 
i„  Independence,  and  its  population  in  the  year  187  J,  when  the 
last  census  was  taken,  showed  a  total  of  3,184.     Many  res.dents 
and  property  owners  in  this  city  arc  now  identified  with  prosper- 
cus  firu.s  in  Kansas  City,  and  in  that  way  they  are  mc.re  than 
compensated  for  the  passing  away  of  the  old  yun,;  but  there  arc 
not  a  few  fossils  in  this  locality  who  can.iot  be  persuaded  that  it 
was  other  than  an  overwhelming  misfortune  for  the  whole  union, 
when  Kansas  came  in  as  a  free  state. 

Westox,  onco  famous  for  its  power  during  the  border  war,  i« 
in  Platte  county,  Missouri,  and  it  was  by  no  mean,  satisfied  to 
submit  to  prosiavery   dictation,  but  being  surrounded   by  the 
agents  and  influences  of  Gen.  Atchison  and  his  «««;«'^\^«';* J^; 
not  possible  to  stand  out  of  the  ring.     The  Platte  County  D  fen- 
sive  Association  was,  however,  broken  up  by  the  determined  re^ 
Histance  of  the  Westonites  in  1854,  and  the  people  deserved  a 
better  outcome  for  their  efforts.     The  village  stands  on  the  ^f-s- 
souri  bank,  on  the  line  of  the  Kansas  City,  St.  Joseph  and  Coun- 
cil  Bluffs  Kailroad,  having  some  manufactures  established  here, 
and  a  considerable  shipping  trade.     The  city  of  /^^^"^^f  J^ 
Len  miles  below  Weston  on  the  other  side  of  the  nver,  and 
from  this  point  thousands  of  ruffians  from  many  count.es  used  to 
make  the  r  incursions  into   the  territory  during  the  invasion. 
Weston  stands  thirty  miles  south  of  St.  Joseph,  but  the  village 
does  not,  increase  in  the  same  ratio  with  its  surroundings,     ihe 
township  of  which  it  is  the  postal  village,  only  contained  a  popu- 
lation of  2,453  in  the  year  1870,  and  Weston  has  1,614  mhabit 
ants      The  school  arrangements  of  Weston  are  pnmitive  but 
respectable;  the  ehurehes  are  not  splendid,  but  they  are  moder- 
at  ly  well    upported.     There  is  only  one  weekly  newspaper  pub- 
lished here,  but  it  is  believed  the  place  will  rise  out  of  sleepy 
hollow. 


■il  "WStWfc— 


240  TUTTLlfs  IIlSTOIlV  oh'  K ASSAIL. 

Lkxixgton  is  doubtkvsrt  fuiniliar  to  our  mi.lora  as  ono  of  tlio 
lui.aing  places  on  tho  banks  of  tl.o  Missouri  Uiver,  wl.ic-l.,  in  tho 
years  l.S.'.l  0,  usod  to  be  rcsorle.l  to  by  border  rulVuins  to  ascer- 
tain wliellier  froo  soil   emigrants  wen*  on  board  tiio  nvcr  boats, 
ui.il  if  so  to  compel  them  to  return  whence  they  came,  or  at  any 
nito  to  force  them  to  surrender  any  weapons  of  which  they  might 
bo  possessed.     This  system  continued  so  long   in  opt.-ration  and 
became  so  annoying,  that  eventually  large  numbers  came  to  kan- 
Hus  Territory  through  Iowa  at  very  much  greater  cost.     Of  eour.se 
Nvhen  the  free  soilers  came  on  in  large  bodies,  they  were  duscreetly 
allowed  to  pass  unmolested.     The  people  of  Lexington  were  not 
in  any  sense  responsible  for  the  oppressive  system  which  was  part 
of  the  mechanism  of  the  pro.slavery  party  all  over  the  state  during 
the  border  troubles.     The  city  is  tho  capital  of  La  Kayette  coun- 
ty  and  it  stands  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Mi.ssoun  lliver,  on  a 
phiteau  three  hundred  feet  above  high  water  mark,  being  in  con- 
Bciuence  tolerably  safe  against  inundation.     Coal  of  the  best  kind 
has  been  found  in  this  locality,  and  Lexington  is  one  of  the  oldest 
Bcttlements  in  tho  state,  as  well  as  one  of  tho  most  prosperous. 
There  are  four  weekly  newspapers  published  in  the  city,  and  in 
the  year  1870,  there  was  a  population  of  4,;573.     Tlio  Sedalia 
branch  of  the  Missouri  Pacific  llailroad  has  a  station  here,  and  at 
North  Lexington  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  are  dei)ot3  of 
tho  St  Joseph  and  Lexington,  and  the  St  Louis,  Kansas  City  and 
Northern,  which  runs  along  the  river  bottom,  incamng  of  course 
the  second  bottom  of  the  stream.     The  city  is  250  miles  by  rail- 
road  from  St.  Louis,  about  370  by  the  river,  and  forty  miles  east 
of  the  boundary  lino  of  Kansas.     It  was  a  position  well  chosen 
fur  such  inquisitorial  visits  as  Missouri  once  thought  it  necessary 
to  pay  to  families  traveling  Kansasward  upon  the  river.     Kemp 
was  at  that  time  one  of  the  badges  of  the  proslavery  party,  which 
organized  the  raids  into  Kansas,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  popu- 
la°  prescriptions  of  Judge  Lynch,  when  combined  with  a  branch 
of  a  tree  and  a  free  soiler,  to  assist  in  converting  the  territory  into 
a  slave  state;  and  it  is  very  interesting  to  ascertain  that  this  city 
is  considered  the  center  of  the  hemp  growing  region  in  Mussoun, 
now  happily  converted  to  more  peaceful  and  more  civilizing  uses. 
The  coal  trade  is  a  very  important  branch  of  the  industries  of  this 


■^"^ 


J'lnsciiAL  (UriHs  or  Mtssonu. 


941 


ono  of  tlio 
vliich,  ill  llio 

UlS    to    UHl'Cl'- 

river  boiit.s, 
nc,  or  ul  ftny 
ii  llicy  niiylit 
[Hjration  aiul 
;iuuc  U)  Kun- 
;.  Of  cour.se 
ere  cliscroctly 
;ton  were  not 
li'jli  wart  part 
!  Htato  lUu'iiig 
^'ayette  coun- 
i  River,  on  a 
being  in  con- 
thc  best  kind 

I  of  tbe  oldcat 
t  prosperous. 
i  city,  and  in 

Tlic  Sedalia 

II  bcre,  and  at 
are  depots  of 
msaaCity  and 
iiig  of  course 
miles  by  rail- 
irty  miles  cast 
a  well  chosen 
it  it  necessary 
river.     Ilemp 
r  party,  which 
lie  most  popu- 
with  a  branch 
3  territory  into 
.  that  this  city 
a  in  Missouri, 
civilizing  uses, 
tlustries  of  this 


locality,  and  the  supply  is  almost  nnlimit.d.     '1  he  city  was  firs 
Hctllcd  ill  l«a7,  the  siluali..n  is  one   of  the   best  on  the  banks  ot 
the  Missouri  for  the  pivscrvalion  of  hoalMi,  and  the  prosperity  ol 
tl.c  place  has  been  cnlinuous.     Lexington  was  tlio  seetie  of  some 
brilliant  engagements  during  the  rebellion  ;  the  hill  to  the  north- 
cast  was  held  by  Col.  James  Mulligan  and  a  force  of  2,800  men 
for  the   Union,  against  Cen.  Priee  and  a  Coiifediuate   force  of 
25,(100  strong,  and  although  eventually  the  town  and  garrison  sur- 
rendered  to  the  enemy,  the  position  was  recaptured,  and  the  pns- 
oners  of  war  released  within  ono  month.     There  was  another  pas- 
sage of  arms  on  the  same  ground  in  1804.    There  are  ten  churches 
in  Lexington,  and  tliev  are  well  sustained.     The  city  has  tliree 
Bcininaries  for  young  ladies,  and  there  are  cKcelleut  pub'. c  schools 
free  to  all  clas.ses  in  the  community,  ..nder  Ih-st  cla-i  management 
ivnd  well  graded.     There  is  <iuite  a  large  German  rlemenl  in  the 
population,  and  as  a  matter  of  course  such  ooioiiis.s  ure  ahvays,  as 
a  rule,  law  abiding  and  induslrioas.     There  j..o  four  1     iks  \u 
Lexington,  and  the  city  presents  all  the  signs  of  great  pi  .  ,)erity, 
which  is  well  deserved  and  is  likely  to  abide. 

BoONEVlLLE  was  for  some  time  a  Confede  ate  c  nnp  during  too 
rcbellion,  but  in  June,  1861,  the  forces  unuor  Col.  Marmaduko 
were  routed  by  Gen.  Lyon,  the  Confederata  force  abandoning 
their  camp,  ciuipage,  guns  and  clothing.     Booneville  is  a  p.rt 
on  the  Missouri  river,   and  the  capital  of  Cooper  county,   --7 
miles  from  the  city  ot  St.  Louis  by  water  an.;  :87  miles  by  land. 
The  c<nnmerce  of  Booneville  is  very  considerable,  and  it  stands 
in  the  center  of  a  very  rich  agricultural  country,  being  naturally 
the  port  of  shipment  for  an  extensive  area.     The  position  of  the 
city  is  very  favorable  to  good  hygienic  rules,  as  it  occupies  a 
bluff  one  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  river,  and  the  neigh- 
borhood is  especially  favored    ivith  mineral  wealth,  having  an 
abundance  of  lead,  iron,  coal,  marble  and  hydraulic  lime,  which 
will  almost  of  necessity  bring  to  the  place  large  investments  of 
capital  for  the  employme.^f  of  skilled  labor.     The  city  has  rail- 
road  communicatioi-  b    .^  branch  line  of  twenty-five  miles,  which 
joins  the  Missouri  Pacific  line  at  that  distance  from  the  port 
The  popul-tion  of  Booneville  in  1870,  was  3,506,  and  there  are 
16 


II  .<!  .■ii.iinJlBW'  T;n)H"Ti[i|»»w"»p^M)Wi",'!^iif   ''^%'f^ 


242  Tcttle's  TTistory  of  K.iysAs. 

three  wecldy  papers  published  here.  The  churches  of  the  city 
a;o  eornmoaL',  but  not  superb,  and  the  school  system  .uU  soon 
stand  in  need  of  extension. 

We  have  glanced  at  the  principal  cities  of  the  state  of  Mis- 
.ouri   and  it  is  eviden.  that  when  the  great  descent  was  made 
upon  Kansas  territory,  the  movement  was  due  not  to  the  consen- 
tTncous  action  of  t^n  great  centers  of  commerce  and  population, 
b't       the  influenc    of  ^unscrupulous  demagogues  operatmg  upon 
a  scattered  and  uneducated  populace,  remote  from  the  ,nfl  en  e 
of  the  school  and  the  newspaper  in  the  better  sense,  mou  ded  m 
secret  societies  by  the  prestige  of  wealthy  men  whose  mmds  weie 
of  the  lower  order,  and  deluded  by  politicians  who  we,,  con  tnt 
to  pander  to  the  lowest  passions  of  the  mob,  u.  the  hope  that 
h^-  by  they  might  secure  the  prizes  of  a  contemptible  ambition 
With  a  forc'e  suc^h  as  we  have  seen  scattered  over  a  «tate  so  vas^ 
there  was  not  a  possibility  of  success  for  the  mvaders,  when  the 
public  spirit  of'the  eastern  and  middle  states  had  once  been 
J  'd,  but  the  free  soilers,  fighting  almost  for  hfe  itself,  and 
bile  a;  any  moment  to  be  overwhelmed  by  an  -«-  f  ^-^- 
rians  could  not  have  held  their  own  in  the  contest  but  foi  the 
ass  s'ance  which  poured  in  from  the  New  England  states  and 
Twhere  to  strengthen  their  hands  against  the  enemy^     We  have 
T,..sed  bevond  the  time  when  a  quarrel  around  the  ballot  box 
r^p     ented   the  modus   operandi  of  the  pro.lavery  party;   the 
Xin  "  of  a  state  constitution  and  the  systematic  procedure  by 
wirdit  was  to  be  submitted  to  the  people,  had  about  it  an 
:  pott       business  which  must  be  intercepted  and  destroyed  by 
thetvorite  tactics  of  the  enemy,  unless  the  antagomstsof  p  og^ 
ts  were  prepared  to  lay  down  their  weapons  and  acquiesce  in  a 
";:,r  gainst  which  they  had  in  a  thousand  ways  sworn  venge- 
ance      The  population  in  western  Missouri  was  reinforced   by 
Tmbers  from  Arkansas  and  the  southern  states  prepared  to  fight 
lorteperpetuation  of  slavery,  and  we  shall  resume  the    errito^ 
rial  history  of  Kansas  the  better  qualified  to  comprehend  the 
^s^tusl^the  prospects  of  each  party  for  the  bncf  digression 
and  hasty  reconnaissance  in  which  we  have  indulged. 


t>.i>..iiiLllniiWil«ai«H'*"" 


The  WAKAiiusA  War. 


243 


?  of  the  city 
;m  will  soon 


5tate  of  Mis- 
It  was  made 
)  the  con  sen - 
I  population, 
crating  upon 
the  influence 
!,  moulded  in 
e  minds  were 

were  content 
he  hope  that 
ble  ambition, 
,  state  so  vast, 
ers,  when  the 
ad  once  been 
life  itself,  and 
flux  of  barba- 
;t  but  for  the 
ind  states  and 
ny.     We  have 
the  ballot  box 
iry  party;  the 

procedure  by 
id  about  it  an 
I  destroyed  by 
;onists  of  prog- 
[  acquiesce  in  a 
■s  sworn  venge- 

rein  forced  by 
repared  to  fight 
ume  the  territo- 
•omprehend  the 
brief  digression 
ged. 


CHAPTER  X. 

TERRITOHTAL   HISTORY 
^renumed.) 

THE  WAKAUUSA  WATl. 

Reinforced  from  the  East -Town  Drummers  at  Work  -  TJnscttled  Settlers - 
Sickness  PrevailinR- Acting  Governor  Woodson -Lexington  Confer- 
cnce  Manifesto -The  Kansas  Legion -The  Doniphan  ^,r;)««''- Milita- 
ry Organizations  -  Law-  Secret  Confederation-  Proslavery  Outrages  - 
Personal  Assaults  -  Kelley  -  Butler  -  Governor  Shannon  -  Concdiuliug 
Missouri -Law  and  Order  Tactics -Shannon's  Mistake— General  Cal- 
houn-Law  mns  Order- Talking  Blood -Hostilities -Trespasses  and 
Sins  —  Deliherate  Murder—  Public  Demonstration  —  Incendiary  Fn-es  — 
The  Missouri  Slicritl- Illegal  Arrest- To  the  Uescue-  Design  on  Law- 
rence—Wanted  Three  Thousand  ]SIeu  — Assisting  Jones  — Major  Gen- 
eral   Richardson— The  Warlike    Proclamation- Platte  County  Rifle- 
men-Wakarusa  Encampment -Wading  Waist  Deep-The  Situation 
in  Lawrence -Committee  of  Safety- President  Pierce- Commander- 
in-Chief  Robinson -Congress -Fortifying    the    City  -  Munitions  of 
War -Brigadier  General's  Discretion  -  Colonel  Sumner  -  The  Assau- 
ants  Chagrined  -  United  States  Troops  -  Governor  Shannon  Informed- 
His  Vacillation -Visit  to  the  Camp -Attempt  to  Mediate -Making 
Discoveries -Plots  and  Countoriilots  -  Change  of  Base  -  Indian  Al- 
lies-Abolition Scalps-Biding  the  Issue -Thomas  Barber's  Death - 
Scenes  in  Camp  -  Negotiating  u  Peace  -  The  Governor  in  Lawrence  - 
The   Treaty  -  Husbanding    Forces- Pacification   Feast  — The    JilacK 
Flag  Conspiracy  — Brave  Women. 

While  the  events  which  have  been  described  in  preceding 
chapters  were  being  enacted,  the  settlers  in  Kans:-,s  territory  con- 
tinued to  send  home  to  their  friends  in  the  free  states  detailed  de- 
scriptions of  the  wrongs  under  which  they  suffered,  because  they 
were  not  sufficiently  strong  to  resist  the  enemy,  and  the  result  oj. 
such  disquisitions  was  found  in  a  more  decided  setting  of  the  tide  of 
emigration  this  way.     The  several  emigrant  aid  societies  worked! 
with  an  intelligent  appreciation  of  the  circumstances,  such  as  couldj 
only  come  from  continuous  correspondence  with  the  leading  minds 
engaged  in  the  struggle.     Not  only  the  old  Bay  State,  bi3,ti  ?enrv> 


-.-^  ^-  -^firnif^^.yr,  ^y 


iJt|j«TflHU^I)J>J(.'llll1^ 


214 


Tuttle's  History  of  Kaxsas. 


% 


sylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Midiigan,  Iowa  and  Wisconsin 
supplied  each  their  quota,  not  by  drafts  and  conscriptions,  but  by- 
assisting  as  far  as  possible  the  ardent  vc^lunteers  who  were  desir- 
ous to  be  in  the  front  rank  where  the  battle  raged  its  hottost 
Daring  the  later  part  of  the  spring  and  summer  of  1855,  great  num- 
bers came  in  to  reinforce  the  free  soil  party.     The  New  England 
Emigrant  Aid  Society  alone  sent  out  five  hundred,  and  most  of 
these  were  men  who  could  be  relied   upon  in    an   emergency. 
There  were  splendid  locations  away  back  from  the  border,  which 
seemed  to  invite  settlement  by  their  remoteness  from  the  scenes 
of   disturbance   as   well   as  by  their  natural   beauty  and  other 
charms,  so  that  many  of  the  new  comers  were  scattered  as  it  were 
broadcast  back  from  the  Missouri  river  toward  the  sources  of  the 
Kansas  river.     The  settlers  who  now  came  in  were  not  all  pos- 
sessed of  the  martyr  spirit,  or  if  they  were,  the  power  to  control 
their  feelings  in  some  cases  must  have  been  immense.     Many  of 
the  first  to  arrive  in  the  spring  of  1855  had  laid  out  towns  upon 
their  selections,  before  their  most  expeditious  friends  could  fol- 
low, and  upon  the  arrival  of  the  next  detachments  they  were  able 
.to  demonstrate  almost  to  their  own  satisfaction,  that  the  place 
which  had  been  so  fortunate  as  to  secure  their  approval  could 
not  fail  to  be  the  capital  of  the  future  state,  the  seat  of  justice 
for  the  most  prosperous  county,  the  center  of  a  mining  district, 
•  compared  with  which  Golconda  would  have  no  charms,  the  site  of 
manufacturing  enterprise  which  would  put  Lowell  and  Pittsburgh 
in  the  shade,  and  the  abode  of  so  vast  and  varied  a  commerce, 
that  within  the  next  decade  Chicago,  St.  Louis,  Philadelphia  and 
New  York  would  in  succession  hide  their  diminished  heads  be- 
fore the  new  luminary  destined  to  outvie  the  metropolitan  cities 
of  both  hemispheres.     All  this,  and  perhaps  a  little  more,  was 
hashed  and  rehashed,  by  instalments,  by  energetic,  unscrupulous 
and  enthusiastic  drummers,  for  towns  which  had  hardly  yet  even 
an  existence  upon  jiaper,  while  the  land  itself  had  not  been  sur- 
veyed, and  while  the  title  necessarily  might  be  open  to  a  thous- 
'ind  questions.     The  towns  which  had  been  laid  out  in  the  fall  of 
1854:  were  most  of  them   destined  to  survive,  but  many  of  the 
settlements  now  projected  did  not  come  alive  through  their  in- 
fantine ailments ;  some  died  before  they  were  even  christened,  and 


1  "Wisconsin 
ions,  bvit  by 
)  were  desir- 

its  liottost. 
3,  great  num- 
rew  England 
and  most  of 

emergency, 
order,  which 
n  the  scenes 
:y  and  other 
cd  as  it  were 
)urces  of  the 
3  not  all  pos- 
rer  to  control 
3e.     Many  of 

towns  upon 
ds  could  fol- 
ley  were  able 
hat  the  place 
proval  could 
eat  of  justice 
ning  district, 
lis,  the  site  of 
id  Pittsburgh 

a  commerce, 
ladelphia  and 
3d  heads  be- 
politan  cities 
tie  more,  was 
unscrupulous 
rdly  yet  even 
lot  been  sar- 
in to  a  thous- 
t  in  the  fall  of 

many  of  the 
ugh  their  in- 
tiristened,  and 


The  WAK.inusA  War. 


246 


not  a  few  have  left  names  only,  which  the  prudent  historian  will 
find  it  no  easy  matter  to  locate,  before  another  decade  shall  have 
passci  .vw.  y     Even  where  the  towns  had  been  wisely  located, 
the  grc-..  in  in  value  was  not  speedy,  for  there  were  troublous  times 
before  Kansas.     Many  of  the  new  comers  were  sickly  sentiment- 
alists, who  wanted  to  colonize  Arcadia  to  the  -.lusic  of  the  tune- 
ful shepherd's  pipe,  and  to  rise  each  morning  fro.-n  the  soft  lullaby 
of  their  night's  repose,  only  to  bathe  their  manb  frames  in  rose- 
water,  until  they  should  be  summoned  to  r.,aoutinal  feasts  more 
luxuriant  than  their  beds  of  down.     For  such  men  there  was  no 
opening  in  Kansas.     The  work  before  the  settler  in  that  territory 
had  the  clangor  of  battle  in  it,  rather  than  the  soft  allurements 
with  which  they  were  enamored.     Many  found  that  they  had  not 
vi'for  enough  in  their  town  reared  bodies,  to  breast  the  difficulties 
which  opened  up  before  them  at  every  step.     Some  men  retired 
from  the  field  because  the  unsettled  aspect  of  affairs  would  not 
■warrant  them  in  retaining  their  families  around  them,  and  others, 
hoping  that  they  saw  the  probability  of  a  solution  of  all  difficul- 
ties only  a  few  months  ahead,  sent  their  wives  and  children  back 
to  their  old  homes  for  a  season,  while  they  encamped  upon  the 
temporary  battle  ground  prepared  to  acquit  themselves  like  men. 
The  wonder  is  that  so  many  remained  to  face  the  hardships  of 
pioneer  life,  added  to  the  special  disturbing  causes  whicb  were 
operating  in  the  territory,  but  when  the  r---\nd  is  once  resolved 
upon  a  course,  the  body  possesses  a  wonderiul  power  of  adapta- 
tion, which  can  accomodate  itself  with  something  akin  to  pleasure 
to  the  most  incongruous  surroundings.     The  shibboleth  upon  the 
outset  of   the  Kansas  movement  very  effectively  sent  back  the 
men  not  suited  to  the  undertaking,  hence  it  happened  that  in  the 
hours  of  trial  which  were  impending,  the  spirit  of  the  old  revo- 
lutionary times  seemed  to  have  a  home  in  every  breast.     Among 
those  who  concluded  to  remain,  there  was  so  much  work  on  hand 
that  but  few  could  afford  time  to  dig  wells,  and  springs  were  more 
rare  in  Kansas  than  they  are  at  present,  so  that  there  was  soon 
much  suffering  for  want  of  water.     The  summer  of  1855  was  hot 
and  dry  in  the  territory.     When  rain  fell  there  was  a  violent 
storm,  but  the  hardened  soil  did  not  drink  in  the  water,  and  it 
ran  off  through  the  creeks  and  water  courses  to  the  rivers.    Some 


u',«a^»iS^S»^'  ■ 


r 


246  TuTTu:'s  Histouy  of  Kassas. 

men,  anticipating  such  visitations,  had  erected  temporary  dams, 
^hich  served  tl.eir  purpose,  so  far  as  that  they  secured  supphes 
of  water,  but  the  surface  water  in   Kansas  holds  so  much  sa  t  of 
various  kinds  in  solution,  that  sickness  became  terribly  prevalf  nt. 
Cholera  and  fevers  decimated  the  colony,  reducing  the  stmngest 
men  to  mere  shadows,  and  putting  many  under  the  sod.     Wliere 
wells  had  been  secured  as  the  primal  requisite,  the  worst  evils 
were  avoided,  as  the  health  of  mankind  depc.ids  more  upon  good 
water  than  upon  any  other  item  that  can  be  named.      Those  wbo 
were  so  fortunate  as  to  obtain  their  supply  from  filtration  through 
sandstone  procured  water  soft  enough  for  the  purposes  of    he 
laundress,  yet  as  clear  of  unwholesome  quality  or  sediment  as  the 
aquapro'u  of  the  philosopher's  dreau.;  and  their  hea  tlis  were  not 
impaired  by  other  hardships.     Still  there  was  no  bed  of  roses  for 
even  the  most  fortunate  settler  in  Kansas  territory  in  the  year 

1S55 

The  most  supple  man  in  the  territory  in  that  trying  time  was 
the  acting  governor,  Daniel  Woodson,  the  secretary  o^^he  admin- 
istrationof  which  Mr.  Reeder  had  been  the  head.     Whe"    ^^^^^ 
gentleman  was  removed  from  office  there  were  seveml  bills  pend 
?n.  which  had  not  been  signed  by  him,  for  the  sufficient  reason 
te  the  legislature  had  gone  beyond  its  limits,  but  no  sooner  had 
he  been  relieved  from  his  responsibility  than  Mr.  Woodson  ap- 
pended his  signature  as  the  acting  governor  to  every  document 
so  that  there  was  nothing  wanting  that  executive  power  could 
confer  to  make  the  action  of  the  pseudo  legislative  assembly  valid 
law     The  slave  power  found  in  such  a  pliant  man  just  the  ma  e- 
rial"  necessary  for  its  purposes.     He  was  not  a  bad  man  but  he 
was  accommodating  and  ambitious,  and  having  seen  the  first  gov- 
ernor destroyed  by  the  influence  of  the  proslavery  organization 
he  laid  himself  out  to  win  the  approval  of  the  power  behind  the 
throne.     In  that  aim  he  succeeded  completely,  and  even  after  it 
was  understood  that  the  Hon.  Wilson  Shannon  of  Ohio  had  been 
nominated  for  the  position,  the  legislature  and  its  friends  memo- 
rialized the  president  to  appoint  Mr.  Woodson  governor  of  Kan- 
sas    The  fact  that  a  man  from  Ohio  had  been  named  made  the 
party  even  more  solicitous  on  behalf  of  the  secretary,  as  a  free 
state  man  could  hardly  be  otherwise  than  an  object  of  suspicion 


tffliiiBirirriliii*'  iiiii  >«>«■  i*«"i 


lorary  dams, 
■ed  supplies 
much  salt  of 
ly  prevalfnt. 
the  strongest 
3od.     Where 
Q  worst  evils 
re  upon  good 
Those  who 
Uion  through 
rposes  of  tlie 
diment  as  the 
Jths  were  not 
l1  of  roses  for 
{ in  the  year 

ifing  time  was 
of  the  admin- 
When  that 
ral  bills  pend- 
ITicient  reason 
no  sooner  had 
Woodson  ap- 
ery document, 
3  power  could 
assembly  valid 
just  the  mate- 
i  man,  but  he 
Q  the  first  gov- 
y  organization, 
wer  behind  the 
id  even  after  it 
Ohio  had  been 
friends  memo- 
vernor  of  Kan- 
imed  made  the 
etary,  as  a  free 
)ct  of  suspicion 


TuE  Wakakvsa  War. 


247 


to  persons  conscious  of  sirnster  means  and  dubious  ends,  which 
only  an    unscrupulous   executive  could   be  oxpecled   to  assist. 
The  Virginian,  Daniel  Woodson,  they  had  found  an  able  ally, 
and  the  new  appointee  might  prove  a  worse  antagonist  than  Mr 
lleedor,  so  they  redoubled  their  solicitations  for  the  sub.t.tutu.n 
of  the  name  of  their  proved  friend  and  accomplice.     Mr.  ^\  ocxi- 
Hon  was  an  able  man  undoubtedly,  he  had   been  ^^^'tcn-of  Uo 
Lynchburg  llepublican,  the  most  influential  paper  in  the  littlx 
city  in  his  native  state,  and  in  that  position  had  won  by  his  ser^ 
vices  to  the  party,  the  appointment  of  secretary  of  the  territory  of 
Kansas  before  he  was  thirty  years  of  age;  consequently  there 
was  no  lack  of  capacity  in  the  too  compliant  journalist  and  secre- 
tary, but  with  such  a  man  as  governor,  the  free  soil  men  in  the 
country  west  of  the  Missouri  would  have  had  a  far  rnore  difTicult 
task  before  them  than  that  which  they  accomplished.     The  pro- 
slavery  party  in  Missouri  did  not  succeed  in  changing  the  nom- 
ination, but  their  outspoken  doubts  as  to  Mr.  Shannon,  and  their 
undoubted  influence  at  head  quarters  had  an  unmistakable  inllu- 
ence  in  determining  the  earlier  movements  of  the  appointee. 

While  these  matters  were  yet  in  abeyance,  the  proslavery  party 
in  Missouri  held  a  conference  at  Lexington  City  to  discuss  the 
affairs  of  Kansas  at  a  distance  of  forty  miles  from  the  boundary 
of  the  territory  most  interested  in  their  deliberations     The  con- 
ference continued  its  sittings  for  two  days  and  nights,  but  nothing 
came  of  all  their  labor  except  a  puerile  manifesto  intended   o  set 
themselves  and  their  illegal  purposes  right  with  the  world  at 
large  by  a  volume  of  abuse  against  emigrants'  aid  societies,     ihe 
usual  incoherences  were  indulged  in  by  the  several  speakers; 
they  were  right  in  their  aims  or  they  would  not  move  one  step, 
they  were  determined  to  win  whether  right  or  wrong  and  they 
appealed  with  confidence  in  their  address  to  that  public  opinion 
which  they  constantly  defied  by  their  assertions  even  in  the  press 
of  their  party,  that  they  would  carry  their  object  into  effect  at 
the  point  of  the  bowie  knife.     Their  speeches,  where  they  were 
not  brutal  violations  of  all  the  canons  of  good  breeding  and  sound 
policy,  were  just  what  the  poet  has  described  as 

"  One  wild,  weak,  wasby,  everlasting  flood," 


.■ta^&iWBiilSWIMWllkllihlllWlllWiW'"*"' 


248 


Tl'TTLll's  IIlSTOIiY  OF  K.iXSAS. 


^l■il 

I 


of  the  smallest  of  small  platitudes;  but  tlicy  evinced  their  wis- 
dom  by  urging  upon  tlic  legislature  of  their  own  state,  than  no 
Etatetnent  of  free  soil  views  should  circulate  in  ^lissouri. 

The  Free  Soil  party  hiid  of  course  learned  from  the  demonstra- 
tions of  the  30th  of  March,  1855,  when  the  elections  were  carried 
against  them  by  the  invading  hordes  of  border  rufBans,  that  the 
best  cause  cannot  prosper  without  organization,  and  inasmuch  as 
the  proslavcry  party  had  numerous  secret  suwicues,  it  was  thought 
advisable  to  establish  similar  associations  among  the  resident  free 
settlers  in  the  territory.     The  outcome  was  "  The  Kansas  Legion," 
^vhich  was  for  some  time  a  great  comfort  to  its  promoters,  untd  ita 
grips  and  passwords  became  the  property  of  traitors  to  the  cause, 
and  its  objects  were  belied  in  the  columns  of  the  Missourum 
press.     The  encampments  of  the  Kansas  Legion  were  then  aban- 
doned, but  not  before   the   fact  of  such  an   association  being 
formed    had    been   hoisted   into    a    justification    for  the    vari- 
ous similar  bodies,  with  less  justifiable  purposes  in  view,  which 
had  preceded  the  Kansas  Legion  by  many  years.     There  was  no 
aim  in  the  most  secret  purpose  of  the  Legion,  which  was  inimical 
to  good  government,  nor  any  desire  covered  by  its  laws,  which 
would  have  denied  to  other  men  the  rights  which  the  members  of 
that  body  sought  to  defend  for  themselves  and  their  families  ;  but 
the  machinery'was  heavy  and  complex,  and  except  where  a  con- 
spiracy for  some  bad  end  is  to  be  furthered,  such  institutions  are 
rarely  of  value  in  modern  times.     Hiram,  the  Master  Builder, 
lived  in  days  when  the  press  was  not  a  power  in  the  land,  and 
when  public  opinion  had  no  existence,  otherwise,  it  its  probable 
that  the  craft  which  he  originated  would  have  been  modified  in 
many  important  particulars  ;  but  most  assuredly  there  will  be  no 
new  Hiram  in  modern  times,  nor  any  such  temple  again  seen,  as 
that  which  he   built  in    honor  of  the  Great  Architect   of   the 
Universe.     The  men  engaged  in  fighting  the  battle  of  free  thought 
in  Kansas,  in  1855,  had  everything  to  gain  by  the  fullest  exposi- 
tion of  their  purposes  and  workings,  as  wherever  their  action  was 
published  there  would  be  ten  friends  called  to  their  help  foi 
,     every  enemy  raised  up  against  them.     Most  of  the  leading  mea 
in  the  Free  Soil  party  were  dissatisfied  with  the  organization,  be- 
fore  the  expos6  which  was  made  of  the  workings  of  the  order, 


'  ttJBiiiiiJiiiiiiiaMli**** 


^ 


Tm:  Wjkarusa  Was. 


249 


1  their  wia- 
,te,  til  an  no 
ivi. 

demonstra- 
jvcrc  carried 
ins,  timt  the 
iiasmuch  as 
i\'as  thought 
•esident  free 
sas  Legion," 
;erd,  until  its 
;o  the  cause, 

Missourian 
B  then  aban- 
iation  being 
r  the  vari- 
view,  which 
^'here  was  no 
was  inimical 

laws,  which 
s  members  of 
amilies ;  but 
where  a  con- 
stitutions are 
ster  Builder, 
he  land,  and 
;  its  probable 
I  modified  in 
sre  will  be  no 
igain  seen,  as 
litect   of   the 
[  free  thought 
ullest  exposi- 
3ir  action  was 
their  help  for 
s  leading  men 
;anizatioa,  be- 

of  the  order, 


by  one  Patrick  Lougbland,  of  Doniphan,  who  had  distinguished 
himself  by  his  zeal  at  the  Big  Springs  convention,  probably  with 
the  hope  that  ho  would  become  of  sufTicient  value  to  be  bought 
by  the  other  side.     His  subsequent  action  fully  justifies  the  as- 
sumption that  he  was  a  traitor  at  heart  from  the  very  beginning. 
The  revelation  made  by  him  was  published  in  the  columns  of  the 
"  Squatter  Sovereign,"  and  the  editor  of  that  journal  himself, 
beyond  all  question,  a  Blue  Lodge  man,  and  a  member  of  every 
one  of  the  secret  societies  then  flourishing  among  the  proslavery 
adherents  in  Missouri,  became  almost  eloquent  in  his  denuncia- 
tions of  the  secret  society.     When  Jajo,  attracted  to  the  street  by 
the  outcry,  on  the  night  when  he  had  hoped  that  Cassio  would 
kill  Roderigo,  and  Roderigo,  Cassio,  found  instead  of  that  con- 
summation only  both  men  wounded,  and  therefore  likely  to  prove 
dangerous  witnesses  as  to  his  own  villainy,  it  will  be  remembered 
that  he  drove  his  sword  through  the  heart  of  his  too  trusting 
client,  Koderiffo,  at  the  very  moment  that  he  was  denouncing  the 
evil  practice  of  "stabbing  men  in  the  dark."     Satan  is  never  at 
any  other  time  so  much  an  object  of  suspicion  as  when  he  is  re- 
buking sin,  and  the  Squatter  Sovereign,  deploring  the  formation 
of  secret  societies,  is  just  precisely  a  case  in  point.     Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  who  was  at  that  time  following  his  ignis  fatnus,  the  Pres- 
idency, almost  to  the  verge  of  rebellion,  in  combination  with  the 
proslavery  party,  made  quite  a  powerful  harangue  against  the 
Kansas  Legion,  in  his  place  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 
When  the  Kansas  Legion  fell  into  disrepute,  military  companies 
were  formed  among  the  Free  Soil  men,  and  in  almost  every  pre- 
cinct there  was  a  well  drilled  body  ready  to  be  called  into  action 
whenever  necessity  might  arise.     There  was  no  attempt  at  secrecy 
in  this  operation,  nor  any  special  effort  at  publicity,  but  it  was 
generally  assumed  that  the  fact  of   their  being  ready  for  war 
would  have  a  tendency  to  preserve  peace.     The  Missourians  were 
crowding  them  into  positions  in  which  the  wisdom  of  the  serpent 
and  the  harmlessness  of  the  dove   would  be  of  small  moment, 
unless  the  strength  of  armed  hosts  could  be  added.     The  legisla- 
ture  had  finished  its  work,  after  passing  oppressive  laws  expressly 
designed  to  crush  free  soilers  and  abolitionists,  the  actmg  gov- 
erno'r  had  assented  to  the  several  measures,  the  judges  had  pro- 


■'-^^i^mmm:!,,^^ 


i 


250  TvTTLhfs  History  of  Kaxsas. 

nounccd  the  work  valid  and  excellent,  by  extra  judicial  opinions, 
and  it  ordv  renuuned  to  conn)cl  the  other  side  to  trespass  against 
the  iniquitous  enactments,  in  any  way,  so  that  they  eould  bo 
,„ade  to  feel  the  pressure  of  the  Draconian  systeni,  written  m 
blood,  but  without  the  initium  of  justice.     The  jury  power  would 
,u>t  con.e  to  the  rescue,  as  the  panel  was  already  packed  by  sher- 
ills  appointed  for  the  occasion,  in  some  cases  even  residents  of 
Missouri  being  nominated  to  that  important  position.     The  ch.et 
justice  was  a  more  violent  partisan  than  the  vilest  mean  white  m 
their  company,  and  in  every  way  the  opportunity  eould  never  be 
better  than  that  which  now  seemed  ready  to  their  hand  if  their 
enemies  would  transgress  the  statutes.     The  Free  Sod  men  knew 
of  the  trap  that  had  been  set  for  them,  and  their  forbearance  un- 
der  provocation  was  simply  wonderful.     The  most  insolent  re- 
marli    of    the     enemy    were    treated     as    commonplaces,    be^ 
cause  it  was  known  that  a  reply  would  be  n.ade  the  occasion  o! 
a  street  brawl,  in  which  the  judgment  of  every  court  in  the  tern- 
tory  would  tend  toward  exterminating  the  enemy  of  the  slave 
traffic,  irrespective  of  the  merits  of  the  ease.     Supposing  that  the 
Ln  insulted  in  the  streets  should  be  rescued  by  their  friends  and 
summary  justice  be  inflicted  upon  the  aggressors,  that  wou  d  only 
be  made' i  excuse  for  bringing  down  the  whole  force  of  Missou 
on  their  shoulders,  so  it  was  necessary  to  be  patient  until   heir 
backs  should  become  strong  enough  for  the  burdens  that  must  be 
carried     They  did  the  best  they  could  under  the  circumstances, 
they  drilled  themselves  and  each  other  assiduously  in  military 
n^anoeuvers  and  in  handling  weapons,  and  they  endured  as  much 
as  was  possible  until  their  strength  should  come  up  to  the  .stand- 

""' Among  themselves  no  man  sought  legal  redress,  but  a  kind  of 
rude  jusSee  was  administered,  as  in  a  community  which  had  not 
yet  been  formally  organized,  and  the  knowledge  tha^  -^^  - 
understanding  prevailed  was  especially  unwelcome  to  the  Mis- 
sour  an  party  A  litigious  free  settler  would  have  been  accepted 
as  r  blessing  by  the  proslavery  faction,  but  no  -^  ---^ 
to  the  front  Insolent  words  in  the  streets  passed  by  hke  die 
^ind  Personal  assaults  becan.e  the  order  of  the  day,  and  that 
was  the  line  which  forbearance  could  hardly  pass,  so  in  the 


I 


.<«•» 


ai/tM-i'iMJifir 


mmmmms^^ 


Tilt:  Wakahvsa  Wau. 


SBl 


ial  opinions, 
spass  agaiiii't 
;y  coultl  bo 
1,  written  in 
power  would 
l<cd  by  shcr- 
reriidents  of 
1.     The  chief 
ican  white  in 
luld  never  be 
band  if  their 
>il  men  knew 
ibearaiice  un- 
t  insolent  re- 
:)n places,    be- 
lie occasion  of 
t  in  the  terri- 
yT  of  the  slave 
osing  that  the 
;ir  friends  and 
at  would  only 
36  of  Missouri 
ent  until  their 
3  that  must  be 
circumstances, 
sly  in  military  ■ 
iured  as  much 
p  to  the  stand- 

,  but  a  kind  of 
which  had  not 
5  that  such  an 
ne  to  the  Mis- 
)  been  accepted 
uch  man  came 
3d  by  like  idle 
3  day,  and  that 
jass,  so  in  the 


absence  of  any  better  police,  every  citi/.on  could  b.-conie  a  member 
of  a  lin.iled  liability  assodatiun,  the  members  cf  wlucli  were  to  come 
to  the  rescue,  shouUl  occ-asiun  arise,  and  so  graduate  ihe.r  pros- 
Bure  upon  the  ullender,  on  the  other  side,  that  he  wouKl  probably 
resolve  not  to  provoke  another  such  operation.     Tlie  socRdy  was 
formed  in  Lawrence,  and  it  answered  ho  well,  thai  for  a  tune  the 
streets  were  orderly  and  peaceful;  but  the  quiet  suppression  was 
very  distasteful  to  the  disturbers  of  the  community,  and  they 
turned  their  attentions  elsewhere.      The  town  of  Atchison  was 
one  of  the  places  in  which  there  were  opportunities  for  a  system 
more  congenial  to  Missourian  tastes.     In  that  town  an  otl.ervviso 
inoffensive  man  from  Cincinnati,   named  J.  W.  Kelley,  having 
expressed  his  disgust  for  negro  slavery,  was  nearly  beaten  to 
deatli  by  a  rufTian  named  Thomason,  whose  si/.e  would  liave  pre- 
cluded him  from  striking  a  blow  according  to  the  code  of  honor 
which  prevails  in  the  prize  ring.     The  shameful  outrage  was 
made  the  occasion  of  a  public  meeting  immediately,  and  Uioma- 
Bon  was  lauded  as  though  he  had  been  Leonidas  and  had  repelled 
the  unconquerable  host  at  Thermopyla3.      The  resolutions,  seven 
in  number,  recited  first  the  offense  of  Mr.  Kelley -free  speech 
against  slavery  and  the  proslavery  party -and  commanded  him 
to  leave  the  town  within  one  hour,  and  then  went  on  to  denounce 
vengeance  of  a  more  terrible  description  against  him  and  otlier 
emissaries  of  the  emigrants  aid  society,  should  they  continue 
their  assumed  nefarious  practices.     Tampering  with  slaves  was 
the  alleged  sin  of  the  emissaries,  and  hanging  was  to  be  the 
punishment      The  assault  was  "  approved  and  applauded,    and 
the  presence  of  their  visitor  from  Cincinnati  was  "^  b^el  and  a 
disgrace  "  to  their  community.    The  work  commenced  by  Thoma- 
son  was  to  be  carried  on  until  the  town  and  neighborhood  were 
purged  of  all  "  such  nuisances  "  as  free  settlers ;  a  committee  was 
named  to  warn  Mr.  Kelley  to  quit  Atchison,  and  the  men  who 
had  so  libelled  the  spirit  of  the  age  they  lived  in  concluded  by 
ordering  that  their  proceedings  should  be  published ;  and  that 
ever-  man  suspected  of  freesoil  proclivities  should  be  called  upou 
to  sign  their  resolutions  under  the  penalty  of  being  treated  as 
abolitionists.     The  postmaster  of  Atchison  was  assistant  editor  of 
the  "  Squatter  Sovereign,"  and  on  the  16th  of  August,  18oo,  that 


.~:.r.miTno'  i  t"  -"—"-""■"" 


TCTTLh'K   UlSTOItY  OF  KaSS.XH. 

official  nskca  a  free  settler,  who  resicVd  about  twelve  miles  from 
oflTice,  to  subscribe  for  the  paper,  the  answer  of  the  free  soil  man, 
Kcv.  !'.  Butlor,  amounted  to  an  enunciation  of  his  views  on  the 
quosiion  of  tlic  day,  and  on  the  following  morning,  hf3  was  waited 
upon  in  his  hotel  with  a  demand  tliat  lie  should  sign  the  obnox- 
ious Thomason  resolutions.     The  demand  being  refused,  he  wna 
Beized  by  a  mob  and  dragged  to  the  river  to  be  drowned,  but  ut 
the  last  moment  more  merciful  counsels  prevailed,  his  face  was 
painted  black,  and  he  was  sent  adrift  upon  a  raft  of  three  sawn 
logs  of  Cottonwood  on  the  Missouri,  without  any  means  of  steer- 
ing himself  clear  of  danger,  and  with   an  intimation  from  his 
impromjitu  judges  that  "their  hemp  crop  would  sudice  to  reward 
nil  such  scoundrels  thereafter."     Other  such   incidents,  some  of 
them  fatal  in  their  issue,  cropped  up  daily  in  dilTercnt  parts  of 
the  territory  wherever  the  proslavcry  party  was  strong  enough  to 
make  headway  ;  but  it  ia  useless  to  attempt  the  task  of  enumer- 
ating individual  wrongs;  it  is  enough  to  say,  that  the  cup  was 
full  to  overflowing. 

Into  a  community  so  C'r-.tltuted,  the  lion.  Wilson  Shannon 
came  as  governor,  and   before  he  had  reached  the  territory  he 
was  made  aware  that  he  was  suspected  of  being  an  abolitionist, 
because    he  came  from  a  state  that  had  produced  "  Giddings, 
Wade  and  Chase;"  a  glorious  company  with  which  any  man 
would  now  be  proud  to  find  his  name  associated.     The  governor 
wanted  the  good  opinions  of  all  men,  but  especially  he  was  desir- 
ous of  the  approval  of  the  noisiest  members  of  the  body  politic, 
in  which  he  was  to  be  the  nominal  head;  hence  he  signalized  his 
arrival  in  Kansas  city,  upon  the  borders  of  the  territory,  by  tak- 
ing part  in  a  proslavery  demonstration,  and   being  conducted 
thence  to  Westport,  addressed  a  crowd  in  front  of  his  hotel  in  a 
speech  of  some  length,  of  which  the  worst  thing  that  need  be 
said  is,  that  it  won  the  approval  of  the  "  Squatter  Sovereign,"  the 
proslavery  organ   at  Atchison,  of  which  Dr.  Stringfellow  was 
editor.     The  address  was  a  lamentable  evidence  of  subserviency, 
but  worse  and  better  were  to  come  from  the  same  source,  as  the 
governor,  like  the  chameleon,  took  his  color  almost  entirely  from 
his  surroundings,  and  while  the  proslavery  men  were  civil  to  him, 
he  concluded  that  their  opponents  must  be  in  the  wrong. 


Jjwjr- 


».     j»i,W1IWi 


'0  miles  from 
reo  soil  man, 
views  on  the 
a  wtvs  waited 
n  tlio  ohnox- 
fused,  he  was 
wncd,  but  lit 
his  fftce  was 
)f  three  sawn 
f'ans  ot  steer- 
lion  from  his 
lice  to  reward 
ents,  some  of 
M'ont  parts  of 
mg  enough  to 
sk  of  enumer- 
;  the  cup  was 

Ison  Shannon 
e  territory  he 
n  abolitionist, 
;d  "  Giddings, 
iiich  any  man 
The  governor 
r  he  was  desir- 
e  body  politic, 
signalized  his 
■ritory,  by  tak- 
ing conducted 
his  hotel  in  a 
that  need  be 
sovereign,"  the 
•ingfellow  was 
subserviency, 
source,  as  the 
it  entirely  from 
re  civil  to  him, 
vrong. 


Tin:  Wakauvha  Wah. 

The  next  movement  waH  even  more  repn-hcnsiblc.     W.>  nud 
the  governor  attending  the  political  meeting  whieh  .muiguratcd 
Gen    Whillield's  canvass  for  the  po..li..u  ot  cougroH.s.ouu    dole- 
Kate,  and  nuiking  a  speech  which  the  pro.lavery  press  appUuided 
10  the  echo.     Mr.  Shannon  says  that  he  was  misrcported,  but  that 
is  of  little  consequence;  1.  .vas  wrong  for  him  to  have  been  pres- 
ent  in  an  asse.nbly  convened  for  the  purpose  named  while  he  was 
governor  of  the  territory,  and  while  times  were  so  disturbed  as  ho 
foun<l  them  on  his  arrival.     The  worst  sentiments  that  could  bo 
uttered  by  him  could  hardly  intensity  the  wrong  done  by  his 
presence,  and  a  man  capable  of  .so  much  complaisance  is  not  likely 
to  have  stopped  short  of  winning  the  highest  plaudits  ot  the  fac 
tion.     There  was  another  opportunity  for  Mr.  Shannon  to  row  m 
the  wrong  boat,  and  he  was  equal  to  the  emergency.     A  number 
of  proslavery  men  assembled  at  Leavenworth  in  the  begunung  of 
October,  1855,  and  appointed  a  committee  to  prepare  an  address 
to  the  citizens,  urging  upon  thom  all  to  respect  the  laws  and  pi;e. 
serve  order.     The  men  of  Atchison  were  to  bo  models  of  obedi- 
ence ot  course,  and  those  who  presumed  to  differ  from  them  m 
opinion  could  figure  as  frightful  examples  on  the  other  side.     1  he 
illegal  and  oppressive  enactments  of  the  Shawnee  usurpers  were 
the^nly  laws  cared  for  by  tho  party,  but  it  was  something  to 
have  even  the  sun,danu,n  of  law  upon  their  side,  as  a  setoff  to 
what  they  called  order.     A  convention  was  called  to  assemble  in 
the  same  place  on  the  Uth  of  November,  to  organize  the  party, 
and  Gov.  Shannon  allowed  himself  to  be  so  far  deceived  by  the 
the  specious  pretenses  of  the  conveners  that  he  accepted  their 
nomination  as  chairman  of  the  assembly.     Addressing  men  who 
were  not  resident,  in  the  territory,  he  denounced  the  free  state 
movement  as  a   treasonable   attempt  which   must   be   crushe.l. 
The  surveyor-general  of  the  territory  followed  his  chief  in  a  vio- 
lent  harangue  which  out  heroded  Ilerod,  and  the  order  of  the  day 
was  lost  "in  most  admirable  disorder,"  when  Mr.  Parrott,  a  well 
known  free  state  man,  rose  to  speak  to  the  questions  raised  by 
the  governor-chairman  and  his  supporters.     Innumerable  points 
of  order  failed  to  disconcert  him  ;'  other  persons  secured  the  floor 
und  their  motions  were  debated,  but  Mr.  Tarrott  persisted  until 
it  was  no  longer  possible  for  the  chief  executive  officer  of  the  ter- 


iiiirilaa«»>»l*w>"i*i»«ii 


I 


254 


TiTri.f:'^  Jlisronr  or  '.     'v'" 


ritorv  to  l)o  muiware  of  liis  pivscticc.     Tl>o  free  rttatc  If^vcr  of  law 
ami  Older  was  recognized  by  iho  ohaii  at  last,  but  only  to  1)0 
hi.Hse.1  <lown  amid  cricH  of  "  put  l.it.i  out.'      Tlie  lanouage  of  the 
Hpeukers  g«''u'nilly  was  as  violout  as  tbougli  tliey  liad  made  Cati- 
line tlieir  model,  but  there  was  no  Oieero  to  abash   the    faelioti, 
and  sueh  men  as  (Miief  .luslieo  Lceoinpto  and  Secretary  Woodson 
were  eonspiouous  in  their  indorseinotit  of  all  that  was  most  rcpro- 
hensiblc;  oven  to  the  point  whero  (vno  of  tho  most  sanguinary  of 
the  crowd  proposed  to  enforce  the  law  with  rifles,  \intil  the  blood 
of  the  free  soil  men  sho'uld  How  like  "  tho  turbid  waters  of  tho 
Missouri."     When   such    abominable  assend)lics  were   jm-Hsible, 
and  the  governor  could  be  induced  to  lend  his  countenance  to  th© 
violent  partisans  of  Missouri,  tho  proceedings  outside  the  palo 
•were  certain  to  translate  bad  language  into  worse  nets.     Disputes 
were  continually  arising  as  to  claims  in  the  difTerent  settlements, 
nnd  wherever  the  pro.slavcry  party  could  iriakc  themselves  strong 
enough,  the  free  soil  party  found  their  friends  dispossessed.     There 
was  no  court  in  the  territory  from  which  redress  could  bo  hoped 
for  ;  hence,  strong  hands  and  rifles  became  the  only  answers  pos- 
sible to  attempted  spoliation.     It  was  a  matter  of  policy  on  both 
sides  to  shut  out  tho  enemy  as  far  as  po.ssible;  but  the  proslavery 
men  had  ai)ecial  incentives  to  persevere,  because  they  could  rely 
upon  the  partisanship  of  tho  chief  ju.stice  and  his  subordinates, 
should  a  case  be  brought  into  court.     Where  no  preliminary  sur- 
veys had  been  made,  and  where  there  were  no  records  to  deter- 
mine which  had  priority  of  location  on  his  side,  one  claimant 
■was  ns  likely  to  be  right  as  another,  and  much  bitterness  naturally 
resulted.     Committees,  in  many  parts  of  Iowa  and  elsewhere,  de- 
termined all  such  matters  in  the  early  settlements  there  with  rea- 
sonable approaches  to  equity ;  but  in  such  cases  there  was  only 
one  motive  known  among  the  colonists,  and  that  was  industrial 
occupation  of  the  soil.     Here  the  soil  was  also  an  object  of  interest, 
but  there  were  two  parties  in  the  community,  with  either  of  whom 
the  value  of  the  land  per  se  was  as  nothing  compared  with  the 
question  "  Slave  state  or  free,"  and  at  least  one  of  the  parties  was- 
prepared  to  say  to  all  comers  into  the  territory : —        ,  -  , 

"Under  which  king,  Bezonian?  speak,  or  die." 


ii  III 


IM   I 


K 


mmm 


Tilt:  W.\KMiV!i.\  Wmi. 


905 


1(  vcr  of  Inw 
only  to   1)0 
j^uagt'  of  tlio 
1  maiU'  Ciiti- 
the   fiiclioii, 
ry  Wooilsou 
\  most  rcpi'o- 
atigiiinary  of 
til  the  hlooil 
,'atcrs  ot  tlio 
ere  jmssiUle, 
ciiance  to  the 
ido  the  palo 
ts.     Disputes 
settlernentrt, 
selves  strong 
isaed.     Tlioro 
1(1  bo  hoped 
answers  pos- 
olicy  on  both 
he  proskvery 
y  could  rely 
subordinates, 
iliminary  sur- 
nrds  to  deter- 
on  e  claimant 
less  naturally 
slsewhere,  de- 
lere  with  rea- 
ere  was  only 
vas  industrial 
ect  of  interest, 
ither  of  whom 
lared  with  the 
he  parties  was 


One  of  the  qunrrels  arising  out  of  n  debated  .daim  cotn.noi.ml 
what  is  kn..wn  as  "  The  WaUurusa  War."     Hickory  IV.lnt,  abo.it 
ton  miles  south  of  Luwronc-..,  on  tho  Santa  Ki>  gov.-rnnwnt  road, 
was  a  verv  beautiful  tract  of  land,  part  w.-U  titnbcrr.l  and  the  rest 
fertile  prairie,  and  numy  of  the  earlier  settlers  who  came  from 
In.liana  ehose  this  location.     S.me  of  tho  persons  who  had  taken 
up  claims,  returned  to  their  native  state  temporarily,  others  wont 
ftway  and  never  returr.ed.     Misscmrians  and  others  took  up  the 
ftbandonod  lots,  and  laid  claims  to  others  which  were  afterwards 
re.sume.1  bv  the  ori-inal  .selectors.     A  person  named   Coleman 
had  come  in  among  the  second  claimants,  and  a  dispute  aro.se  be- 
tween him  and  a  young  man  named  Dow,  who  also  had  settled 
upon  an  unc^ccupied  claim.     Coleman  was  a  man  of  mark  in  the 
pn.slavery  party  in  the  neighborhood,  and  Dow  was  a  i>rotcr  "^ 
Jacob  Branson,  the  leader  of  the  free  soil  men  in  Wakarusa  dis- 
triet.     Dow  accused  Coleman  of  trc8pa.ssing  upon  bis  chum  in 
various  ways,  and  the  intruder  was  duly  informed  that  he  must 
desist,  or  hostilities  would  necessarily  follow.     The  two  parties 
were  coming  rapidly  toward  fever  beat,  and  on  the  morning  i^i 
November  21,  1855,  one  week  after  tbe  Leavenworth  law  and 
order  conference,  Dow,  happening  to  meet  some  of  the  proslavery 
party  in  the  blacksmith  shop  at  Hickory  Point,  was  very  vigor- 
ously denounced  on  account  of  his  principles  and  conduct,  the 
tirade  ending  bv  an  attempt  to  shoot  him  on  the  spot.     The  pur- 
pose of  his  assailant  was  not  so  deadly  perhaps  as  was  indicated 
by  the  act  of  bringing  the  gun  to  his  shoulder,  as  he  did  not  fire, 
and   Dow  started  for  home.      Franklin  Coleman  and  William 
Dow,  the  two  disputants  as  to  the  trespasses  already  mentioned, 
unfortunately  fell  into  each  other's  company  on  the  road,  and 
they  walked  together  until  Coleman  reached  his  own  home,  where 
Dow  left  him,  continuing  his  journey  toward  his  own  claim.     Ho 
had  taken  but  a  few  steps  when  he  heard  the  snap  of  a  gun, 
whicli  had  missed  fire,  and  turning  he  saw  his  enemy  putting  a 
fresh  cap  upon  his  weapon.     His  appeal  for  mercy  was  of  no 
avail,  and  he  carried  no  weapon  which  could  serve  him  in  such 
an  emergency,  so  he  was  deliberately  shot  dead  by  the  man  with 
whom  he  had  been  peacefully  walking  and  conversing  not  three 
minutes  before.     The  probabilities  are  in  favor  of  the  assumption 


A. 


>jPi4'M«lll<*!»"" 


iipi^iiiiui»)"fj«^    ■ 


256 


TvTTLtfs  History  of  Kaksas. 


that  Dow  had  been  condemned  to  death  in  some  secret  conclave, 
and  that  Coleman  became  his  executioner  because  some  other  per- 
son had  failed  to  carry  out  the  sentence ;  at  any  rate  there  lay 
the  first  man  slain  in  the  Wakarusa  war,  and  the  body  remunied 
by  the  roadside  uncared  for  until  dusk,  when  some  of  the  free 
soil  party  discovered  by  accident  what  had  been  done  by  way  of 
settling  the  disputed  claim.     Coleman  started  for  Westport,  :Mo., 
immediately  to  consult  his  friends,  and,  in  accordance  with  their 
advice,  the  murderer  surrendered  himself  to  what  was  culled  jus- 
tice.    Ue  would  have  gone  to  the  governor  in  person,  but  that 
gentleman  could  not  be  found,  and  he  gave  himself  into  the  cus- 
tody of  a  friendly  sheriff,  who  was  not  even  a  resident  of  Kansas 
territory,  although  he  had  been  appointed  to  the  office  by  the 
pseudo  legislative  assembly,  which  did  its  work  at  Shawnee. 
Sherifl  S.  J.  Jones  was  the  acting  postmaster  at  Westport,  Mo., 
as  well  as  sheriff  of  Douglass  county,  in  Kansas  territory,  and  his 
subsequent  conduct  showed  that  the  confidence  of  his  friends  in 
his  partisanship  was  not  misplaced.     He  was  a  great  favonte 
amoncr  the  proslavery  men,  and  Coleman  was  not  likely  to  suffer 
at  his°hands.     Sheriff  Jones  could  not  look  upo  i  such  a  peccadillo 
as  shooting  a  free  soiler  as  a  crime;  it  was  an  act  of  war  only, 
and  Mr.  Coleman  was  a  person  of  distinction.     The  murder  was 
not  viewed  in  that  light  by  the  free  state  men  at  Hickory  Point, 
amoncr  whom  the  excitement  was  intense.     The  funeral,  two  days 
later  was  largely  attended,  and  it  was  then  resolved  that  on  the 
following  Mondav  a  public  meeting  should  be  held  on  the  spot 
where  the  man  had  been  shot,  in  front  of  Coleman's  house.     The 
meeting  was  unanimous  in  condemnation  of  the  crime,  and  a 
committee  was  appointed  to  procure  the  punishment  of  the  mur- 
derer and  his  accomplices.     There  were  about  one  hundred  men 
present,  and  some  one,  after  the  proper  business  of  the  meeting 
had  come  to  an  end,  with  resolutions  of  3bndolence  addressed  to 
the  friends  and  relations  of  the  murdered  man,  suggested  that  tha 
residence  of  the  murderer  should  be  burned.     The  proposal  was 
strongly  opposed  by  the  majority,  and  upon  an  invitation  being 
extended  to  volunteers  for  the  purpose,  in  all  that  excited  assem- 
bla-e,  there  were  only  two  persons  who  approved  of  such  action. 
When  the  minority  tried  to  carry  their  design  into  execution,  the 


't' 


mr^i!<ioM>nM'-m'i~>--ti-i''i'*'*---'^-^*'''''^-'^^^^^^ 


The  Wakarusa  War. 


25T 


•et  conclave, 
ne  other  per- 
ite  there  Uiy 
dy  rernuuieil 
3  of  the  free 
le  by  way  of 
estport,  !Mo., 
ce  with  their 
IS  culled  jus- 
son,  but  that 
into  the  cus- 
nt  of  Kansas 
Dffice  by  the 
at  Shawnee, 
estport,  Mo., 
tory,  and  his 
bis  friends  in 
;reav.  favorite 
kely  to  suffer 
h  a  peccadillo 
of  war  only, 
}  murder  was 
;ickory  Point, 
3ral,  two  days 
i  that  on  the 
i  on  the  spot 
i  house.     The 
crime,  and  a 
it  of  the  mur- 
hundred  men 
[  the  meeting 
3  addressed  to 
i-ested  that  the 
I  proposal  was 
vitation  being 
excited  assem- 
)f  such  action, 
execution,  the 


leaders  of  the  n.oeting  extinguished  the  flames,  and  a  resolution 
denunciatory  of  such  attempts  was  carried  with  liardly  a  dissent- 
in<r  voice.  The  general  impression  was  that  the  death  of  Dow 
w^s  part  of  a  policy  of  extermination  aimed  at  every  free  soil  settler 
in  Kansas,  and  it  can  hardly  be  wondered  at  that  some  of  the 
more  violent  should  have  concluded  upon  retaliation  after  the 
more  formal  assembly  came  to  an  end.  On  the  next  Tuesday 
morniii-,  Coleman's  house  and  two  others  were  burned,  and  some 
of  the  "families  of  proslavery  men  fled  to  INlissouri,  fearing  what 
mi"ht  be  the  outcome  of  events. 

The  Missouri  Kansas  SheriflE  Jones,  having  consulted  the  gov- 
ernor as  to  the  course  which  should  be  pursued  with  his  willing 
prisoner,  was  instructed  to  proceed  with  the  murderer  to  Lecomp- 
ton,  a  well  known  proslavery  center  named  in  honor  of  the  par- 
tisan chief  justice,  but  on  his  way  to  that  sanctuary  of  refuge  he 
was  met  by  some  of  Coleman's  neighbors  from  Hickory  Point, 
and  after  a  consultation  with  them  it  was  determined  that  another 
arrest  could  be  made  with  advantage.     Mr.  Branson,  the  free  soil 
leader  at  Hickory  Point,  was  much  interested  in  the  murdered 
man  Dow,  who  had  lived  with  him  up  to  the  day  of  his  death, 
and  it  was  determined  that  he  should  be  arrested  under  a  peace 
warrant,  as  though  he  could  be  held  responsible  for  the  courts 
which  followed  upon  the  crime  perpetrated  by  Coleman.     A  war- 
rant was  procured  authorizing  the  arrest  under  an  information 
sworn  to  by  one  of  Coleman's  friends,  and  armed  with  that  docu- 
ment and  attended  by  a  posse  comiiatus  of  forty  men,  all  well 
armed  Sheriff  Jones  made  the  old  man  a  prisoner  m  his  uwa 
house  late  at  night.     The  capture  was  easily  made,  but  a  boy 
residing  in  the  house  gave  the  alarm  to  the  neighbors,  and  in  con- 
sequence  before  the  company  which  had  attended  the  Hickory 
Point  were  yet  clear  of  the  Wakarusa  district,  the  arrest  had  been 
effected,  and  the  whole  settlement  was  on  the  qui  vive  to  right  the 
wron..  which  had  been  done.     The  posse  on  the  way  to  Mr.  Bran- 
son'sliad  talked  very  loudly  of  the  work  that  was  to  be  done  that 
nic^ht,  and  Mr.  S.  F.  Tappan,  of  Lawrence,  who  had  been  one  of 
the  speakers  at  the  meeting,  found  himself  made  a  confidant  in 
the  proceedings  bv  some  of  the  more  gushing  of  the  party.     He 
hurried  back  as  speedily  as  possible  to  arouse  his  friends  and 
17 


■Jf 


I  ; 


s  , 


-Ifiliiiif'f ''^i^iti  Wiftlffti'"  '  -••'-■'""'■• 


y.K'-sw-'^-y^v'^'r' 


i 


25S  Tuttle's  HisTony  of  Kaxsas. 

^varn  the  old  man  of  bis  danger,  but  it  was  too  late  to  prevent  tl>c 
arrest      Tlie  resolution  was  at  onec  formed  to  rescue  Mr.  Branson 
from  the  sheriff,  unless  there  could  be  good  cause  showed  for  h.3 
detention,  about  which  there  could  be  no  shadow  of  doubt.     Ihe 
rescuin-  party  consisted  of  fifteen  men  in  all,  but  they  were  reso- 
lute,  aiul  in  such  a  case  every  man  counts  for  many.     Some  o 
them  were  armed  with  rifles,  and  almost  everybody  then  earned 
pistols  in  Kansas,  but  there  was  no   necessity  to  use  them.     The 
old  man  was  allowed  to  join  his  friends,  the  warrant,  it  one  was 
really  carried  by  the  sherilT,  was  not  produced  on  demand,  and 
that  officer  with  his  party  returned  to  Franklin  where  the  mur- 
derer Coleman  awaited  his  arrival.     The  expectation  seems  to 
have  been,  on  the  proslavcry  side,  that  Mr.  Branson  would  be 
rescued  in  the  city  of  Lawrence,  to  which  place  he  was  bemg  con- 
veyed, and  in  that  case  there  would  have  been  an  excellent  pre- 
text for  assaulting  the  place  with  all  the  force  that  Mi.sspuri  could 
muster  from  the  counties  on  the  western  border,  so  that  the     pes- 
tiferous colony  "  might  be  obliterated  from  the  path  of  the     law 
and  order  party."     That  design  was  partially  foiled  by  the  turn 
of  events,  but  it  was  not  yet  beyond  the  range  of  possibdity  and 
the  men  who  were  bent  upon  its  accomplishment  were  not  likely 
to  stick  at  trifles  to  secure  their  end.     There  were  three  Lawrence 
men  in  the  party  that  rescued  Mr.  Branson,  and  it  would  be  easy 
to  find  in  their  action  the  means  of  incriminating  the  city,  seeing 
that  there  would  be  no  severe  scrutiny  into  the  pretexts  of  the 
worthy  sheriff  and  his  aids  before  the  work  of  ruin  had  been 
effected      The  rescued  man  and  his  friends  went  on  to  Lawrence 
the  same  night,  and  the  alarm  was  sounded  in  the  streets  by 
drums  and  flfes,  so  that  tnere  were  few  sleeping  men  in  the  city 
within  a  few  mlr.ntes  of  the  time  when  the  irregular  cortege  arrived. 
Dr.  -Robinson,  who  was  afterwards  governor  of  the  state,  was  the 
acknowledged  leader  of  Lawrence,  and  to  his  residence  the  party 
proceeded  to  submit  to  him  a  detailed,  statement  of  the  facts.    The 
difficulty  of  the  situation  was  increasing,  and  at  a  meeting  held 
early  m  the  following  day  it  was  concluded  best  that  Lawrence 
should  not  assume  responsibilities  which  hrd  never  properly  be- 
lon<.d  to  her,  as  it  was  naturally  desired  that  the  Missourians 
should  be  baulked  in  their  cherished  project  if  that  could  be  hon- 


]i 


■J,lj|«l.i'H  liJItW'llli.i 


D  prevent  tlic 
Mr.  Branson 
bowed  lor  liis 
d(Hibt.     The 
ey  were  rcso- 
ny.     Some  of 
y  then  carried 
se  them.     The 
int,  if  one  was 
ti  demand,  and 
vhere  the  mur- 
ition  seems  to 
ison  would  be 
was  being  con- 
n  excellent  pre- 
Missouri  could 
)  that  the  "  pes- 
ath  of  the  "  law 
led  by  the  turn 
:  possibility,  and 
If  were  not  likely 
throe  Lawrence 
t  would  be  easy 
;  the  city,  seeing 
pretexts  of  the 
'  ruin  had  been 
on  to  Lawrence 
the  streets  by 
men  in  the  city 
ar  corieje  arrived, 
le  state,  was  the 
idence  the  party 
f  the  facts.    The 
,t  a  meeting  held 
it  that  Lawrence 
2ver  p.'operly  be- 
the  Missourians 
bat  could  be  hon- 


) 


TifK  Wakauvsa  Wati. 


estly  effected.  Branson  and  the  men  concerned  in  his  rescue 
left  the  town  as  a  matter  of  precaution,  but  while  every  pretext 
for  assault  was  thus  removed,  it  was  still  thought  advisable  to 
initiate  measures  for  defense,  should  an  attack  upon  the  city  be 
attempted.  An  executive  committee  of  ten  was  appointed  to 
concert  means  of  defense  should  armed  invaders  come  across  the 
borders  to  assist  the  enemies  wh.  were  already  assembling  in  the 
neighborhood  with  unfriendly  intentions  against  the  free  soil  set- 
tlement. The  threats  of  extermination  which  were  indulged  in 
by  a  mob  from  Missouri,  while  Lawrence  was  only  a  tented  field, 
had  not  been  forgotten  on  either  side,  and  as  events  proved,  there 
was  wisd(Hn  as  well  as  money  in  being  prepared  for  the  worst. 
The  sheriU  was  not  a  man  who  would  allow  his  vengeance  to  die 

"Unwept,  unliouored  and  unsung;" 

his  cherished  scheme  had  been  defeated  just  when  the  game 
seemed  to  be  entirely  in  his  own  hands,  and  nnless  he  could  re- 
cover the  lost  ground,  there  was  danger  that  he  would  lose  his 
prestige  among  those  who  were  now  content  to  follow  him.  Dis- 
patches were  sent  off  into  Missouri  to  Col.  Boone,  of  Westport, 
which  could  not  fail  to  raise  the  whole  of  the  border,  for  the  fell 
purpose  now  on  hand  ;  and  immediately  after  that  fateful  errand 
had  been  initiated,  a  dispatch  was  sent  to  Gov.  Shannon,  asking 
for  three  thousand  men.  - 

The  dispatch  to  the  chief  of  the  territorial  executive  was  a  col- 
ored version  of  the  truth.  His  posse  of  ten  men  had  become  forty 
before  Jacob  Branson  was  arrested,  but  it  fell  back  to  ten  men 
again  in  the  dispatch.  The  rescuers  were  only  fifteen  in  number 
when  the  line  was  formed  which  intercepted  the  official  staff,  but 
the  bulletin  which  announced  the  defeat,  told  of  forty  men 
"armed  to  (he  teeth  with  Sharp's  rifles,"  and  the  reasonable  demand 
for  an  inspection  of  his  warrant  had  grown  into  "  an  open  rebel- 
lion," which  made  a  force  of  three  thousand  men  necessary  "to 
carry  out  the  laws."  The  absurd  demand  for  troops  was  meant  of 
course  to  cover  whatever  force  Missouri  could  send  into  the  antici- 
pated 7nelee,  because  there  was  no  militia  force  in  the  territory,  and 
the  whole  population  then  in  Kansas  could  hardly  have  sent  that 
number  of  male  adults  into  the  field.     The  Shawnee  Assembly, 


,.^3l,^,;a»iiViM»*i  I'm ^v"-^C'^ ''"  ^'■*^  " jl^y  i^^f^^'sj?-'' 


rm 


260  Ti'TTLBfs  HisToin-  of  Kansas. 

before  concluding  its  session,  had  nominated  throe  olUeors  for  the 
niihtia  ;  but  the  major  general  and  his  two  subordinates  were  not 
an  army.     Gov.  Shannon  assumed  the  truthfulness  ot  tiie  shentt, 
and  he  sent  of!  instructions  accordingly  to  Muj.  Gen.  Richardson 
to  prepare  to  meet  "  an  armed  military  force  "  in  Lawrence  or  its 
vicinity,  which  would  not  allow  the  sherill  to  serve  any  process. 
The  colored  picture  of  the  sheriff  had  become  more  highly  tinted 
so  that  it  is  evident  there  must  have  been  many  details  conveyed 
by  the  bearer  of  the  dispatch  which  were  not  well  enough  ascer- 
tained to  be  included  in  the  official  document,  if  they  were  not 
gathered  from  flying  rumors  as  the  courier  hurried  upon  his  mis- 
sion.    The  major  general  was  urged  to  collect  as  many  men  as 
possible  and  to  hasten  to  the  aid  of  "  the  sheriS  in  executing  the 
law  and  in  none  other"  purpose.     The  eoncludirg  line  indicates 
that  already  Mr.  Shannon  had  become  aware  oi  some  designs  out- 
side and  beyond  the  law  which  his  officials  might  desire  to  com- 
pass with  their  forces.     The  orders  sent  to  the  major  general  were 
duplicated  to  Gen.  Strickler,  and  Brig.  Gen.  Eastin  was  in  motion 
almost  at  the  same  moment,  so  that  no  ti.ue  was  being  lost.     Col. 
Boone,  of  Westport,  was  the  sheriff's  most  efficient  supporter ;  com-  • 
pared  with  him,  the  sheriff  of  Douglas  county,  K.  1.,  and  post- 
master of  Westport,  Mo.,  was  truthfulness  embodied      lie  pub- 
lished an  appeal,  in  which  Missourians  were  flying  for  their  lives  - 
perhaps  if  the  initial  letter  had  been  omitted  from  llymg  it  might 
have  been  near  the  mark -their  houses  were  burned  down,  and 
their  families  driven  out  upc   the  prairies  by  unpitying  mobs 
The  secret  societies  came  into  requisition  now,  and  tliousands 
were  soon  to  be  on  the  march  for  the  purpose  o   '^  -;^-^'"g /^"^^ 
to  win  the  great  battl  ■  "f  slavery  against  the  free  soil  paity. 
Those  who  for  any  reaon  excused  t^e-e/ives  from  3on.ng  t^^ 
several  expeditions  were  taxed  to  pay  the  expenses  of  those  who 
went     At  Libertv,   Mo.,  a  postal  village  which  has  now  only 
TtOO  inhabitants, "the  proslavery  men  raj^ed  $1  000  .r.a  two  bun^ 
dred  men  for  the  work  of  annexation  in  one  day,  and  m  many 
other  places  the  same  spirit  was  evinced.     "Now  is  the  time  to 
srow  game  "  was  the  text  of  one  dispatch  sent  out  in  all  directions 
fllndepeudeuccMo.     ^' If  we  are  defeated  now,  the  territory 
is  lost  to  .the  South."     "  Start  immediately  lor  the  seat  of  war, 


fiijt 


tmtm 


tgrnn^'" 


DlUcors  for  tlie 
nates  were  not 

of  the  slieriff, 
ill.  Richardson 
jawrence  or  its 
e  any  process. 

highly  tinted, 
ituils  conveyed 

enough  ascer- 
they  were  not 

upon  his  mis- 
i  many  men  as 
I  executing  the 
f  line  indicates 
ne  designs  out- 
desire  to  corn- 
or  general  were 
1  was  in  motion 
eing  lost.  Col. 
mpporter ;  com-  ' 
L  T.,  and  post- 
lied.  He  pub- 
or  their  lives  — 

ilyiug  it  might 
•nfid  down,  and 
.npitying  mobs. 

and  thousands 
xssisting  Jones" 
free  soil  party, 
rom  joining  the 
es  of  those  who 
,  has  now  only 
)0  sr.a  two  bun- 
Y,  and  in  many 
J  is  the  time  to 
t  in  all  directions 
)w,  the  territory 
be  seat  of  war," 


i-iiw,it;wyi<«ii«jpi«» 


TbE  WjKAIiVSA   WaB. 


261 


was  the  nrgont  appeal  of  another  dispatch-monger,  who  considered 
that  all  Missouri  was  identified  with  shenfl  .Jones.  Col.  Boone 
was  a  man  among  men  in  such  an  era,  and  Baron  Munchausen 
was  not  a  circumstance  in  his  way  when  pure  invention  became 
the  order  of  the  day.  The  militia  of  the  brigadier  general's  sec- 
ond brigade  were  commanded  to  asse  '  ole  at  Leavenworth,  Decem- 
ber 1,  1855,  "armed  and  equipped  according  to  law,"  and  of 
course  seeing  that  there  was  no  militia  in  the  territory,  there  could 
be  no  doubt  as  to  the  destination  of  the  forces  from  the  western 
counties  of  Missouri.  "Many  citizens,"  who  discreetly  withheld 
their  names  from  the  scroll  of  fame,  issued  a  manifesto  headed 
"  to  arms,"  describing  the  peaceful  city  of  Lawrence  as  "outlaws 
one  thousand  strong  and  armed  to  the  teeth,"  and  this  excitinw 
publication  was  circulated  through  the  border  counties  of  the  ad- 
joining state,  calling  upon  "lovers  of  law  and  order  to  march  to 
the  scene  of  rebellion,"  which  of  course  meant  Lawrence,  and  the 
destruction  of  that  city  was  already  a  foregone  conclusion.  By 
the  light  of  subsequent  events  we  can  perceive  that  Gov.  Shannon 
wanted  to  do  his  duty,  but  just  at  this  moment  he  was  under  the 
baneful  influence  of  men  who  would  serve  their  own  ends  by  the 
ruin  of  the  union  itself,  and  he,  like  Othello  the  valiant  Moor,  was 
"perplexed  in  the  extreme."  His  proclamation  bears  date  No- 
vember 29,  1855,  and  it  was  in  all  probability  Sec.  Woodson's 
work  in  every  item  except  the  signature.  The  statements  con- 
tained therein  were  of  course  believed  by  him,  and  assuming  his 
basis  of  action  to  be  true,  he  was  fully  justified  in  every  line  of 
that  document ;  but  the  pretended  facts  were  fabrications  from 
beginning  to  end.  The  rescuing  party  of  fifteen  with  eight  rifles 
and  some  pistols  had  grown  into  a  "numerous  association  of  law- 
less men  armed  with  deadly  weapons  and  all  the  implements  of 
war."  The  rescuing  prjr;  v/ere  also  said  to  have  burned  down 
houses,  destroyed  personal  property,  and  declared  that  they  would 
regard  no  law  in  the  territory.  They  were  also  said  to  have  armed 
for  the  purpo.se  of  taking  Coleman,  the  murderer  of  Dow,  from  the 
eheriflf,  to  execute  him  without  a  judicial  trial.  In  the  face  of 
such  an  array  of  force  and  crime,  the  govrnor  would  have  been 
justified  in  doing  something  more  than  calling  upon  well  disposed 
citizens  to  assist    him  in   reestablishing  order.     The   governor 


-1 
-i 


-  w  ■ 


'a- 


H 


m 


262 


Tuttle's  lIisTojir  OF  Kaxsas. 


would  have  been  more  than  justified  if  he  had  gone  at  once  to  the 
alleged  scene  of  riot  and  spoliation,  to  have  ascertained  beyond 
doubt  the  condition  of  the  territory,  and  of  the  people  uninten- 
tionally libelled  by  his  proclamation.  Gen.  Atchison,  e-v  Vice- 
President,  came  over  with  his  riflemen  to  assist  in  the  work  of 
•'  wijjing  out "  the  city  and  people  of  Lawrence,  because  he  re- 
ceived a  letter  ostensibly  signed  by  the  secretary  of  the  territory, 
asking  him  "  to  call  out  the  Platte  county  rifle  company."  The 
secretary  does  not  admit  that  he  ever  sent  such  a  communication, 
but  the  letter  was  certainly  received  and  acted  upon  by  the  gen- 
eral. 

Westport  and  Independence  were  the  first  ^Missouri  towns  to 
send  a  force  to  assist  the  sheriff,  and  that  nucleus  of  a  large  body 
encamped  at  y'rauklin,  four  miles  from  the  doomed  city.  Com- 
panies came  in  rapidly  on  and  after  the  29ih  of  November,  the 
date  of  the  governor's  proclamation.  Before  tlireo  days  had 
elapsed  after  the  arrival  of  the  contingent  i'rom  Westport,  there 
were  fifteen  hundred  men  in  camp,  and,  from  Clay  county,  Mjs- 
Bouri,  the  force,  not  being  able  to  complete  their  armament  other- 
wise, had  brought  the  whole  of  the  available  contents  of  the 
United  Stafis  arsenal  —  swords,  rifles,  revolvers,  ammunition  and 
three  six-pounder  guns;  there  was  an  understanding  that  such  a 
trifling  irregularity  as  that  would  attract  no  comment,  consider- 
ing the  good  purpose  which  the  heroes  were  to  accomplish  with 
the  weapons  borrowed  from  Uncle  Sam.  The  Wakaruaa  en- 
campment was  a  lively  place  in  those  days,  and  every  man 
wanted  to  be  led  on  to  the  assault.  Franklin,  four  miles  from 
Lawrence,  stands  in  theWakarusa  bottom  lands,  and  the  village 
was  then  as  busy  as  the  arch-demon  is  supposed  to  be  when  a 
gale  of  wind  is  'jlowing.  The  main  force  of  the  enemy  was 
here,  and  nearly  all  wore  Missourians,  not  only  here,  but  in  all 
the  encampments  at  Lecompton  and  elsewhere,  Vvhich  surrounded 
the  town.  North  of  the  Kansas  river.  Gen.  Atchison  and  his 
Phtte  county  riflemen  stood  ready  for  the  fray.  It  has  since 
been  ascoriained  that  there  were  only  eighty  residents  of  Kansas 
in  all  the  force  tb  n  under  arms,  including  the  Kickapoo  Eangers, 
who  supplied  more  than  half  of  that  grand  total.  The  rest  were 
all  Missourians  except  a  few  from  Arkansas,  who  had  come  in  to 


=iawgAjW.M!!Wj!lt!^i?ftjaimi»W^!'WiH^ 


L 


Ill  m«>  ■■iiin 


TiiK  Wakauvsa  Waii. 


2G3 


;  at  once  to  the 
tained  beyond 
oople  uninten- 
liison,  ex  Vice- 
in  the  work  of 
because  he  re- 
f  the  territory, 
nipany."  The 
;ommunication, 
ion  by  the  gen- 

isouri  towns  to 
af  a  large  body 
ed  city.  Com- 
November,  the 
liree  days  had 
rVestport,  there 
ly  county,  Mjs- 
rmament  other- 
ionteuts  of  the 
mmunition  and 
ing  tliat  such  a 
meat,  consider- 
ccomplish  with 

Wakarusa  en- 
nd  every  man 
our  iTiiles  from 
and  the  village 

to  be  when  a 
the  enemy  was 
lere,  but  in  all 
lich  surrounded 
;chison  and  his 
.  It  has  since 
ents  of  Kansas 
ikapoo  Eangers, 

The  rest  were 
had  come  in  to 


get  a  lesson  in  the  fine  art  of  "wiping  out"  free  soilor.^^.  Tt  was 
hardly  possible  for  any  one  to  enter  the  city  or  to  leave  it  with- 
out submitting  to  be  searched  by  mounted  patrols,  lest  they  might 
have  field  pieces  in  their  vest  pockets,  or  cannon  ball^  dangbng 
from  their  watch  chains. 

"  Mnn,  proud  man, 
Drcst  in  n  little  brief  uuthority, 
Most  ijjnomnt  of  wiiat  he's  niDst  fissured  — 
His  glassy  essence  — like  an  angry  ape," 

is  but  a  nui;\T,nce  at  the  best;  but  persuade  him  that  he  is  a  sol- 
dier  without  a  superior  to  restrain  him  within  due  bounds,  and 
he  becomes  the  most  oppressive  creature  that  can  be  found  upon 
this  footstool. 

The  "  Squatter  Sovereign  "  was  suspended  until  the  end  of  the 
war  to  allow  the  two  editors  to  see  the  ensanguined  stream  of 
■which  they  had  written  so  much,  one  of  the  staff  expressing  his 
expectation,  in  a  brief  valedictory,  that  he  should  "  wade  waist 
deep  in  the  blood  of  the  abolitionista"  The  men  were  more  in- 
jurious as  writers  than  they  were  likely  to  become  as  warriors,  so 
that  there  was  some  brief  compensation  even  in  the  Wakarusa 
war. 

Having  seen  for  ourselves  the  means  that  were  used  and  the 
forces  that  have  been  brought  against  Lawrence,  we  may  as  well 
return  to  that  city  for  a  time  to  ascertain  what  is  being  accom- 
plished  by   the   free  sellers  as  a  setoff  to  the   panoply  of  war 
beyond   its   borders.       Those  of    the   rescuing  party  who   did 
not  belong   to  the  c:ity,  returned   to   Hickory  Point  immediate- 
ly after  the  fracas,  but  Mr.  Branson  remained  in  the  city,  and 
so   did   the  three  residents,    Messrs.  Tappan,  Wiood  and  Smith, 
■who  may  be  suid  to  have  been  the  directors  in  that  business. 
Their  first   impulse   was   to   quit   the  place,  to  deprive  the  as- 
sailants of    a   pretext    for    their    rebellious   proceedings;   *)ut, 
-when  it  became  evident   that  "  strike   high,  or  strike  low,"  the 
pro-slavery  party  could  not  be  satisfied  with  anything  short  of 
the  complete  destruction  of  the  settlement,  they  resolved  to  re- 
main and  bear  their  part  in  the  encounter.     After  the  Wakarusa 
<jamp  was  formed,  their  removal  was  counselled  as  a  prudential 
measure  which  might  eventually  prove  serviceable  to  the  city, 


IW! 


M*-iii||^$ri«Olita 


264 


Ti'TTufa  History  of  Kaxsas. 


and  tlicy  allowed  tliernselves  to  be  governed  by  tlioir  friends'  ad- 
vice.    The  coinmittoe  of  safety  had,  some  days  before,  enrolled 
the  citizens  in  bodies  of  twenty,  and  they  were  ready  for  ser- 
vice at  a    moment's  warning,  having   their  weapons  with  them 
always  in  their  several   places  of    business.     When  the  design 
of  Missouri  became  more  apparent,  a  call  was  sent  out  over  the 
whole  territory,  signed  by  the  committee,  asking  for  settlers  to 
come  in  to  their  "aid,  prepared  for  any  emergency."     Tliis  ap- 
peal bears  date   December  4,  1855,  but   the  dread   purpose   of 
the  Missouriuns  had  been  understood  far  and  wide  before  that 
time,  and   gooil   men    and   true  were   marching   to   the    rescue 
from   every  precinct.      There  was  to  be  no  child's  play  in  the 
business,  nor  had  the  settlers  waited  at  home  with  their  hantls 
folded  until  the  summons  came.     From  Leavenworth,  a  delega- 
tion came  to  counsel  peace  and  submission,  and,  to  their  intense 
surprise,  they  found  that  peace  reigned  in  Lawrence,  and  had  not 
been  broken  there  during  all  this  time  of  turmoil,  the  people, 
•with  arms  in  their  hands,  being  strictly  on  the  defensive  against 
foreign  ruffianism.     This  delegation  brought  the  governor's  proc- 
lamation which,  until  then,  had  not  been  seen  in  the  city,  and  a 
committee  was  immediately  appointed  to  answer  its  erroneous 
allegations.     The  reply  of  the  committee  was  crushing  in  every 
particular,  as  they  were  able  to  show  that  the  state  of  affairs 
against  which  all  good  citizens  were  called  to  aid  the  governor 
existed,  not  in  that  city,  but  among  the  armed  hordes  from  whom 
they  were  striving  to  defend  the  city.     While  these  matters  were 
progressing,  the  forces  in  Lawrence  were  daily  being  recruited. 
Topeka   sent  out   one  hundred  men  armed  and  equipped  with 
■weapons  which  they  well  knew  how  to  handle,  and  squads  and 
companies  of  various  strength  marched  into  the  beleaguered  city 
constantly.     President  Pierce  was  informed,  by  means  of  a  terse 
but  comprehensive  dispatch,  that  the  city  was  besieged  by  armed 
men  from  a  neighboring  state,  who  were  threatening  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  city  and  its  inhabitants,  and  who  were  even  then 
committing  depredations  upon  persons  and  property.     The  dis- 
patch further  adverted  to  the  fact  that  the  invaders  were  said  ta 
be  under  the  orders  of  Gov.  Shannon.     The  president  was  called 
lipon  to  remove  the  invaders  and  restore  peace.     The  command- 


Ar  friendrf'  ad- 
cfoi'o,  enrolled 
ready  for  sor- 
)iis  with  tliem 
icn  the  design 
t  out  over  the 
for  settlers  to 
!y."  This  ap- 
id  })urposo  of 
de  before  that 
to  the  rescue 
I's  play  in  the 
;h  their  hands 
orth,  a  deloga- 

0  their  intense 
;o,  and  had  not 
ail,  the  people, 
fensive  against 
overnor'a  proc- 
the  city,  and  a 
.'  its  erroneous 
ishing  in  every 
state  of  afiairs 

1  the  governor 
des  from  whom 
se  matters  were 
eing  recruited, 
equipped  with 

nd  squads  and 
eleaguered  city 
leans  of  a  terse 
ieged  by  armed 
ng  the  destruc- 
vere  even  then 
erty.  The  dis- 
jrs  were  said  to 
[dent  was  called 
The  command- 


^'^mt^'mm 


The'  Wakaul'sa  Waii. 


265 


ant  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  Col.  Sumner,  was  at  the  same  time  in- 
formed of  the  condition  of  afTairs  at  Lawence.     Of  course,  as  a 
military  man,  he  would  not  be  moved  from  his  line  of  duty  by 
any  roprcsentation  made  to  him  by  civilians,  but  it  was  somothing 
to  have  given  him  an  inkling  of  the  facts,  when  their  own  friends 
in  Leavenworth  had  not  comprehended  the  actual  condition  of 
affairs.     Their  letter  said  to  the  commandant  what  had  already 
been  said  to  the  president,  and  concluded  by  re(iuesting  that  a 
sufTioient  force  should  be  sent  from  his  command  to  quell  the  riot 
and   prevent  further  invasion.     Such   language  was    not   what 
might  have  been  expected  under  the  circumstances  from  lawless 
rioters,  and  it  seems  p.obable  that  Col.  Sumner  could  understand 
better  what  was  being  done  and  attempted  than  Gov.  Shannon. 
Congress  was  memorialized,  showing,  in  a  brief  but  comprehen- 
sive sketch,  the  action  of  the  governor  and  the  eonsequenoes  en- 
suing therefrom,  the  invasion  of  Kansas  by  Missourian  troops, 
and  all  the  wrongs  that  must  follow  upon  an  invasion  where  every 
man  is  a  commander.     The  proclamation  by  the  governor,  some 
military  orders  which  had  been  issued,  and  a  letter  from  the  sec- 
retary of  the  territory  were  appended   to  the  memorial,  which 
closed  with  a  prayer  for  adequate  inquiry  into  the  facts  which 
the  citizens  set  forth.     This  document  bore  date  :  Kansas  Terri- 
ritory,  December  5,  1855. 

It  will  be  seen  that  since  the  delegation  from  Leavenworth 
showed  to  the  iien  of  Lawrence  the  manner  in  which  they  were 
being  libelled ;  there  had  been  no  time  lost  in  recovering  their 
character  from  such  vile  aspersions,  but  they  did  not  rest  upon 
protests  and  verbal  defenses.  The  Wagoner  who  prayed  to  Hur- 
cules  procured  no  help  until  he  bad  prayed  with  his  shoulders, 
and  the  citizens  of  Lawrence  were  ready  to  protest  with  their 
rifles  when  all  other  means  should  have  been  exhausted.  The 
city  was  in  an  attitude  of  defensa  The  committee  of  safety  nom- 
inated Dr.  Robinson  commander-in-chief  of  the  forces,  and  Col. 
Lane,  his  second  in  command.  There  were  now  about  one  thou- 
sand men  under  arms,  many  having  come  in  who  lid  not  belong 
to  any  company,  and  there  were  eight  hundred  regularly  enrolled 
and  under  drill.  The  commissariat  for  such  a  force  was  no  small 
affair,  but  every  house  held  its  quota  of  soldiers,  and  the  citizens 


Tittlk's  JIiSTour  of  Kaphas. 


Jlv! 


"I 


nssiiiiifil  all  tlio  responsibilities  of  provisioning  tlie  ironps.     For- 
tillfiitioiis  woro  conslructuil  on  Ma.ssaciiusflts  strcot  nciir  J'inck- 
ney,  as  a  retreat  for  tlio  women  and  cliildren,  should  an  attack  bo 
made  ;  and  also  on  the  aamo  street  near  Henry,  where  the  redoubt 
having  bastions,  the  eaimon  could  be  worked   with  effect  against 
an  attacking  force.     IJotwcen  Massachusetts  and  New  lianipshiro 
streets  north  of  Henry  there  was  a  circular  redt)ubt  which  could 
be  held  against  a  very  considerable  force  of  the  guerilla  sort 
Another  redoubt  was  designed  to  meet  a  possible  attack  from  the 
Mt.  Crcad  direction,  and  on  Kentucky  street  a  fifth  redoubt  cov- 
ered a  point  which  might  have  been  approached  by  a  ravine  to 
the  west  of  the  city.     One  brass  cannon  was  brought  into  Law- 
rence from  Kansas  City  while  the  beleaguering  force  was  in  po- 
sition, and  two  ladies  brought  a  quantity  of  }K)wder  from  the 
country  beyond  the  lines  of  circuinvallation.     Many  of  the  ladies 
made  cartridges  for  the  soldiery,  while  their  husbands  were  occu- 
pied in  their  hastily  assumed  military  duties.     There  was   no 
bravado  among  the  Lawrence  men,  but  there  was  unmistakable 
courage,  and  the  leader.^  from  the  hostile  camps  who  had  free  in- 
gress to  the  city  at  all  hours  could  not  help  feeling  that   there 
would  be  warm  work  for  the  attacking  force  before  the  defend- 
ers, now  more  than  one  thousand  strong,   would  bo  compelled  to 
surrender.     Brig.  Gen.   Eastin  agreed   with  Falstaff  that  "  Dis- 
cretion is  the  better  part  of  valor,"  and  he  addressed  a  dispatch 
to  that  effect  to  Gov.  Shannon,  in  which  he  wisely  stated  the 
strength  of  the  "outlaws,"  and  suggested  the  advisability  of  in- 
viting the  regular  troops  from  Fort  Leaven v/orth  to  do  what  he 
deemed  unlikely  to  be  effected  by  the  irregulars.     The  sugges- 
tion from  the  Brigadier  was  one  of  the  wisest  movements  possi- 
ble at  the  time,  and  it  commended  itself  at  once  to  Mr.  Shannon. 
A  telegram  to  the  President  and  a  dispatch  to  the  Fort  betok- 
ened bis  appreciation  of  the  emergency.     The  telegram  told  the 
storv  of  the  Kansas  difficulty  as  he  saw  it,  and  asked  for  author- 
ity to  call  the  United  States  soldiery  to  his  assistance.     The  dis- 
patch told  Co'i.  Sumner  what  he  had  done,  and  requested  him  to 
be  ready,  should  a  reply  in  the  affirmative  come  to  hand.     The 
commandant  at  Fort  Leavenworth  recommended  the  governor  to 
make  his  application  extensively  known,  and  to  countermand  all 


wmm 


.  .1       J.  II|II)H 


"JJfH 


7 '//a;  ir.(A'.i/a,!)/i  H'.i«. 


AST 


ti'dojij*.  For- 
t  noiu'  I'iiick- 
I  ail  utluuk  bo 
re  tlio  redoubt 

0  flout  iigiiiuat 
•w  iiuinpdhiro 
it  which  could 
guerilla  sort 
ttack  from  the 
1  redoubt  cov- 
by  a  ravina  to 
gilt  into  Law- 
rce  was  in  po- 
tvder  from  the 
y  of  the  ladies 
lids  were  occu- 
rhere  was   no 

unmistakable 

0  had  free  in- 
ing  that  there 
re  the  defend- 
e  compelled  to 
;aff  that  "  Dia- 
led a  dispatch 
ely  stated  the 
isability  of  in- 
to do  what  he 

The  sugges- 
vrements  possi- 

1  Mr.  Shannon. 
le  Fort  betok- 
;gram  told  the 
ced  for  author- 
nee.  The  dis- 
juested  him  to 
;o  hand.  The 
he  governor  to 
)untermand  all 


orders    wliic;li    might  Hoom    to    authorize  pivmuturo  movotp.cnts 


among  tiie  mililia  siirnmiiding  IjUwriMU'e.     'I'iie  advici; 


tliiis  given 


was  wise  and  it  prodiioi'il   instant  eireets.     Shorill'  .lonos  was  in- 
formed of  the  steps  which  liad  been  taken,  and  oi  tlie  pnjbability 
that  the  whole  force  from  Fort  Leavenwortii  would  come  down  to 
the  rescue  of  the  constituteil  autiiorities,  and,  as  a  conse(pierice  of 
suL'li  an  outlook,  that  oCicial  was  instructed  to  wait  for  further 
orders.     There  was  no  escape  from  the  tone  and  tenor  of  the  com- 
munication; elTusion  of  blood  was  to  be  avoided,  the  writs  were 
not  to  be  served  pending  the  answer  from   Washington,  the  sher- 
iil  was  only  to  retain  near  iiim  a  sufTuMent  force  to  protect  liis  al- 
most forgotten  prisoner,  and  "  the  law  abiding  citizens,"  meaning  of 
course  tlio  ruflians  from  over  the  '  >rder,  were  to  be  removed  to  a 
distance  where  their  lives  won'         t  be  endangered.     The  gov- 
ernor had  written  to  Gen.  Richa.  tson  to   the  same  effect,  and  he 
gave  orders  that  the  letter  thus  summarized  should  bo  exhibited 
to  the  oHicers  in  command.     Af  r.  Sliannon  concluded   with  an  in- 
timation that  he  should  probably  accompany  Colonel  Sumner. 
There  is  a  personage  who  is  supposed  specially  to  hate  holy  water, 
and  the  sheriil  must  have  understood  the  peculiar  prejudice  of 
Satan  when  he  saw  his  scheme  of  vengeance  being  thus  suddenly 
and   unexpectedly   thwarted,  but  he   did  not  give   up   without 
a  struggle.     He  wrote  a  long  letter  in  too  much  haste  to  be  gram- 
matical, in  which  he  urged,  that  his  troops  were  weary  of  in- 
action and  might  disperse  unless  they  were  allowed  to  attack  the 
city,  but  he  veiled  that  purpose  under  the  mild  form  of  making 
a  demand  for  his  prisoner,  Jacob  Branson.     The  letter  displayed 
much  eagerness  to  carry  Lawrence  by  assault  before  the  regular 
troops  could  come  in  to  compel  the  usages  of  mercy  and  rob  his 
friends  of  their  satisfaction.     The  letter  contained  besides  some 
information  as  to  the  writs  which  he  desired  to  serve,  but  every 
sentence,  read  by  the  light  of  subsequent  events,  must  have  con- 
vinced Gov.  Shannon,  that  sheriff  Jones  had  purposes  in  view, 
concerning  which  he  did  not  think  it  wise  to  take  the  chief  execu- 
tive officer  into  his  confidence.     Maj.  Gen.  Richardson  also  re- 
plied to  the  dispatch  advising  the  governor  to  insist  in  any  event 
upon  the  citizens  of  Lawrence  surrendering  their  arms,  but  the 


268 


Trrn.K's  llisronr  of  K  ass  as. 


fruitlossiKvs  of  such  udvico  rcinli'is  it  unnecessary  to  do  more  than 
noto  the  fact  of  its  having  been  tendered. 

'I'lic  presifU-nt  sent  n  reply  to  the  governor,  saying  that  tho 
reciuisite  orders  shoidd  be  sent  to  the  coU)nel  coinmunihint  at 
Fort  FiCnvcnworth,  as  soon  as  tlic  proper  forms  of  tlio  war  depart- 
ment coidd  be  complied  witli,  and  on  the  strength  of  tiiat  com- 
munication Mr.  Shannon  hoped  that  Col  Sumner  would  eomo  to 
the  rescue.  That  oflici  •  consented  to  do  80  at  first,  but  upon 
further  consideration  declined  to  move  until  he  could  receive  his 
instructions  in  due  form.  Perliaps  the  nuirvclous  influence  of 
Mr.  .IclVcrson  Davis  in  the  war  department  had  more  to  do  with 
the  delay  than  either  governor  or  president  imagineil,  for  tho 
game  of  the  south  was  being  played  with  consummate  tact  by 
the  leaders  of  the  proslavery  party,  up  to  the  time  when  tho  elt.c 
tion  of  Abraham  liineoln,  in  18(50,  disconcerted  all  their  projects. 
While  this  delay  was  ;.,iving  u  pause  for  relleetion  to  both  gov- 
ernoi  and  people,  tho  c'tizens  of  Lawrence  concluded  to  address 
the  chief  of  the  territorial  executive,  sending  to  him  a  letter  by 
two  trusty  men.  There  wa.s  nothing  very  remarkable  in  their 
commisnication,  as  they  merely,  from  their  stand  j)oint,  informed 
Mr.  Shannon  of  the  then  aspect  of  affairs,  asked  whether  tho 
armed  men  from  a  foreign  state  were  in  Kansas  under  his  orders, 
and  icnues:  "^  that  he  would  take  steps  for  their  removal,  plainly 
sia''  tha'  '-other  means  and  higher  authority"  remained  as 
flit  .  ;)atives.  The  delegation  had  some  difliculty  in  reaching  the 
governor  at  Shawnee  Mission,  as  the.  place  is  almost  on  the  bor- 
der, and  the  Missouri  men  were  very  jealous  of  communications 
between  Lawrence  and  Mr.  Shannon,  but  on  the  5th  of  Decem- 
ber Messrs.  Lowery  and  Babcock  obtained  the  interview,  on 
which  much  more  depended  than  the  mere  delivery  of  a  dis- 
patch. The  sitiiation  had  been  carefully  concealed  by  the  pro- 
slavery  party,  but  the  delegation  were  able  to  show  him  that  the 
territorial  law,  which  he  suppo-sed  was  the  bone  of  contention,  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  quarrel  between  Lawrence  and  the  ruflfian 
hordes  from  Missouri.  The  men  chosen  for  that  delegation  were 
"  right  men  in  the  right  place,"  and  their  case  was  clear  enough 
to  have  made  stocks  and  stones  eloquent  and  persuasive.  The 
facts  were  so  clearly  in  favor  of  Lawrence,  that  before  the  dele- 


-■■^BSOmSlmKmm 


to  do  more  than 

saying  that  tho 
corninaiuhmt  at 

tlio  war  depart- 
;th  of  tliut  coin- 
r  would  como  to 

first,  but  upon 
lould  roocive  his 
ous  iiilhiencc  of 
more  to  do  with 
iiaLfined,  for  tho 
iiiiunato  tact  by 
0  wlicri  tho  el(;C 
.11  their  projects. 
ion  to  both  gov- 
ndcd  to  address 

hitn  a  letter  by 
arkable  in  their 

j)oint,  informed 
ed  whether  tho 
aider  his  orders, 
removal,  plainly 
y  "  remained  as 
'  in  reaching  the 
nost  on  the  bor- 

communications 
0  5th  of  Decem- 
le  interview,  on 
ilivery  of  a  dia- 
lled by  the  pro- 
ow  him  that  the 
f  contention,  had 
e  and  the  rufldan 

delegation  were 
?a3  clear  enough 
)ersuasive.  The 
before  the  dele- 


-•.m&iiSliSt^-f. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

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Microfiche 

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CIHIVI/ICMH 
Collection  de 
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Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


The  Wakabusa  Wah. 


269 


gation  left,  the  governor  began  to  discover  liow  the  land  lay.  ITo 
had  been  told  that  Lawrence  eflected  the  rescue  of  ]?ranson,  and 
had  burned  the  houses  of  sixteen  families,  driving  the  shelterlerfs 
people  out  upon  the  prairies;  and  it  came  like  a  revelation  when 
he  learned  that  only  three  houses  had  been  burned  ;  that  no  fami- 
lies were  at  the  time  in  either  of  the  houses;  that  Lawrence  stood 
ten  miles  from  the  scene  of  disturbance  and  had  taken  no  part 
therein ;  that  there  was  no  evidence  to  show  who  were  the  offend- 
ers, and  that  the  rescue  of  Branson  was  an  event  of  which  Law- 
rence knew  nothing  until  some  hours  after  the  occurrence.  The 
question  of  obeying  territorial  law  had  not  been  raised  by  Law- 
rence, and  most  assuredly  the  city  would  not  resort  to  force  until 
all  otlier  mean.s  had  failed.  The  mission  of  the  representatives 
of  Lawrence  was  perfectly  successful,  because  it  induced  Mr. 
Shannon  to  see  for  himself,  where  hitherto  he  had  used  the  eyes 
of  others.  He  determined  to  repair  to  the  camp  at  Wakarusa, 
and  at  all  hazards  to  prevent  bloodshed  if  such  a  consummation 
proved  possible.  That  step  should  have  been  taken  by  him 
many  days  earlier,  but  "  better  late  than  never"  is  a  proverb  old 
as  the  hills.  Until  now  Mr.  Shannon  had  believed  the  Lawrence 
citizens  brawlers  and  law  breakers,  seeking  occasions  for  the 
shedding  of  blood,  and  the  Missourian  border  ruffians  figured  in 
his  imagination  as  self  sacrificing  missionaries,  crossing  the  bor- 
der only  to  promote  harmony.  Instead  of  his  Arcadian  dream 
being  realized,  he  found  in  the  camp  at  Wakarusa  gray  haired 
old  men  and  their  sons  and  grandsons,  anxious  to  be  led  to 
the  attack  of  an  unoffending  city  which  had  done  nothing  to  in- 
jure its  assailants,  unless  it  was  a  sin  to  think  and  speak.  The 
men  whom  he  had  wished  to  have  removed  to  a  distance,  for  fear 
they  might  be  first  in  some  sanguinary  encounter,  were  sleuth 
hounds  aching  for  a  battle  which  they  in  their  ignorance  sup- 
posed would  be  but  a  scene  of  slaughter,  with  timid  traders  a? 
their  victims.  There  was  not  a  moment  to  lose.  The  force  by 
which  he  was  surrounded  had  never  been  well  officered,  and  their 
sympathies  were  entirely  opposed  to  all  his  instincts;  moreover 
the  men  whom  they  were  accustomed  to  follow,  if  not  to  obey, 
would  favor  any  enterprise  inimical  to  the  peace  of  the  territory. 
They  had  been  for  many  days  living  at  free  quarters  as  among 


'■f 


270 


Ti-TTLK's   HlSTOliY  OF  K.IXSAS. 


tMicinics,  stopping  and  ransacking  every  vehicle  tliat  approached 
the  city,  and  gratifying  tlieir  petty  malice  by  a  tiiousand  exac- 
tions ;  it  would  be  an  irksome  tusk  for  eoiKjuerors  such  as  they 
to  inarch  back  into  village  obscurity  without  ra/ing  and  pbinder- 
ing  one  city  of  abolitionists.  In  the  midst  of  such  material  the 
governor  entered  ujM)n  his  task  as  a  diplomatist,  anxious  above 
idl  things  to  restore  ])eaee  and  prevent  bloodshed,  even  thougli  in 
pursuit  of  that  aim  he  must  lose  the  admiration  of  the  proslavery 
party,  and  convert  his  fiendish  exponents  of  law  and  order  into 
implacable  enemies,  clamoring  to  Washington  for  his  instant 
decapitation. 

A  conference  of  proslavery  leaders  from  Lecompton  camp  as 
well  as  Wakarusa,  about  forty  altogether,  being  assembled  to  con- 
sider his  proposals  for  pacilication,  had  only  a  small  min(M-ity  of 
one  that  would  assent  to  his  suggestion,  and  that  man  came  near 
fighting  before  the  sun  went  down,  in  defense  of  his  pacificatory 
disposition  ;  the  rest  demanded  that  Lawrence  should  be  destroyed 
root  and  branch,  that  all  arms  and  fortifications  should  be  sur- 
rendered, and  that  every  printing  press  should  be  destroyed. 
The  conference  was  a  complete  failure,  except  in  so  far  as  it  re- 
vealed to  Frankenstein  the  monster  that  he  had  called  into  being. 
A  dispatch  to  Col.  Sumner  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  bearing  date 
Dec.  6,  1855,  shows  how  much  Mr.  Shannon's  views  had  been 
changed  within  twenty-four  hours.  His  desire  now  was  primarily 
to  save  Lawrence  and  eventually  the  whole  territory  from  the  men 
by  whom  he  was  surrounded,  and  he  thought  the  crisis  should 
warrant  the  commandant  in  moviug  without  express  orders  from 
Washington.  lie  stated  in  effect  the  eagerness  of  the  invaders  to 
destroy  Lawrence,  and  that  they  would  soon  be  beyond  all  his 
powers  of  restraint  He  had  discovered  that  while  only  in  the 
pursuit  of  peace  he  had  called  to  his  aid  a  set  of  guerillas  who 
would  have  war  at  all  hazards.  The  substance  of  the  governor's 
dispatch  was  known  to  some  of  the  officers,  and  arrangements 
were  made  to  arrest  his  messenger  en  route  to  the  fort,  whereby 
the  proslavery  force  would  gain  time  to  make  the  assault  in  spite 
of  him  and  his  remonstrances,  before  the  United  States  troops 
could  arrive  upon  the  field.  The  scheme  succeeded,  but  thanks 
to  the  loyalty  of  Gen.  Stickler,  the  governor  was  informed  of  the 


The  Wakabvsa  War. 


271 


tliut  approaclictl 

tliousaiid  e.xac- 

jrs  such  as  they 

ig  and  pl'inder- 

yh    material  the 

anxious  above 

even  thougli  ia 

I  the  proslavery 

and  order  into 

for   his   instant 

npton  camp  as 
isemblecl  to  con- 
lall  minority  of 

man  came  near 
his  pacificatory 
lid  be  destroyed 

should  be  sur- 
be  destroyed. 

so  far  as  it  re- 
dled  into  beinsr. 
th,  bearing  date 
lews  had  been 
V  was  primarily 
y  from  the  men 
le  crisis  should 
ess  orders  from 

the  invaders  to 

beyond  all  his 
iile  only  in  the 
:  guerillas  who 

the  governor's 
1  arrangements 
}  fort,  whereby 
assault  in  spite 
I  States  troops 
led,  but  thanks 
n  formed  of  the 


outrage,  and  before  daylight  on  the  morning  of  the  seventh,  a 
courier  sent  by  an  unusual  course  reached  Leavenworth  with  ^^r. 
Shannon's  letter.  The  Colonel  could  not  venture  to  move  even 
in  such  a  strait,  but  his  suggestions  to  the  governor  were  eminent- 
ly judicious.  Mr.  Ander.son,  one  of  the  members  of  the  late 
Shawnee  legislature,  wrote  to  Gen.  Richardson  on  the  7th  of  De- 
ceniber,  that  ho  believed  the  black  flag  would  be  raised  in  tlie 
camps  at  Lawrence  and  Lecompton,  on  the  morning  of  the  8th, 
and  that  the  guerillas  would  march  upon  the  city  without  orders. 
In  the  event  of  TJnited  States  troops  interfering  he  believed  the 
Missourians  would  fight  that  force  also  rather  than  be  baulked  of 
their  revenge,  and  already  he  believed  there  was  no  safety  for  the 
executive  save  in  complete  submission  to  the  terms  of  the  pro- 
slavery  fighting  men.  Lawrence  was  not  asleep  during  this  try- 
ing time,  nor  did  the  leaders  rest  because  Mr.  Shannon  had  been 
brought  to  a  .sense  of  the  situation.  They  knew  better  than  ho 
what  kind  of  a  crowd  it  now  devolved  upon  him  to  control  if  an- 
archy was  to  be  stayed,  and  they  wrought  accordingly.  An  en- 
voy was  dispatched  from  Lawrence  on  the  morning  of  the  6th, 
to  carry  dispatches  to  the  free  states,  fairly  describing  the  con- 
dition of  affairs  in  the  city  and  territory,  and  calling  for  efBcient 
aid,  as  whatever  might  be  the  fate  of  the  one  settlement  the  war 
must  not  be  abandoned.  Before  the  emissary  had  left  the  open 
camp  of  the  defenders,  spies  had  revealed  the  movement  to  the 
officers  in  the  Wakarusa  camp  at  Franklin,  and  a  detachment 
was  detailed  to  arrest  Gen.  Pomeroy.  The  design  of  the  defend- 
ers was  in  that  way  defeated,  and  their  messenger  subjected  to 
very  considerable  annoyance  and  suffering  until  Gen.  Atchison, 
in  command  of  the  Platte  county  rifle  company  interfered.  The 
dispatches  meant  for  perusal  by  free  soilers  in  the  eastern  states 
were  first  served  up  in  the  columns  of  the  Missouri  press,  subject 
to  such  falsifications  as  would  serve  the  purposes  of  the  assail- 
ants. The  Indians  in  the  territory  were  of  course  alive  to  the 
probabilities  of  a  battle,  and  they  were  desirous  to  share  in  the 
entertainment.  The  Delawares  and  Shawnees  sided  with  Law- 
rence, but  the  committee  of  safety  hesitated  about  accepting  their 
aid,  but  a  company  of  Pottawattamies  was  brought  into  camp  at 
Lecompton,  proud  in  the  belief  that  they  would  carry  with  thei.i 


272  TuTTLifs  History  of  K.ixsas. 

buck  to  their  reservation  a  rich  harvest  of  abolition  scalps.     Tlio 
Indian  agent  for  the  Pottawattamics   brought  tliis  cbominable 
contingent  into  the  camp  at  Lecompton,  and  that  olhcial  with 
most  of  the  territorial  dignataries  rode  patrol  and   played  at  sol- 
diers during  the  protracted  siege.     The  forces  in  Lawrence  felt 
that  they  had  done  all  that  they  could  reasonably  be  expected  to 
attempt,  toward  peace,  and  now  with  arms  in  their  hands  they 
were  prepared  to  abide  the  issue.     At  the  worst  they  were  resolved 
to  sell  their  lives  dearly  for  their  altars  and  their  hearths,  and  their 
wives  stood  pledged  among  themselves  to  assume  the  weapons  of 
defense,  should  their  husbands  fall,  to  avenge  the  cause  of  liberty. 
While  things  were  at  this  pu...s,  one  of  the  free  state  men,  Mr. 
Thomas  W.  Barber,  who  occupied  a  farm  at  a  distance  of  about 
seven  miles  southwest  of  the  city,  concluded  to  ride  home  with  a 
few  friends  to  see  how  affairs  were  prospering  at  home,  intending 
to  return  the  next  day.     He  was  unarmed,  but  his  brother  and 
the  friends  accompanying  him  carried  weapons.     Mr.  Barber  had 
left  his  wife  on  the  farm,  when  it  became  necessary  for  the  fight- 
ing force  of  the  settlement  to  concentrate  at  Lawrence.     About 
four  miles  from  the  city  the  little  party  was  accosted  by  one  of 
the  patrols  of  the  enemy,  and  ordered  to  accompany  that  body  to 
the  camp;  upon  their  refusal  Mr.   Barber  was  shot  by  one  of  the 
party  and  died  of  his  wounds  shortly  after.    Several  shots  were  ex- 
changed afterwards,  but  this  murder  was  the  only  casualty  in  the 
Walvarusa  war,  witli  the  exception  of  the  crime  committed  by 
Coleman  at  Hickory  Point,  when  his  victim  Dow  was  shot.    This 
murder  was  perpetrated  by  a  body  of  men  who  were  then  on  their 
way  to  the  camp  at  Wakarusa  to  insist  upon  the  free  soil  party 
in  Lawrence  surrendering  their  weapons  as  a  preliminay  of  peace, 
and  several  of  the  territorial  staff  were  spectators  if  not  accom- 
plices in  the  deed.     The  body  of  Mr;  Barber  was  conveyed  back 
to  Lawrence  and  a  carriage  was  sent  to  bring  his  wife  into  the 
city.     The  scene  when  the  poor  woman  became  aware  of  herlosa 
was  excruciating,  audit  was  with  difficulty  that  the  chiefs  in  com- 
mand could  restrain  the  troops  to  which  Barber  belonged,  from 
rushing  upon  the  enemy  to  avenge  the  untimely  end  of  their 
much  loved  comrade.     While  this  sad  event  was  being  witnessed 
in  Lawrence,  the  scenes  in  the  camp  of  the  enemy  disclosed 


scalps.     Tho 
3  eboininablo 
t  ofTioial  with 
)l;iycd  at  sol- 
Lawrenco  felt 
le  expected  to 
r  hands  they 
were  resolved 
,rths,  and  their 
he  weapons  of 
luse  of  liberty, 
tate  men,  Mr. 
iancc  of  about 
e  home  with  a 
)me,  intending 
s  brother  and 
[r.  Barber  had 
{  for  the  fight- 
rence.     About 
sted  by  one  of 
ly  that  body  to 
by  one  of  the 
I  shots  were  ex- 
casualty  in  the 
committed  by 
vas  shot    This 
re  then  on  their 
free  soil  party 
:ninay  of  peace. 
3  if  not  accora- 
conveyed  back 
s  wife  into  tho 
vare  of  her  losa 
le  chiefs  in  corn- 
belonged,  from 
y  end  of  their 
being  witnessed 
lemy  disclosed 


« 


i 

I' 


Tin:  Wakmhs.i  W'au. 


273 


numerous  net:-  of  injustice  and  oppression,  bonlcrin;^  upon  mur- 
der. Wo  liavcseen  wliat  occurred  in  tiie  case  of  (Jen.  I'onieroy, 
and  almost  every  man  that  had  business  outside  tha  city  was 
liable  to  be  carried  as  n.  prisoner  to  Lecoinpton  or  Franklin,  to 
have  papers  seized  and  conliscated,  and  sometimes  property  stolen, 
for  the  Missourians  were  not  all  immaculate  on  that  score.  A 
medical  man  driving  from  the  city  to  his  farm  with  a  delirious 
l)ationt  was  made  a  prisoner,  and  both  parties  detained  for  a  con- 
siderable time.  The  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Trilmiie, 
Mr.  Phillips,  has  made  the  whole  world  ac(pKunted  with  his  ad- 
ventures, as  they  were  j)ubli.shed  in  -the  eolumn.s  of  Horace 
Greeley's  paper,  and  many  citi/sons  from  Leavenworth,  Topeka 
and  elsewhere,  were  captured  and  held  in  durance  for  various 
terms,  where  they  would  hear  the  drunken  rullians  clamoring  for 
the  blood  of  one  abolitionist.  More  than  once  ])i  eparations  were 
made  for  hanging  these  prisoners,  but  the  oflicers  succeeded 
in  rci)ressing  such  tumults.  When  the  hostilities  of  1855  were 
brought  to  an  end  by  the  governor's  interposition,  there  were  sev- 
eral prisoners  liberated  from  the  camps  of  the  enemy. 

Immediately  after  Mr.  Shannon  had  sent  the  letter  last  men- 
tioned to  Col.  Sumner,  at  Leavenworth,  he  forwarded  notice  to 
the  authorities  in  Lawrence  that  he  wished  to  visit  that  city,  and 
wa.s  awaiting  an  escort  for  the  purpose.  Mr.  Lowery,  one  of  the 
delegation  that  waited  upon  the  governor  at  Shawnee  Mission, 
was  named  the  leader  of  a  company  of  ten  citizens,  who  rode  out 
to  the  Wakarusa  camp  to  bring  in  tlieir  visitor.  The  committee 
of  safety  received  the  governor  and  three  Missourian  colonels  in 
their  apartments  in  the  Free  State  Ilotel.  The  staff  attending  the 
chief  of  the  territorial  execu'n  e  consisted  of  Col.  Boone,  of  West- 
port,  Col.  Strickland,  generally  •iescribcd  as  from  Missouri,  and 
Col.  Kearney,  of  Independence.  Dr.  Kobinson,  the  commander- 
in-chief,  and  Col.  Lane,  his  efficient  aid,  were  the  negotiators  for 
the  settlers  in  and  about  the  city,  and  the  interview  lasted  about 
an  hour.  Mr.  Shannon  said  that  he  had  relied  upon  statements 
made  by  Sheriff  Jones,  and  had,  consequently,  misunderstood  the 
people  of  Lawrence  ;  but  while  suggesting  the  propriety  of  a  regu- 
lar treaty  between  the  opposing  forces,  he  proposed  that  the  free 
state  men  should  surrender  their  arms  as  a  preliminary.  He 
18 


I 


974 


Ttrri.i.'s  Ilisroiir  of  Kassas. 


\' 


fouiul  aftr  wanl-  tlK\t  sncli  n,  condition  of  pence  woiilil  liavo  in- 
fallibly k'l  to  u.unlor,  aiul  lie  conUl  tlit-n  lu-ttcr  ni.protMato  tlio 
indignant    (.'fnsal  witli  wliicli  liis  sn<.'<.'cstion  was  rcpollod.     Tpon 
liis  rctnrn  to  the  Wakarusa  oainp,  the  govLM'nor  llrst  learned  of 
the  l)la('k  Hag  conspiniey,  and  his  measures  thereupon  were  such 
as  the  responsibilities  of  his  ofliee  demanded.     Maj.  Gen.  Rich- 
ardson was  ordered  to  repress  all  disorderly  movements,  and  to 
use  his  whole  foree,  if  neeo.'^pary,  to  prevent  an  uiianlhnri/.ed  dem- 
onstration upon  Lawrence.     The  governor  was  truly  governor  at 
last.     Cion.  Strieklcr   received  similar  instructions  at  the  samo 
moment,  and  early  the  next  morning  the  best  dispo.sed  prominent 
men  in  the  proslavcry  camps  were  eolleeted  to  form  a  council  for 
the  preservation  of  peae(\     A  committeo  of  thirteen  captains  was 
nominated,  after  nuich  debuting,  to  meet  a  similar  body  which 
would  be  sent  that  day  from  Lawrence,  to  arrange  the  prelimina- 
ries of  a  pacitie.ation  :  and  the  governor  went  back  to  the  city 
much  pleased  with  the  progress  he  had  made.     It  might  seem 
that  it  should  have  sulllccd  for  liiin  to  order  the  invading  force  to 
leave  the  territory  as  soon  as  he  became  aware  what  were  the  real 
facts  of  the  case ;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  he  was  not 
handling  di.sciplined  troops,  well  olTicercd,  and  he  was  properly 
desirous  to  avoid  bloodshed.     The  arrangements  to  be  made  in 
the  city  were  easily  carried  tlu'ough.     Uv.  Shannon  had  prepared 
a  paper  setting  forth   the  main  points  of  the  treaty  to  be  sub- 
scribed, but  upon  the  presentation  of  a  similar  document,  prepared 
by  Dr.  Eobinson,  after  consulting  the  leaders  of  the  free  state 
party,  that  instrument  was  readily  accepted.     There  were  speeches 
froin  the  front  of  the  hotel  when    ihe   negotiations  were  thus 
brought  to  an  end,  and  it  became  necessary  to  assure  the  populace 
that  no  concessions  had  been  made  which  would  commit  them  to 
a  recognition  of  the  laws  passed  by  the  Shawnee  usurpers.     They 
were  ready  to  die  fighting  in  the  trenches  and  on  the  prairies 
rather  than  be  governed  by  a  legislature  imposed  upon  them  by 
foreign  force.     The  treaty  was,  of  course,  subsequently  published, 
although  it  was  not  then  read  to  the  assemblage,  and  its  terms  were 
substantially  as  follows :     The  misunderstanding  arising  out  of 
the  rcjcue  of  Jacob  Branson,  at  Hickory  Toint,  having  been  re- 
cited in  the  preamble,  together  with  the  desire  of  all  parties  to 


Tin:  TI'(AM/,T.s  (  Il'.i//. 


275 


uM  liavc  in- 
[i[iix;oiato  tlio 
I'llcd.     I'pon 
st  loanicil  of 
111  were  such 
ij.  Goii.  IJicli- 
noiits,  ami  to 
Llmrized  ilcin- 
^  govHM'iior  at 
at  the  snmo 
iod  proniim-nt 
!i  council  for 
oujitains  was 
r  boily  wliich 
the  prelimina- 
k  to  the  city 
;  miglit  seem 
ailing  force  to 
,  were  the  real 
at  he  was  not 
was  properly 
.)  he  made  in 
had  prepared 
ity  to  be  sub- 
nent,  prepared 
the  free  state 
were  speeches 
ins  were  thus 
3  the  populace 
)mniit  them  to 
urpers.     They 
n  the  prairies 
ipon  them  by 
itly  published, 
I  its  terms  were 
arising  out  of 
iving  been  re- 
all  parties  to 


avoid  bloodshed  and  civil  strife,  the  terms  of  settlement  were  next 
set  forth.  The  citizens  protested  that  the  rescue  was  not  their 
act,  nor  had  tlicy  been  consulted  thereon  before  the  event;  that 
they  would  aid  in  the  service  of  any  legal  process,  and  were  not 
cognizant  of  the  existence  of  any  organization  in  the  territory  for 
tlu!  resistance  of  laws,  and  that  whenever  called  upon  by  the 
proper  authority  they  would  help  to  preserve  order  in  the  town 
of  liawrence,  under  proper  provisions  for  the  safety  of  person  and 
l)ropcrty  against  unlawful  depredations,  even  when  committed  by 
the  sherifT  and  his  posse.  The  governor,  on  his  part,  diselnimcd 
having  authorized  foreign  invasion,  and  any  intention  to  authorize 
any  such  action  ;  and  all  the  parties  declined  to  express  an  opin- 
ion as  to  the  validity  of  the  laws  passed  by  the  recent  territorial 
legislature  at  Shawnee. 

When  Gov.  Shannon  went  back  to  the  Wakarusa  camp  that 
evening,  Gen.  Kobinson  and  Col.  Lane  accompanied  him  at  his 
particular  rcrpiest,  and  speeches  were  made  by  all  three  parties 
before  the  council  of  thirteen  proslavery  captains  already  named, 
the  result  being  an  agreement  between  all  parties  to  end  the  im- 
hroijlio  by  withdrawing  ami  dispersing  the  sheriff's  friends.  "When 
the  business  was  thus  terminated  the  night  was  tempestuous  in 
the  worst  degree,  and  that  may  have  been  the  reason  why  Dr. 
Robinson  and  Col.  Lane  were  not  provided  with  the  guard  which 
had  been  jiromi.sed  them,  but  very  strong  suspicions  were  enter- 
tained that  both  gentlemen  were  to  have  been  waylaid  and  assas- 
sinated on  their  return.  Only  one  man  mustered  to  form  their 
escort,  and  he  continued  with  them  only  a  few  minutes  after  they 
had  started.  The  pobabilities  are  largely  in  favor  of  the  good 
faith  of  the  leaders,  whatever  individuals  in  the  ranks  might  have 
plotted,  and  it  is  very  likely  that  the  weather  which  kept  back 
the  appointed  guard  also  prevented  an  irregular  assault  upon 
Lawrence  that  night  under  cover  of  the  black  flag.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  December  8,  Gov.  Shannon  i.ssued  his  orders  to  disband 
the  forces  concentrated  with  the  several  camps,  and  the  command 
was  obeyed,  but  the  parties  thus  dispersed  were  very  uncompli- 
mentary in  their  remarks  concerning  that  functionary  who  was 
pronounced  a  traitor  and  a  fool  with  many  adjectives.  Some  of 
the  guerillas  remained  in  the  territory  for  many  days,  but  the 


.-j^mmrnmrmmftiMmm^ 


^70  TlTTLh's  IIISTOUY  or  Kass.is. 

major  p.-vrt  wrnt  liotno  in  dis-.ist  as  soon  as  it  boainic  ovideut 
tlial  liiiwrcnuc  wius  .^afo  against  tln/ir  dcsign.s. 

'riio  free  rttato  incm  in  tho  city  bold  a  social  gathering  on  the 
evening  of  l)(.-con.ber  0,  in  tho  fioo  stuto  hall,  and  th-;  g.)Vc..nor 
was  one  of  tho  inorriosl  n.on  in  tho  throng  ,  bni  whdo  tho  tostivo 
l-aity  was  full  of  tho  gayoty  propor  to  an  o.rasion  of  tho   kind, 
word  was  brought  that  tho  irregulars  wore  u.assod  m  tlio  noigli- 
l«,rhood,  throatoning  to  attack  tho  place  now  unprepared  for  a 
dofenso.     The  coninianders  originally  nominated  by  the  conunit- 
toe  of  safety,  Dr.  Uobinson  and  Col.  I.ano,  were  at  once  author- 
i/.od  under  the  governor's  hand  to  use  the  enrolled  forces  for  tho 
defense  of  the  eity  and  its  vicinity,  a  tolerably  conclusive  proof  that 
he  Unew  tlie  manner  of  men  with  whom  he  had  to  deal.     There 
was  no  attack  made,  but  perhaps  the  knowledge  of  such  prepara- 
ration  might  sl.)ne  have  been  the  deterrent  power.     The  following 
evening,   Monday,  Dee.  iO,  saw  a  more  motley  gathering  m  the 
Free  State  hotel,  when  soldiers  of  both  sides  assembled  to  partake 
of  a  feast  in  honor  of  the  recently  concluded  peace.    Shoriil  Jones 
was  present,  and  it  re.iuired  all   the  command  that  men  could 
possess,  in  consideration  of  his  being  an  invited  guest,  to  save 
liim  from  being  made  to  comprehend  the  peculiar  esteem  in  which 
he  was  held.     It  was  not  easy  to  forget  that  all  the  tribulations 
through  which  they  had  passed  arose  from  his  plotting;    but  he 
was  their  guest,  and  that  was  his  protection.     The  troops  were 
disbanded  on  Tuesday,  Dec.  11,  i«5o,  after  being  re.iewed  and 
addressed,  and  every  man  was  more  than  paid  for  his  exertions 
by  the  presentation  of  a  certificate  of  his  service  in  the  defense, 
liut  who  shall  certify  the  noble  spirit  which  actuated  the  women 
of  Lawrence  in  all  this  time  of  trial?    They  were  true  daughters 
of  that  exalted  band  which  crt)sscd  the  Atlantic  in  the  Mayllower 
to  Plymouth  Hock.     New  England  might  well  be  proud  of  such 
representative  souls.     They  were  not  found  cowering  with  fear 
when  danger  threatened,  startled  like  timid  hares  by  every  sound, 
but  their  example  nerved  the  bravest  of  their  brave  companions 
to  deeds  of  more  lofty  daring.     The  commissariat  was  their  es- 
pecial duty,  and  their  doors  were  hospitably  ope     to  all  comers ; 
but  when  such  work  had  been  dispatched,  they  were  to  be  found 
moulding  bullets  and  making  cartridges  for  the  defense,  and  it 


■Mtei««M*M 


iiia,i!i:.  wwteiiri*^ 


mio  ovUlcut 

iriiig  on  the 
I'!  govmnor 
!  iho  tLvstive 
)f  ilio  kiiiJ, 
II  tho  luiigli- 
jpuiod  for  a 
iho  i;ominit- 
)iici!  iiuUior- 
orcesi  for  tlio 
vc  jjroot  tliivt 
Iwil.     There 
.m:\\  prepiira- 
'he  following 
eriiig  in  the 
!il  to  piu'tuko 
Shoriil  Jones 
L  men  could 
uost,  to  siive 
ecni  in  which 
!  tribulations 
,ting;    but  he 
5  troops  were 
*e,iewed  and 
his  exertions 
I  the  defense, 
d  tho  women 
rue  daughters 
he  Mayllower 
)roud  of  such 
ing  with  fear 

every  sound, 
e  companions 

was  their  es- 
,0  all  comers ; 
e  to  be  found 
lefense,  and  it 


Kaxsas  CoxFt.icTs—  Krhwrs  of  If^.y}. 


277 


was  known  tliat  many  of  (he  worthy  baml  had  oxcri'iscil  each 
other  witli  their  rifli-s  witli  sneli  olTcet  that  if  occasion  ha<l  ari^nn, 
thoy  could  have  helped  in  a  still  more  cfl'ectivo  way  to  defend 
their  liomes  from  tlio  invader.  They  liad  como  from  the  ea-^tern 
and  northern  stnfiN,  where  they  had  been  tenderly  nurtured  nil 
their  lives,  but  thi-y  had  beeti  taught  to  value  prinei[)lo  beyond 
life,  and,  hail  tho  saerifiee  boon  demanded,  they  would  have 
marched  to  death  itself  before  they  would  have  submitted  to  com- 
])romise  the  battle  ^or  human  rights  on  which  thoy  had  valiantly 
entered. 


CIIAPTKR   XI.' 

TEIUJITOHIAT.    lltSTOllV 

(conliiiued.) 

KAN.SA8  CONFLICTS— EVP:NTS  OP  1850. 

Blnistcr  Kinnors  — Constitution  Ailoptnl-- Negroes  Exeludec!  —  Geneml 
Eiistin's  Mililhi— Polliii!;-n;iy  Solicitudes —  Tlie  Tcrritoriiil  Hee;isti'r  — 
Platte  Coiuity  lieuMilMlors  — Choosinir  Mtiile  Olllcers—  nollini,'  the  Tick- 
(.t_H(.<T\iliiisTi'inin pliant— Governor  Itoliinson — r<eaven worth  A'w('»<«  — 
ExociUive  Coniinitlee  — 8tiilti  Legislature —Eastou  Uiots  —  Kickapoo 
llangei's— Figlit  lor  IJallot  Boxes  — Free  Sin  (;  Prisoner  —  Keseue  of 
ypailis  —  Kil/'etl,  AVouuded  and  .Missing  — Murder  of  Captain  l?ro\vn  — 
Cowardly  Outrage  tiv  Hie  Kickapeos  — Legislative  Sympatliy  —  The  Mar- 
tyr  Host  — Monruing  CorTliirty  Hays  —  Free  Settlers  Warned  —  Missouri 
Bucks  Down— Tlie  South  to  llic  Rescue  —  President  I'ierec's  Message  — 
Shawnee  Law  Ueoognized  — Free  State  Treason  —  lleconunendations  to 
Congress  —  Missouri  must  Win  —  Organizing  a  Crusade  —  Now  or  Nev- 
er— Sherill'  Jones  — Question  for  Trial  —  Breach  Growing  Wider- 
Kansas  Conquests—  Mounted  Patrols-  Distressing  the  Enemy —Arming 
tho  Party  —  Preparing  for  War  —  Down  with  Tyrants  —  Kiekapoos  to  tlie 
Front —  Altars  and  Firesides  —  Abolish  Abolition  —  Ex-President  Lnqui. 
tur  —  "(ioiX  and  U.I ury"  — The  Hoodwinked  President  —  Lying  a  Sci- 
ence  — Temporary  Successes  — Justifying  Riot  —  Jeflerson  Buford's  Card 
—  Bounty  for  Conquerors  —  Press  of  the  South  —  State  Votes  and  County 
Qifts  —  "  God  and  Slavery  " —  Southern  Bights  —  Aiding  Kansas  —  Vote 
and  Fight  — Southern  Sharpshooters  — Extending  the  Area  — Scenting 
Battle  —  Come, and  Come  Speedily —  Fierce  War  Unavoidable- Institu- 
tions at  Stake-  We  Want  Armed  Men—  God  and  Our  Rights. 


278  Tittle's  Uistohy  of  Kassas. 

The  departure  ot  the  Missourian  horde  had  not  lulled  Law- 
renee  into  a  false  seeurity,  because  tl,e  eitizens  knew  that  the  un- 
derstanding arrived  at  between  the  governor  and  the  settlers  did 
not  toueh  the  living  issue  which  the  proslavery  party  wanted  to 
accomplish.     The  recognition  of  slavery  as  an  institution  in  Ivan- 
sas  was  as  much  as  ever  the  bone  of  contention,  and  every  ex- 
pression of  thought  and  will  among  the  free  state  men  continued 
to  be  met  by  menaces  of  the  irost  truculent  description  from  the 
other  side.     Sinister  rumors  filled  the  air,  and  it  was  too  evident 
that  before  many  months  had  passed,  the  struggle  would  come 
once  more  to  the  verge  of  civil  war,  if  indeed  the  whole  commu- 
nity was  not  dragged  into  the  vortex.     Nothing  less  than  the  de- 
struction  of  Lawrence  could  satisfy  the  Border  men,  and  even 
that  would  be  only  one  morsel  which  must  be  followed  by  the 
devastation  of  every  free  state  settlement  until  the  whole  territory 
would  .'ubmit  to  Missourian  dictation,  and  every  voter  remaining 
there  would  aeee,.t  his  proposition  as  a  slave  owner  or  a  mean 
white     The  situation  was  not  encouraging  but  it  did  not  daunt 
the  defenders  of  free  thought,  and  events  were  crowding  too  thick 
upon  them  to  permit  much  time  for  simple  meditation      When 
the  defenders  of  Lawrence  were  dismissed  from  their  arduous  du- 
ty there  remained  only  five  days  before  the  popular  vote  was  to 
be    taken   upon    the  constitQtion    framed    at  Topeka.     Ihere 
would  have  been  no  small  amount  of  stump  oratory  on  a  question 
of  so  much  importance,  had   circumstances  permitted,   and  the 
variou.  speakers  had  been  appointed  for  the  purpose,  but  the  well 
known  maxim,  salus  popuU  supreme  le.c,  had  dominatea  every 
other  consideration.     The  salvation  of  the  people  had  become  the 
first  law  of  the  day,  and  the  constitution,  a  thing  only  second  in 
importance,  had  fallen  out  of  the  range  of  .....a  for  a  time. 
The  leading  men  from  every  precinct  concentrated  in  Lawrence, 
so  that  audiences  and  speakers  were  alike  absent  from  their  ap- 
pointments until  it  was  time  under  the  arrange.r.^nts  made  by  the 
executive  committee  to  proceed  to  a  vote,  and  even  then  in  mos 
of  the  border  settlements  the  enemy  loitered  so  that  it  was  not 
possible  to  give  undivided  attention  to  the  ballot      The  eonstitu- 
Ln  had  been  printed  and  distributed  freely,  and  where  possible 
the  requisite  notices  had  been  published,  but  in  Atchison  and  m 


■■i  - '.  ;'iiuiu'ti»  iiii  Villi  mi  iiif'i  rti'  — '^■''- 


Kaxsas  Coxfi.icts— Kvi:sts  of  J\>i!. 


3TO 


ulled  Law- 
liut  the  un- 
settlers  did 
,-  wanted  to 
lou  in  Kan- 
d  every  ex- 
n  continued 
on  from  the 
too  evident 
rvould  come 
lole  coinmu- 
tlian  the  de- 
n,  and  even 
)\ved  by  the 
ole  territory 
3r  remaining 
3r  or  a  mean 
d  not  daunt 
ing  too  thick 
:,ion.     When 
arduous  du- 
■  vote  was  to 
leka.     There 
n\  a  question 
ted,  and  the 
,  but  the  well 
linateu  every 
A.  become  the 
nly  second  in 
I  for  a  time, 
in  Lawrence, 
[rom  their  ap- 
3  made  by  the 
1  then  in  most 
hat  it  was  not 
The  constitu- 
vhere  possible 
;chisou  and  in 


f!ome  other  towns  it  was  imjiossible  to  proceed  to  a  vote.  For 
that  reason,  among  others,  the  polling  was  not  as  large  as  it  other- 
wise would  have  been,  but  the  constitution  was  carried  by  an 
overwhelming  majority.  There  were  1,777  votes  cast  for  and 
against  the  measure,  and  of  the  whole  only  forty-seven  men  said 
nay.  On  the  general  banking  law  there  were  1,68J:  votes,  and  of 
these  5G1  were  in  the  negative,  so  that  the  proposition  was  af- 
lirmcd  by  more  than  two  to  one,  and  on  the  cpiestion  whether 
mulattoes  and  negroes  should  be  excluded  from  the  territory, 
thei'c  was  i)roof  positive  that  the  free  state  men  wore  not  all  abo- 
litionists, as  a  total  of  2,231  ballots  were  cast,  and  oiii-  153,  or 
seven  more  than  one-fifth  of  the  number  polled  on  that  issue  fa- 
vored the  icsidenceof  free  negroes  and  mulattoes  in  the  territory. 
Many  negatived  the  proposition  because  they  thought  that  the 
slave  owners  in  Missouri  and  elsewhere  would  send  their  worn 
out  stock  into  Kan.sas  to  become  a  burden  upon  the  people  when 
they  could  no  longer  earn  enough  upon  the  plantations  to  pay  for 
their  keep.  It  will  be  seen  that  more  votes  were  polled  on  this 
question,  for  and  against,  than  on  any  other  issue. 

It  has  been  mentioned  that  in  some  towns  no  vote  was  taken, 
and  in  others  the  election  was  carried  through  under  peculiar  dif- 
ficultly 3.  It  will  be  well  to  instance  a  few  of  the  means  which 
were  used  by  the  opposing  party  Gen.  East  on  commanded  his 
militia  force  to  muster  in  the  town  of  Leavenworth  on  election 
day,  then  and  there  to  receive  their  discharge,  under  which  they 
would  become  entitled  to  draw  pay  from  the  general  government 
for  their  services  in  Kansas.  The  charm  worked,  of  course,  and 
from  early  in  the  morning  the  town  was  flooded  by  hundreds  of 
Missourians,  whose  interests  and  whose  prejudices  were  alike  an- 
tagonistic to  the  vote  that  day  to  be  taken.  At  noon,  these  fel- 
lows, duly  officered  for  the  occasion,  assaulted  the  polling  place, 
drove  out  the  judges  of  election,  and  almost  killed  one  of  them 
named  Wetherill,  by  beating  him  with  clubs,  and  trampling  upon 
him.  They  procured  possession  of  the  ballot  boxes  and  paraded 
them  about  the  town,  making  a  demonstration  in  front  of  the  office 
of  the  "  Territorial  Eegister,"  which  they  threatened  to  sack  and  de- 
stroy, because  the  proprietor,  Mr.  Delahay,  a  man  favorable  to  slav- 
ery as  an  institution  in  other  states,  was  desirous  to  exclude  it  from 


f 


280 


TVTTI.KS  IJlSTOHr  OF  Kaxsas. 


II 


tlio  territory  in  wluch  ho  resiclea.     Aftor  such  inanifpstations  of 
their  zeril,  tlie  Kansas  inilitla  from  Missouri  were  addressed  by 
their  conunander  and  thanked  for  tlieir  eminent  services.  ^  The 
following  Satuiday  saw  the  consummation  of  that  enterprise  ni 
the  destruction  of  the  press,  so  threatened,  by  a  company  of  Platte 
County  Regulators  which  had  been  o.ganizcd  at  Kickapoo,  not 
far  from  Leavenworth  in  the  same  county.     There  were  no  dilTer- 
ciiccs  of  oi)inion  tolerated  by  the  proslavery  men,  and  the  adhc- 
rniis  of  Stephen  A.   Douglas  had  no  better  show  than  abolition- 
ists unless  they  would  swallow  the  whole  of  the  proslavery  plat- 
form.    The  well  known  democratic  views  of  Mr.  Delahay  did  not 
gave  his  ofllec  from  being  sacked,  his  presses  from  being  broken, 
and  the  whole  of  the  offending  material  from  being  drowned  in 
the  ^[issouri.     Perhaps  if  the  editor  had  been  at  hand  he  might 
Lave  shared  the  same  fate  as  his  property,  but  happily  he  lived 
to  render  good  service  to  the  state.     Seven  days  after  the  consti- 
tution had  been  adopted,  on  the  22d  of  December,  1855,  a  con- 
vention at  Lawrence  nomimted  state  officers,  and  the  unanimity 
•which  had  prevailed  in  the  constitutional  convention  no  longer 
clia"!!>torized  the  proceedings  of  the  fr(^e  state  party.     A  minoi'ity 
*'  bolted  "  the  regular  nominations,  and  prepared  an  anti-abolition 
ticket,  still  favoring  the  maintenance  of  l\ansas  as  a  free  state : 
but  the  common  sense  of  the  great  majority  in  the  community 
terminated  thit  manifestation  by  electing  the  regular  nominees 
on  the  loth  of  January,  1856,  both  sections  of  the  party  being 
represented  in  the  list,  as  will  be  seen  by  glancing  at  the  sub- 
joined luimes  and  their  respective  offices:  Dr.  C.  Robinson,  gov- 
ernor; W.  Y.  Roberts,  lieutenant  governor;  P.  C.  Schuyler,  sec- 
retary of  state  ;  G.  A.  Cutler,  auditor;  J.  A.  Wakefield,  treasurer ; 
II.  Miles  Moore,  attorney  general ;  M.  Hunt,  S.  N.  Latta  and  M. 
F.  Conway,  supreme  judges ;  S.  r>.  ]SrcKenzie,  reporter,  and  S.  B. 
Floyd,  clerk  of  the  supreme  court;  John  Speer,  state  printer; 
M.  W.  Delahay,  representative  in  congress. 

In  Leavenw'  >rth  a  free  state  mayor  had  been  elected,  but  after 
the  December  election  cmeuie,  that  officer,  despairing  any  chance 
to  carry  out  his  duty,  tendered  his  resignation,  and  a  proslavery 
mayor  was  chosen.  In  January,  when  the  state  officers  were  to 
be  elected,  the  new  may(jr  prudently  forebore  to  hold  an  election, 


■ 


Kansas  Conflicts  — Evexts  of  H^-jC. 


281 


^stations  of 
dressed  by 
ices.     The 
itorpvise  ni 
y  of  Platte 
■kapoo,  not 
c  no  dilter- 
I  the  adhe- 
1  abolition- 
aveiy  plat- 
iiay  did  not 
in<f  brolscn, 
drowned  in 
d  he  might 
ly  he  lived 
•  the  consti- 
L855,  a  con- 
3  unanimity 
1  no  longer 
A  minority 
iti-abolition 
X  free  state : 
community 
ir  nominees 
party  being 
at  the  sub- 
binson,  gov- 
ihuyler,  sec- 
d,  treasurer ; 
,atta  and  M. 
;r,  and  S.  B. 
ate  printer; 

sd,  but  after 
<;  any  chance 
L  proslavery 
cers  were  to 
an  election, 


and  issued  a  proclamation  forbidding  any  such  proceedings.    The 
ballot  boxes  were  carried  round  the  city  on   polling  day,  and 
about  two  hundred  ballot  papers  were  deposited  in  that  irregular 
manner,  but  although  the  executive  committee  consented  to  Lssue 
certificates  of  election  to  the  members  so  chosen,  the  legislature 
in  lue  course  pronounced  the  vote  invalid,  and  Leavenworth  had 
no  representatives  in  the  constituent  body  that  assembled  in  March. 
Easton  was  even  more  unfortunate  than  its  neighbor,  Leaven- 
worth.    The  Kickapoo  Kangers  indulged  in  so  many  threats  of 
violence  that  the  polling  was  postponed  until  the  17th,  two  days 
beyond  the  time  appointed,  but  on  that  day  the  election  was  held 
in  a  house  half  a  mile  from  the  village.     Most  of  the  men  who 
voted  went  armed  as  a  necessary  precaution.     Capt.  Brown  and 
some  others  went  to  the  village  from  Leavenworth.     There  was  no 
disturbance  during  the  day,  but  in  the  evening  a  party  of  horse- 
fnen,  about  thirty  in  number,  attacked  the  house  in  which  the 
polling  had  been  conducted.     The  free  state  men  came  out  in 
fQrce  armed  for  defense,  and  after  several  ineffectual  orders  to 
charge,  the  assailants  retired.     Demands  for  the  ballot  box  were 
several  times  sent  to  the  house,  but  they  were  disregarded,  and 
many  persons  passed  to  and  from  the  village  without  further  an- 
noyance.    About  two  on  the  following  morning  it  became  known 
that  a  free  state  man  named  Sparks  had  been  captured  by  the  pro- 
slavery  party  at  Easton,  and  Capt.  Brown  with  a  party  went  co 
the  rescue.     Sparks  was  surrendered  without  a  fight,  but  with 
many  threats  as  to  ultimate  consequences.     After  the  two  forces 
had  separated,  many  shots  were  fired  on  both  sides,  and  a  pro- 
slavery  man  was  killed.     About  eight  in  the  morning  the  free 
state  men  from  Leavenworth  started  for  home,  and  when  about 
four  miles  from  that  town,  they  were  met  by  several  wagon  loads 
of  armeu  •-'^n,  so  numerous  that  it  was  impracticable  to  make  a 
defense  against  them,  and  upon  a  promise  of  personal  safety,  the 
little  company  of  eight  men  surrendered.    Capt.  Brown  was  one  of 
the  prisoners.     The  wagon  loads  of  men,  armed  with  bowie  knives, 
hatchets  and  rifles,  were  the  Kicknpoo   Rangers.      They  were 
maddened  by  whisky,  and  by  the  knowledge  that  a  proslavery 
man  had  been  shot  during  the /raws  of  the  precedir,-  night    The 
prisoners  were  taken  to  Easton  where  an  investigation  was  then 


3 


'>'in*m''ii<pwwuiWJn»''- 


i 


h 


282 


Tvttle's  IIjstohy  of  Kansas. 


ponding.     Otlicr  prisoners  were  broiiglit  in  during  the  day.     Capt. 
Brown,  wlio  had  boon  in  command  of  tlio  rescuing  party,  was  put 
upon  liis  trial  for  murder,  and  it  soon  became  evident  that  ho 
wouhl  be  condemned  by  his  accusers  and  judges.     An  opportu- 
nity wa.s  afTorded  to  the  disarmed  residue  of  tlie  prisoners  lo  es- 
cape, and  tlicy  availed  themselves  of  the  chance,  in  the  hope  that 
tliore  would  be  some  means  found  to  save  their  comrade,  but  no 
such  chance  occurred.     Capt.  Martin,  the  ofTiccr  in  command  of 
the  Kickapoos,  did  his  best  to  defend  his  prisoner.     While  the 
examination  was  onward  the  accused  was  kept  closely  confined 
in  a  room  for  his  own  protection,  and  when  the  proceedings  ter- 
minated it  was  announced  that  Capt.  Brown  would  be  conveyed 
to  Leavenworth  to  stand  his   trial   under  territorial  law.     The 
chances  wei-e  very  few  for  a  free  state  man  under  that  regime,  but 
nothing  but  the  instant  destruction  of  tlieir  victim  would  suffice. 
The  room  door  was  forced  by  the  crowd,  armed  with  knives  and 
hatchets,  and  the  prisoner  saw  his  fate  before  him.     lie  pleaded 
in  vain  against  such  overwhelming  odds,  offered  to  fight  any  man 
they  would  select,  if  they  would  give  him  a  chance  for  his  life  ; 
but  they  would  run  no  risks,  and  he  was  literally  hacked  to  death 
by  them  with  their  hatchets.     When  it  was  evident  that  no  sur- 
gery could  save  him,  he  was  bundled  into  a  wagon,   without 
shelter  from  the  freezing  air,  and  jolted  over  the  hard  ground  to 
his  home  in  Leavenworth,  a  distance  of  ten  miles.     lie  was  still 
alive  when  he  reached  home ;  had  strength  enough  to  tell  his 
wife  that  he  had  been  murdered  by  cowards,  without  cause;  and 
so  perished  one  of  the  bravest  and  truest  men  in  the  free  state 
party  in  Kansas. 

The  legislature  of  the  free  state  organization,  which  convened 
in  March,  in  Topeka,  took  cognizance  of  his  services  in  the  de- 
fense of  Lawrence,  and  of  his  death  in  the  service  of  the  terri- 
tory, by  passing  a  series  of  resolutions  which  ordered  mourning 
for  thirty  days  for  the  man  whom  they  recognized  as  one  of  "  the 
martyr  host  whose  blood  has  watered  the  tree  of  liberty."  The 
widow  and  her  child  were  condoled  with  in  eloquent  terms,  and 
it  was  impossible  for  any  person  to  avoid  seeing  that  the  crime  of 
the  ruffians  had  sunken  deep  into  the  hearts  of  all  the  legislature 
which  had  been  assailed  in  the  murder  of  their  fellow-member. 


r 


3#"""' 


%. 


MMMMItMitol 


MMMM 


Kaxsas  I'oSFUCTs—  K\i-:sts  Of  /s.v;. 


283 


0  (lay.  Capt. 
urty,  was  put 
lent  that  he 
An  opportu- 
isoncrs  to  es- 
,he  hope  tliat 
trade,  but  no 
corntnand  of 

While  the 
iely  confined 
feedings  tor- 
be  convoyed 

1  law.  The 
t  regime,  but 
ould  sufTice. 
1  knives  and 
lie  pleaded 
jht  any  man 

for  his  life ; 
ked  to  death 

that  no  sur- 
on,  without 
d  ground  to 
He  was  still 
I  to  tell  his 

cause;  and 
e  free  state 

;h  convened 
1  in  the  de- 
)f  the  terri- 
1  mourning 
one  of  "  the 
erty."  The 
terms,  and 
the  crime  of 
;  legislature 
3W-meraber, 


A  monument  was  ordered  in  commemoration  of  the  virluos  ami 
coura.'c  of  the  d..  .used,  and  the  resolutions  arrived  at  were  pub- 
lished" in  the  free  state  papers.     Not  appeased  by  such  a  mani- 
festation of  their  prowess,  the  free  state  men  were  next  ordered 
by  the  nK.b  at  Kaston  to  clear  out  from  that  portion  of  the  terri- 
tory     Notices  were  served  upon  them  in  their  houses,  but  they 
concluded  to  stay  and  tight  it  out.     Every  man  barricaded    us 
liitle  fortification  as  well  as  he  could,  and  word  being  sent  to  the 
nerrhburing  settlements,  Topeka  and  Lawrence  sent  parties  to  their 
deFense  in  the  face  of  which  the  Missourians  backed  down,      i  he 
winter  of    1855-56  was  unusually  cold    for    Kansas,    and  the 
houses  of  the  settlers  were  in  many  cases  little  adapted  to  give 
shelter  from  such  unusual  rigors,  but  when,  in  addition  thereto, 
every  house  which  stood  detached  from  immediate  support  was 
liable  to  be  carried  by  assault  at  any  moment  and  the  inmates 
driven  out  upon  the  prairie  shorn  of  every  vestige  of  property,  it 
xvill  be  perceived  that  the  battle  was  of  a  kind  to  try  the  souls  of 
men.     Against  a  people  so  circumstanced  the  whole  of  the  south 
was  now  to  be  roused  by  incendiary  appeals  which  would  hardly 
have  been  justified  if  a  jungle  infested  by  tigers  had  been  the 
object  of  assault  instead  of  a  free  state  settlement,  and  it  is  highly 
probable  that  tigers  would  have  been  treated  with  much  greater 
consideration.     While  such  was  the  situation  of  aiiairs  in  the 
territory,  President  Pierce,  who  had  been  so  slow  to  respond  to 
Governor  Shannon's  appeal  for  aid  against  the  Missounan  horde, 
when  that  organization,  or  disorganization   as  it  may  be  more 
fitly   denominated,   menaced   Lawrence,   took    occasion   to  pre- 
sent a  special  message   to  congress,   dealing  with  the  Kansaa 
difTiculty  as  a  party  movement  of  a  wholly  unju.stifiable  charac 
ter  on  the  part  of  the  free  state  settlers.     The  laws  made  by  the 
usurpers  at  Shawnee  must  be  upheld  against  all  protest,  and  it 
was  very  plainly  intimated  that  the  action  of  the  men  who  de- 
sired to  form  a  free  state,  in  opposition  to  Missounan  dictation, 
weie  already  on  the  verge  of  treason.     But  the  .loeumeiit  from 
which  we  quote  may  be  allowed  to  speak  for  itself  so  far  as  it 
bears  upon  the  question  at  issue.     After  writing  at  some  length 
on  the  affairs  of  the  territory.  President  Pierce  goes  on  to  say  : 
« No  principle  of  public  law,  no  practice  or  precedent  under 


IVJ||MMaihife*»K:.., 


f 


2S4 


Tittle's  IIistouv  of  Kassas. 


the  constitution  of  the  United  State,  no  rule  of  reason,  right  or 
common  sense  confers  any  such  power  as  that  now  claimed  by  a 
mere  jiarty  in  the  territory.  In  fact,  what  has  been  done  is  of  a 
revolutionary  character.  It  is  avowedly  so  in  motive  and  in  aim 
as  respects  the  local  law  of  the  territory.  It  will  become  treason- 
able insurrection  if  it  reach  the  length  of  organized  resistance  by 
force  to  the  fundamental,  or  any  other  law,  and  to  the  authority 
of  the  general  government.'' 

There  was  a  power  behind  the  throne  which  dictated  the  lan- 
guage used  by  Mr.  Pierce,  and  that  power  could  assure  the  pro- 
slavery  ])arty  of  harmlessness  when  he  said  : 

"Entertaining  these  views,  it  v;ill  be  my  imperative  duty  to 
support  public  order  in  the  territory ;  to  vindicate  its  laws,  whether 
federal  or  local,  against  all  attemjits  of  organized  resistance,  and 
to  protect  its  people  in  the  establishment  of  their  own  institu- 
tions, undi.sturbcd  by  encroachments  from  without,  and  in  the 
full  enjoyment  of  the  rights  of  .self-government  assured  to  them 
by  the  constitution  and  the  organic  act  of  congress." 

The  recommendations  of  the  president  were,  that  congress 
should  autliorize  the  people  of  the  territory  to  frame  a  constitu- 
tion under  wliich  they  might  be  admitted  to  the  union,  but  no 
steps  were  to  be  attempted  to  secure  the  expression  of  the  will  of 
Kansas  in  that  matter  instead  of  that  of  Missouri,  as  declared  by 
the  ruffians  on  its  western  boundary.  Elections  carried  by  bruta 
force,  l)y  invaders,  were  to  be  recognized  as  the  essence  of  repub- 
lican government,  and  laws  iniquitous  as  hell  itself,  the  out- 
come of  such  tyranny,  were  to  have  all  the  power  of  the  execu- 
tive of  the  United  States  arrayed  in  their  vindication.  The  pres- 
ident could  go  no  farther  than  that,  even  to  secure  the  approval 
of  the  proslavery  party.  Thus  reinforced,  Missouri  was  prepared 
to  resume  the  offensive,  and  the  fruitless  issue  of  the  last  cam- 
paign added  exasperation  to  energy  in  preparing  for  the  next. 
The  courage  manifested  by  the  whole  of  the  free  state  men  in 
defending  Lawrence  showed  them  that  there  was  no  easy  task 
before  them,  but  it  was  only  necessary  to  organize  a  crusade,  the 
more  comprehensive  on  that  account,  into  which  the  whole  south 
must  enter  with  an  impetus  which  would  leave  the  eastern  states 
■with  their  sympathies  far  behind.     Extermination  was  to  be  the 


Kansas  CustucTs  —  Evksrs  of  iH'tO. 


285 


ason,  rif;!;ht  or 
claimed  by  a 
n  (lone  is  of  a 
ve  and  in  aim 
'conie  troason- 
rosi'itanco  by 
the  autliority 

stated  the  Ian- 
sure  the  pro- 

•ative  duty  to 
laws,  whether 
'csistance,  and 
•  own  institn- 
t,  and  in  the 
ured  to  thenm 

that  congress 
me  a  constitu- 
union,  but  no 
of  the  will  of 
IS  declared  by 
rried  by  brute 
snce  of  repub- 
5elf,  the  out- 
of  the  execu- 
in.  The  pres- 
I  the  approval 

was  prepared 
the  last  cam- 
for  the  next, 
state  men  in 

no  easy  task 
a  crusade,  the 
3  whole  south 
eastern  states 
was  to  be  the 


watchword  henceforward,  and  if  the  free  settlers  had  only  been 
compelled  to  surrender  their  arms  at  Lawrence,  that  task  would 
have  been  greatly  simplilied.  Sheriil'  Jones  addressed  a  note  to 
Gen.  liobinson  and  Col.  Lane  on  the  irJth  of  January,  asking 
them  whether  they  did  not  pledge  them.selves  in  December,  1855, 
to  assist  him  with  s.  po.s.sc  to  arrest  any  person  in  Lawrence 
against  whom  he  might  hold  a  writ.  Tliere  was  a  purpose  be- 
hind that  inquiry  of  course,  but  the  men  to  whom  the  note  was 
addressed  were  not  blinded  by  any  undue  partiality  for  ^fr. 
Jones,  and  their  reply  stated  carefully  the  cvact  truth,  without  a 
possibility  of  its  being  misunderstood;  tiuxt  they  "  would  assi.st 
any  proper  ofTicer  in  the  service  of  any  legal  process,"  and  fur- 
ther, that  the  sheril!  would  be  allowed  to  "  arrest  one  of  the  res- 
cuers of  Branson,"  in  order  that  an  appeal  to  the  supreme  court 
of  the  United  States  might  determine  the  validity  of  the  laws 
enacted  at  Shawnee.  The  sheriff  had  taken  nothing  by  his  mo- 
tion, but  he  had  now  ascertained  beyond  doubt  that  the  breach 
between  the  free  state  men  and  himself  was  as  far  as  ever  from 
being  filled.  They  stood  on  their  guard  against  him  at  every 
point.  His  authority  and  the  laws  of  his  party  were  alike  ques- 
tions to  be  tried,  and  no  syllable  of  concession  could  be  discov- 
ered in  the  memorandum  of  the  free  state  men.  Long  before 
this  time  the  sounds  of  preparation  had  come  across  the  border, 
and  here  in  Kansas  the  men  were  by  no  means  laggards  at  their 
work.     Of  a  scene  slightly  differing,  Shakspere  said  : 

"  The  hum  of  either  army  stilly  sounds, 
That  the  fixed  sentinels  almost  receive 
The  secret  whispers  of  each  other's  watch. 

Fire  answers  fire;  and  through  their  paly  flames  i 

Each  battle  sees  the  other's  umbered  face. 
Steed  threatens  steed,  in  high  and  boastful  neighs, 
Piercing  tlie  night's  dull  ear;  and  from  the  tents, 
The  armourers,  accomplishing  the  knights, 
With  busy  hammers  closing  rivets  up, 
Give  dreadful  note  of  preparation." 

Missouri  was  resolved  this  time  to  make  assurance  doubly 
Bure.  The  hordes  had  massed  themselves  in  their  full  strength 
before  Lawrence,  and  boast  as  they  would  of  the  bravery  that 


tiMBiaf'iijlwMI 


immtmm 


itm 


mmfUtm*'' 


0 


286 


TvTTLE's   HlSTOIfV  OF  K.lXS.iS. 


tlicy  liail  not  yot  pro'-'-'',  ilicy  could  not  ileny  tluit  tlic  free  state 
men  wcro  unilauntod  and  unyiflding;  therefore  tliey  were  con- 
strained to  look  further  afield  for  help  against  their  daring  antag- 
onistH.  The  country  which  they  boasted  having  con(iuercd  was 
not  yet  an  uiKine.stioned  possession,  and  in  their  seeiet  associa- 
tions, when  tiie  j)rospccts  of  the  war  were  discussed,  it  was  use- 
less to  eciuivocatc  as  to  the  fact,  that  the  decisive  battle  was  yet 
in  tlie  future.  Tlans  were  discussed  and  arranged  in  the  blue 
lodges  and  then  submilte<l  for  indorsement  to  public  meetings  in 
Missouri.  Tt  was  suggested  that  a  i)artial  famine  could  be  in- 
duced bv  establishing  mounted  patrols  of  fifty  to  traverse  the  ter- 
ritory where  free  state  men  were  congregated,  to  prevent  the  plant- 
ing of  their  lands,  and  by  such  means  they  might  be  starved  out 
of  Kansas.  Another  proposition  was,  that  the  Shawnee  legisla- 
ture should  be  convened  for  a  special  session,  to  make  laws  still 
more  oppressive,  us  a  means  of  distres.sing  the  enemy,  and  now 
that  the  president  had  been  made  to  speak,  it  would  not  be  easy 
to  imagine  a  law  too  hard  in  its  exactions  for  them  and  their  nom- 
inees to  enact  and  bring  into  operation.  The  disabilities  which 
had  incommoded  the  movements  of  the  proslavery  men  at  Hick- 
ory Point,  and  at  Lawrence,  could  all  be  legislated  away,  now 
that  President  Pierce  had  assisted  them  with  his  message;  and 
with  laws  and  weapons  both  on  their  side,  to  be  used  without 
scruple,  the  victory  must  be  theirs. 

The  "  Squatter  Sovereign  "  was  once  more  rampant,  demanding 
arms  for  the  Atchison  militia,  to  be  supplied  by  the  government 
of  the  territory  by  the  sale  of  town  lands,  and  there  was  almost  a 
shriek  of  agony  in  the  cry  for  an  opportunity  to  determine  which 
party  should  rule.  The  rifles  which  were  possessed  in  Lawrence 
were  terrible  weapons  in  the  estimation  of  the  proslavery  jiarty, 
and  Colt's  revolvers  must  be  provided  by  and  for  the  proslavery 
party  by  way  of  setoff.  "  We  have  the  men,  we  must  have  arms." 
The  emergency  seemed  to  justify  almost  any  extreme  to  put 
weapons  in  the  hands  of  the  president's  x>rote(jes.  Another  paper, 
the  Kansas  Pioneer,  came  out  with  columns  of  leaded  type,  de- 
claring that  "  forbearance  was  no  longer  a  virtue,"  seeing  that 
the  Easton  men  had  dared  to  vote  for  state  officers,  to  retain  their 
own  ballot  boxes,  and  even  to  defend  their  own  Uvea  against  at- 


MiiwBMfniiiiimw 


K.lXS.iS  CdSFLHTS—  EVESTS   OF  iS.'ift. 


ti87 


it  the  fret'  stato 
tlit-y  were  con- 
r  daring  antag- 
conquered  was 
seciet  nssoeia- 
*cd,  it  wiXA  use- 
battle  was  yet 
ed  in  the  blue 
)lic  meetings  in 
e  could  be  in- 
traverse  the  ter- 
event  the  plant- 
i  be  starved  out 
iliawnee  legisla- 
niake  laws  still 
noniy,  and  now 
uld  not  be  easy 
I  and  their  nom- 
sabilities  which 
y  men  at  Ilick- 
^ted  away,  now 
is  message ;  and 
c  used  without 

ant,  demanding 
the  government 
;re  was  almost  a 
letermine  which 
!ed  in  Lawrence 
roslavery  jiarty, 
r  the  proslavery 
lust  have  arms." 
extreme  to  put 
Another  paper, 
leaded  type,  de- 
ue,"  seeing  that 
s,  to  retain  their 
ivea  against  at- 


tack.    "  Tlic  tyrannical  dogs  "  must  be  driven  from   Kansas.     In 
the  immediate  presence  of  tyrants,  who  would  not  hear  an  assault 
without  retaliation,  it  was  difficult  to  say  what  niiglit  not  bo  done, 
and  it  was  declared  that  the  men  of  Kaston  had  recommenced  tho 
war.     ''i'lie  proslavery  party  were  a(ldres.scd  as  "law  and  order 
men,"  and  conjured,  "  strike  for  your  altars,  strike  for  your  fire- 
sides, strike  for  your  rightrf;  "  which,  of  cour.se,  meant  that  they 
sliould  as.sail  the  altars  of  their  neighbors,  drive  them  from  their 
Jl resides,  and  despoil  them  of  their  rights.     The  answer  to  all, 
which  was  given  wlien  the  men  of  Easton  barricaded  themselves 
in  the  homes  from  which  they  refu.scd  to  be  evicted,  and  being 
defended  in  their  position  by  the  citizens  of  Lawrence  and  Topcka, 
they  were  enabled  to  drive  back  the  Missourians  once  moie,  in 
spite  of  the  Kickapoo  Rangers  and  all  the  threats  of  the  enemy 
that  they  would  abolish  abolition,  and  leave  not  a  "  vestige  of  ab- 
olitionism."    E.\-Vice  President  Gen.  Atchi.son  had  been  among 
the  men  who  supported  Gov.  Shannon  in  his  final  movements  at 
Lawrence  in  December,  1855,  which  ended  in  temporary  pacifica- 
tion, but  by  the  -ith  of  February,  1856,  his  temper  had  slightly 
changed,     lie  was  a  candidate  for  the  presidency,  let  it  be  borne 
in  mind,  and  the  present  incumbent  had  pronounced  in  such  a 
manner  as  might  win  him  the  southern  vote.     It  was  necessary 
to  outbid  the  demagogue,  and  at  a  meeting  held  in  Platte  City  the 
gallant  general  repented  almost,  as  it  were,  in  sackcloth  and  ashes 
liis  action  in  December.     lie  swore  like  a  mule  driver,  and  among 
other  pieces  of  counsel  equally  murderous,  said,  speaking  of  Kan- 
sas :     "  They  have  held  an  election  on  the  15th  of  last   month, 
and  they  intend  to  put  the  machinery  of  a  state  in  motion  on  the 
4th  of  March.     Now,  you  are  entitled  to  my  advice,  and   you 
shall  have  it     I  say  prepare  yourselves.     Go  over  there.     Send 
your  young  men,  and  if  they  attempt  to  drive  you  out,  then, 
damn  them,  drive  them  out.     Fifty  of  you,  with  your  shot  guns, 
are  worth  two  hundred  and  fifty  of  them  with  their  Sharp's  rifles. 
Get  ready  —  arm  yourselves,  for  if  they  abolitionize  Kan.sas,  you 
lose  $100,000,000  of  your  property,     I  am  satisfied  I  can  justify 
every  act  of  yours  before  God  and  a  jury." 

It  was  necessary  to  keep  the  authorities  at  Washington  on  their 
side,  but  that  duty  was  not  arduous,  as  long  as  Jefrersou  Davis 


988 


Tt'TTLtfa  Ifisronr  of  Kaxs.'s. 


4 


m 


■  1,^ 


and  iM.'ii  <.f  liis  caliber  held  tlio  consuicnce  of  ilic   lax'sidciit  in 
commission.     Tiioy  scut  Hi)eciul  mcsrten},'cr.s  occasionally  as  tliey 
wcro    advised,   and    ncitl.cr  Mr.    I'icrco   uuv  his   cabinet  would 
believe  uiiylirmg  in  opposition  to  the  rose  colored  statement-    oE 
their  nmlonbted  friends,  the  men  who  were  even  now  contemplat- 
i„-  the  dismemberment  of  the  union.     The  democrats  of  the 
n>nah  were  assnred  that  there  had  been  no  outrages  committed  by 
them.     The  democrats  of  the  south  were  less  scrui)ulons,  and  to 
them  they  oidy  promised  victory,  being  well  assured  that  if  that 
end  was  attained,  there  would  bo  little  scrutiny  as  to  the  means. 
They  did  not  wish  nor  expect  their  friends  in  the  south  to  think 
"  that  pro.shivery  men  were  being  driven  from  the  country."    The 
whole  tone  of  their  jires-s  went  to  show  the  exact  opposite  of  any 
such  statement.     But  in  Washington  they  had  that  story  always 
prepared  for  presidential  ears,  and  they  shone  as  bright  particular 
stars  of  loyalty  ftnd  patriotism.     Their  invasion  had  been  a  self- 
denying  effort  to  rescue  their  friends  from  destruction  and  to 
assist  tlie  governor  in  an  emergency,  when,  but  for  them,  the  laws 
would  have  been  inoperative.     Every  act  of  the  free  state  party 
was  turned  into  treason  by  their  lagodike  coloring,  and  Dr.  Hob- 
inson,  the  newly  elected  free  state  governor,  figured  as  the  em- 
bodiment of  a  conspiracy  against  law  and  order,  which   had   its 
ramifications  all  over  the  New  England  states.     The  success  of 
such  representations  could  be  seen  in  the  organs  which  specially 
expressed  the  views  of  the  president,  and  editorials,  evidently  in- 
spired, were  daily  asserting  that  the  free  state  party  in  Kansas 
bad  violated  their  i)romises  to  the  men  who  had  befriended  them 
in  their  need,  and  that  their  action  in  proceeding  to  a  vote  on 
their  state  constitution  had  induced  the  other  side  to  show  their 
indignation  against  the  flagrant  disregard  of  solemn  pledges.     In 
the  kxae  of  such  jiunica  Jide.%  a  few  smashed  bottles,  boxes,  and 
other  casualties  were   mere   bagatelles.      Riot  was  a  virtue  in 
Washington,  viewed  from  that  stand  point,  but  it  became  vicious 
in  the  e°xtreine  when  men  defended  their  .  ghts,  their  property, 
and  their  lives,  and  had  not  the  privilege  of  representing  their 
action  to  Mr.  Pierce,  through  an  astute  secretary  of  war  in  hia 
cabinet,  a  man  so  able  as  Jcilerson  Davis. 

There  was  a  time  when  the  south,  in  a  high  and  chivalrous 


-:i^^>ivl"<iifift»i-iiniiiii«rf 


prcsklcnt  in 
lally  as  llioy 
ibiiiot  would 
lalcjuicnt-  o£ 
:  ooiiloinplat- 
;cnus  vi  tlio 
omiuitUicl  by 
uIdus,  aiul  to 
that  if  tluit 

0  the  means. 
:iiuh  to  tliiiik 
)UMlry."  The 
[)osite  of  any 

1  story  always 
rht  partiuuhir 
i  been  u  solf- 
iction  uiul  to 
hem,  the  hiws 
se  state  party 

and  Dr.  Eob- 
;d  as  tlie  cm- 
diich  had   its 
he  success  of 
lich  specially 
,  evidently  in- 
rty  in  Kansas 
friended  them 
to  a  vote  on 
to  show  their 
1  pledges.     In 
es,  boxes,  and 
,3  a  virtue  in 
)ecame  vicious 
heir  property, 
resenting  their 
of  war  in  his 

md  chivalrous 


iViii.4i>rii<i*i»*' 


^\i 


•  i 


Kansas  Cdxilkts— l-^rns'Ts  or  /s,V»'. 


289 


ffl ) 


1,'h    •  '"* 


f .« 


rill!'.' 


wny,  ( 1 1 -ooveretl  iL  ■  unjust  acts  of    tlu!  wcsti-rii  coiinticH   of    Mis- 
souri, but  that  tiino  hud  passotl  iiwiiy,  boforo  tiio  oiiil  ot  ly.').").    In 
ih.   luttcr  purl  of  Noveiubcr,  n  canl  was  publislicil  at  lar^^o  in  tlio 
.southorii  u(.«w.-<|)apors  calling  for  a  f.jivo  of   tlircc   liiinilrfil  yoiin^ 
men  abli'  u*  btjar  arms  iintl  willing  to  go  to  Kansas.      Mr.  .IclTcr- 
.son    IJuford,  a  man  of  prop'  rty,  j)roposcil   to  ;.^ivo  ,$2'>,00(>  of  liis 
own  means  and  to  .solicit  funds  from  others  to  pay  the  traveling 
cxponae.s  of  tho  troops  and  tlio  cost  of  thoir  keep  diirin«j;  the  llrst 
yc.ir,  as  well  as  a  liomcstcad  of  forty  acres  of   f.,'ood   land  for  each 
of  the  company  in  consideration  of  their  military  services  in  tho 
territory.     Those  who  .should  helj)  him  with  the  funds  were  t*)  re- 
ceive their  eipuvalents  in  land.      Gen.  Atchison  said  that  tho 
property  of  Missouri  and  the  South  wouhl  be  reduced  in  value  to 
the  extent  of  .$L(tO,()()(.»,()0(),  should  their  design  in  Kansas  be  de- 
fiiated,  and  in  the  movement  of  Mr.  JJuford  there  was  a  recognition 
of  the  same  fact  in  a  ])ractical  form.     Thocont(ueror8  who  should 
guard  the  south  against  a  loss  so  stupendous  might  well  deserve  a 
few  thousand  dollars  worth  of  land;  ami   it  was   hardly  possible 
lor  them  to  imagine  that  they  were  fightingan  inexorable  destiny. 
Tho  attempt  of  Mrs.  Partington  with  mop  and    pattens  to  drive 
back  the  Atlantic  was  a  feasible  scheme  by  comparison  with  that 
upon  which  they  had  entered,  but  they  had  no  conception  of  a 
(iod  in  history,  except  in  .so  far  as  God  had  ordained  negro  slav- 
ery for  the  comfort  of  southern  gentlemen.     The  scheme  grew  in 
favor  daily,  the  press  of  the  S(nith  praised  Mr.  Buford  enthusias- 
tically ;   he  was  greater  than  Joan  of  Arc,  Cincinnatus,  Quintus 
Cuitius  and  William  Tell  embodied  in  one  nuxn,  and  the  Major's 
expedition    to  Kansas  was  the  grand  theme  of  southern  eulogy. 
The  south  was  said  to  be  moving  like  a  strong  man   in  his  sleep, 
and  then  the  writers  became  scriptural,  talking  of  a  stirring  of  tho 
waters  which  were  to  heal  Kansas  or  submerge  her,  according  as 
tho  passions  of  the  day  should  determine.     Virginia  and  Tennes- 
see were  said  to  be  arming  for  the  fray.  South  Carolina,  Georgia 
and  Maryland  were  emulating  the  glorious  example,  and  every 
warm  and  true  heart  in  the  south  was  yearning  towards  Buford, 
the  magnanimous    [)hilanthrophist  and   hero.     Meetings  were  be- 
ing held  in  all  directions.     Some  gave  him  their   prayers  and 
blessings,  many  their  commendatory  •' whereas,"  and  "therefore 

1!) 


"I 
if 

ill 


290  TUTTLES  lIlSTOUY  OF  KaSSAS. 

rosolvca,"  and  not  a  few  gave  him  their  money  in  consiacratioii 
of    the   nuuerial  purpose  to  be   served.     Col.  Gayle   of    Dal  as 
plccked  the  people  of  his  county  for  $5,000  or  more.     In  Ala- 
bama the  legislature  appropriated  §25,000  to  equip  and  forward 
emigrants  to  Kansas.     In  the  village  of  Gainesville,  Mississii)pi, 
u  public   meeting   denounced  ab.jlitionists  as  "  Traitors  against 
God,"  who  had  ordained  slavery,  and  then  went  on  l^y   way  of 
iinti-elimax  to  mention  that  they  were  also  traitors  to  the  laws  of 
the  country  and  the  people   of  Gainesville.     The  meeting  there- 
upon resolved  themselves  into  a  society  to  assist  emigration  to 
Kansas  in  defense  of  southern  rights.     Eveiy  member  engaged  to 
pay  one  dollar  to  aid  in  the  object  sought.     The  Missourian  in- 
vaders  were  thanked  for  their  action  in  Kansas,  and  the  legisla- 
ture was  called  upon  to  vote  $25,000  for  the  purposes  of  the  ex- 
pedition.    That  recommendation  was  acted  upon,  and  from  many 
other  districts  in  various  states  there  came  word  that  the  clans 
were  gathering,  with  money  and  .inns  for  the  terrible  work  of  ex- 
termination, which  was  euphonistically  covered  under  the  amiable 
phraseology  of  aiding    Kansas.      South    Carolina   was  to  send 
Col  Buford  and  Col.  Trcadwell,  with;  a  gallant  array  of  heroes, 
who  were  indifferent  whether  they  wrought  the  salvation  of  the 
territory,  by  ballots  or  rifle  bullets,  but  Kansas  must  be  saved 
for  the  south.     Florida  waited  only  for  the  spring  to  dispatch 
Col  Titus  to  the  seat  of  war  with  her  contingent.     Virginia  had 
commissioned  Col.  Wilkes  to  assist  the   resident  population  of 
Kansas  by  voting  for  them  with  his  noble  band  of  warriors,  and 
to^lrub  them  into  becoming  submission  and  thankfulness,  should 
they  be  unable  otherwise  to  appreciate  his  goodness.     Kentuck}' 
was  prepared  with  Capt.  Hampton  to  convert  the  abolitionists  of 
the  sinful  territory  to  new  views  of  human  happiness,     ihese 
several  commanders,  with  their  forces,  were  all  in  Kansas  m  the 
sprincr  soon  after  the  flowers  began  to  bloom  upon  the  prairies, 
and  they  came  announced  as  southern  sharpshooters,  who  were 
about  to  extend  the  area  of  slavery,  carrying  rifles  and  well  sup- 
plied w^th  munitions  of  war.     Wherever  the  south  lacked  energy 
for  the  holy  war  on  which  border  rufhanism  had  entered,  the  red 
hot  eloquence  of  Missouri  was  shipped  to  the  spot  immediately, 
and  the  response  was  almost  everywhere  procured. 


— «**f^'-^(^-.-^*» 


K.ixs'Afi  Conflicts  —  EvExrs  of  ISrS. 


291 


Dnsidcration 
3  of  I>all;is 
PC.  In  Ala- 
antl  forward 
Mississii)pi, 
tors  against 

1->y  way  of 
•  the  laws  of 
eeting  there- 
mitfration  to 
r  engaged  to 
issourian  in- 

the  legisla- 
L!S  of  the  ex- 
1  from  many 
at  the  clans 
!  work  of  ex- 
r  the  amiable 
was  to  send 
ly  of  heroes, 
^ation  of  the 
Ast  be  saved 
;   to  dispatch 
Virginia  had 
)opulation  of 
warriors,  and 
Iness,  should 
.     Kentuck}'" 
bolitionists  of 
iness.     These 
Kansas  in  the 
I  the  prairies, 
3rs,  who  were 
and  well  sup- 
iacked  energy 
tered,  the  red 
immediately, 


It  was  no  longer  scenting  the  battle  afar  o(T,  the  troops  were 
already  in  tlie  field,  the  perfume  of  powder  filled  the  air,  south- 
ern  chivalry  was  in  the  saddle,  and  the  Puritan  Koundlicada 
would  not  easily  win  Alarston  Moore  and  Naseby  against  such 
odds,  unless  a  Cromwell  should  be  found  to  direct  them.  Tiie 
fiery  Rupert  of  the  ]\rissourian  forces,  ex-Vice  President  General 
Atchison,  could  figure  as  a  new.spapcr  correspondent  ufion  occa- 
sion, as  well  as  do  his  devoir  upon  the  tented  field,  and  one  of  his 
lucubi-ations  went  through  almost  every  paper  in  the  routli.  The 
border  ruffians  wanted  to  stand  right  before  the  world.  Their 
sufTerings  were  greater  tlian  they  could  bear.  The  young  men  of 
the  south  must  come,  and  that  speedily,  to  Missouri  and  to  Kansas. 
They  must  come  well  armed  and  provided  for  a  stay  of  at  least 
twelve  months.  The  year  could  not  pass  before  fierce  civil  war 
would  commence.  There  was  the  tone  of  prophecy  in  his  words 
when  he  said  to  the  "far  southern  men:"  "If  we  fail,  the  war 
will  reach  your  doors,  perhaps  your  hearths ;"  for  the  events  o£ 
only  a  few  years  saw  the  failure  in  Kansas  followed  by  the  deso- 
lation of  the  south  in  the  vain  attempt  to  uphold  the  evil  custom 
in  defense  of  which  he  was  then  striving.  The  institutions  of  the 
south  were  at  stake  in  the  same  sense  in  which  a  mortified  limb 
is  at  stake  when  the  experienced  surgeon  uses  the  only  means  to 
save  the  life  of  the  patient.  "  We  want  money  and  armed  meu  " 
was  the  perpetual  cry  of  Missouri,  and  it  was  heard  all  over  the 
south.  It  told  the  slave  owners  there  that  their  patriarchal  cua-- 
toms  were  endangered  by  progressive  thought,  which  would  ex- 
tend liberty  to  all  mankind  without  distinction  of  color,  race  or- 
country,  and  it  told  the  men  of  the  eastern  states  that  if  they 
me.'  nt  to  save  the  little  band  of  noble  men  and  women  there  ia 
Kansas,  there  was  no  time  to  lose.  There  was  to  be  no  more 
pacification.  The  man,  who  more  than  any  other  held  the  move- 
ments of  western  Missouri  under  control,  said  in  the  letter  before; 
mentioned  :  "  I  was  a  peacemaker  in  the  difldculty  lately  settkdl 
by  Gov.  Shannon  I  counseled  the  ruffians  to  forbearance  •  bufe" 
I  will  never  again  counsel  peace."  It  was  to  be  a  battle  to  the 
death  between  civilization  and  barbarism.  The  barbarians  were 
as  brave  as  the  Huns  that  fought  under  Attila,  but  they  were  bar- 
barians  still.     Human  life  was  to  them  a  little  matter  compared 


«-■— .ir-^iii,i«i»Me-s..*»  -. 


I  ^tfttmam^i^^m^wmff^'^^':  ^  -  ■•.-w.  -jW  ;7 


292 


TvTTLE's  lIlsroiiY  OF  Kaxsas. 


irt 


1 1 


m 

m 


•with  the  narrowest  views  of  self  interest,  and  they  were  unable  to 
sec  the  eoniponsations  which  advancing  knowledge  gave  for  the 
deprivation  of  unholy  rights.     Tliey  had  planted  themselves  in  a 
position   where  society  could  not  aid   them  without  deplorable 
retrogression  ;  could  not  advance  without  crushing  thcni  and  their 
cherished  system  into  the  earth.     Compared  with  the  price  that 
was  to  be  paid  in  responding  to  the  cry,  "  We  want  armed  men," 
it  would  have  been  an  act  of  economy  and  a  deed  of  mercy  to 
have  bought  every  bonds:iian  at  his  market  i)rice  and  set  him  free 
to  earn  his  bread ;  but  no  such  terms  would  have  been  listened 
to  for  a  second.     The  south  held  the  destinies  of  the  Union  in 
her  hands.     Her  young  men  officered  the  army  and  the  navy, 
and  her  old  men  ctmtrolled  the  councils  of  the  nation.     The  sec- 
retary of  the  war  department  possessed  the  talents  of  a  warrior, 
an  orator  and  a  diplomatist,  and  standing  where  he  then  stood, 
bis  words  becoming  the  language  of  the  president,   the  south 
through  Jefferson  Davis  dictated  the  policy  of  the  United  States, 
with  one  chief  aim,  the  consolidation  and  extension  of  the  slave 
power.     Who  could  believe  that  a  confederation  so  vast,  so  full 
of  talent  and  of  wealth,  so  unrelenting  and  so  unscrupulous,  could 
be  doomed  to  an  early  and  crushing  defeat,  at  the  hands  of  a  peo- 
ple apparently  diverse  in  aims  and  interests,  the  g-eat  majority 
of  whom  at  that  moment  would,  if  they  had  been  polled  upon  the 
question,   have   pronounced  abolition   "impracticable"  and   -'a 
chimera."     The  still  small  voice  that  was  heard  by  the  prophet 
could  move  the  hearts  of  men  more  than  the  salvos  of  artillery 
and  the  thunder  of  the  heavens  reverberating  through  the  eternal 
dome  ;  and  that  voice  had  spoken  the  surcease  of  slavery.     The 
cloud  no  bigger  than  a  man's  hand  had  covered  the  whole  sky, 
and  down  upon  the  thirsting  earth,  arid  with  the  wrongs  of  the 
oppressed,  came  the  rushing  torrent  that  should  wash  away  into 
the  limbo  of  oblivion  every  vestige  of  the  power  but  now  so  bru- 
tally triumphant.     They  were  not  all  bad  men  who  held  man- 
hood in  bondage  ;  there  were  thousands  who  strove  with  all  their 
might  to  live  up  to  the  highest  plane  of  the  teachings  of  Christ, 
in  spite  of  their  surroundings,  and   they  were  able  to  point  to 
many  of  the  greatest  names  that  adorn  the  pages  of  our  history 
as  having  been  identified  with  the  slave  system.     They  would 


Kaxsas  CoxFLicTs  —  Evh'yrs  of  1856. 


2U3 


3  unable  to 
ave  for  the 
isclves  in  a 
deplorable 
n  ami  their 
3  price  that 
■med  men," 
)f  mercy  to 
let  him  free 
en  listened 
e  Union  in 
,  the  navy, 
.     The  sec- 
f  a  warrior, 
then  stood, 
the  south 
lited  States, 
)f  the  slave 
vast,  so  full 
ulous,  could 
ids  of  a  peo- 
lat  majority 
3d  upon  the 
3"  and   -'a 
the  prophet 
5  of  artillery 
1  the  eternal 
ivery.     The 
!  whole  sky, 
•ongs  of  the 
ih  away  into 
now  so  bru- 
3  held  man- 
fith  all  their 
gs  of  Christ, 
to  point  to 
:  our  history 
They  would 


have  made  great  sacrifices  in  defense  of  their  fatherland,  had  they 
seen  it  menaced  by  a  foreign  foe ;  but  it  seemed  hard  that  they, 
the  old  territorial  aristocracy,  who  could  trace  their  lineage  back 
to  the  days  of  Sir  Walter  Kaleigh,  should  be  taught  their  duty 
by  a  mushroom  growth  of  yesterday,  because  their  instruetoi'3 
had  grown  rich  with  the  endowments  of  commerce  and  science. 
While  yet  they  were  hesitating  on  the  verge  of  the  conflict,  the 
battle  had  begun,  and  loyalty  toward  their  friends  and  their  party 
would  admit  no  further  misgiving.  All  their  best  qualities  tended 
then  to  their  undoing,  and  they  saw  every  shred  of  their  wealth 
pass  from  them,  their  names  compromised  by  acts  which  they 
would  have  shuddered  to  authorize,  and  their  homes  left  desolate 
by  the  fires  of  internecine  war.  The  price  was  terrible,  but  it 
must  be  paid  because  the  insane  cry  had  now  been  raised,  "  Comw, 
and  come  speedily,  wo  want  armed  men." 


CHAPTEE    XII. 

TERKITOUIAL  HISTORY. 

(.continued.) 


EARLY  KANSAS  COXFLICTS  — EVENTS  OF  1856. 

In  the  Free  State  Cfuiip  — Wiiiting,  not  Resting  — Disquieting  Rumors  — 
When,  Wliei-e  ami  How  — Certainty  and  Uncertainty  —  Lawrence  and 
Topelia- Will  the  East  Intervene?- Waiting  for  Spring  -  Ik>aily,  aye 
Ready  — Strengtliening  Fortifications— Tlie  Sentinel  — Company  A  — 
Couriers  in  the  Saddk--Free  State  Arsenal -Delegation  to  Congress  — 
Legitimate  Lobbying  — Appeal  to  Free  States  — Addressing  the  Presi- 
dent —  Praying  a  Proclamation  —  Prayer  Answered  —  Pierce  or  Davis  ?  — 
The  Proclamation  — Dangers  of  Warding  Danger  —  Dogberry  in  High 
Places -Popular  Sovenngnty  Maligned -Gro.ss  Injustice  to  Kansas  — 
How  will  it  Operate?-l8  Ruffianism  Licensed? -Gov.  Shannon's  Au- 
thority  — U.  S.  Troops  — Growing  Responsibilities— Sprinirtime  Com- 
ing  -  Waiting  for  March  4th  —  Mustering  Militia  —  MountedRiflemen  — 
Free  State  Legislature  —Treasonable  Insurrection  —  Legislative  Session— 
Gov.  Robinson's  Message  —  Reviewing  the  Situation— Defining  Duties  — 
Responsible  Government  -  Reasons  for  Change  —  Conduct  of  Missouri  — 


..-^i-^/^sSK.^i^JittV'.'^' 


ayi 


TVTTLES  HlSTOUr  OF  Kaxsas. 


AttitiHle  of  l',vsi.l..nt-l'.Kl.'  ..1'  L;.ws-UniU-a   Slules  Scimtors- M.- 
,„orial  for  Congress -Slu.iirs  M..mo.-a.ulun.  -  K.vculiyu  l;''!""^-^  ^'  " 
isl.iclory  Cond«si..u-Tl.c  Way    il  was  Attained -t^cn,.  but  in.  M.  n- 
..y  -  Perpulual    Molnm  -  Nunq,u,m    />«/v/u»  -  The   End    Crowns   .ho 
Work  -  Siibniission  lo  Coi.g.e.s  -  Causes  of  Delay  -  Costs  oHN  ukarusa 
War-  First  Free  State  Legislature  -Congressional  Action  -  House  aud 
Senate  -  The  Speaker  -  Anti-Slavery  Triumph  -Two  Delegates  -\\  hit- 
licUl  Uecx-ived-  U'e.ler  Contests-  Kansas  Connnittee-  Powers  and  Du- 
ties- Persons  and  Papers -Seope  of  In.iuiry  -  iJeyond  Inlimidalion- 
V  S  Military  Protection- Deware- luvestigate  and  Report-  Ihe  Meu 
Is mned  -Session  ut  Leeompton-lleeder  and  Whittield-  Deposilious  at 
L,„vrenee- Vohimiuous   Evidence- Coming    to    Daylight -Uepoil  - 
Organized    Invasion  -  Illegal    Legislature  -  Partial    Admiuistrat.oii  - 
Whitliehl  and  ForeiLMi  Votes-  Ueeder's  -Majority  Irr.'gular-  tair  Llee- 
tiou  I,ni.ossible-O...stiiution  Expressing  Popular  Will -Committee  a 
Success-AppoinimeulUilterly  Contested -Facts  for  the  North -Be- 
ginning  of  the  End -Will  Free   States  Submit  V -Border  Madness - 
Break  the  Union  -  Blockading  Missouri- Political  CiuarauUue-Lex. 
iugton    Law -Tar    and    Feathers- Prospective    Hanging -Unseating 
Whittield  —  No  Delegate  in  Congress  —  Knavery  Defeated. 

Having  seen  the  enemy  mustering  tlieir  forces  in  the  far  south 
and  collecting  their  munitions  of  war  to  come  down  upon  Kansas 
in  the  spring  of  1856,  it  becomes  our  duty  to  visit  the  camp    of 
our  friends,  to  ascertain  whether  they  are  aware  of  the  terrible 
strait  in  which  they  stand,  menaced  by  the  forces  of  many  states, 
and  denounced  as  the  enemies  of  God  and  mankind.     The  free 
state  men  are  waiting,  not  resting,  and  they  are  ready  for  instant 
action ;  but  every  hour  that  the  attack  is  delayed  is  being  im- 
proved to  make  the  position  stro'^ger  against  the  hour  of  danger, 
which,  from  their  nearness  to  the  frontier,  may  come  at  any  mo- 
ment.    The  social  gathering  on  the  night  of  the  ninth  of  Decem- 
ber was  signalized  by  a  rumor  that  the  enemy  was  concentrating 
an  irregular  force  to  attack  the  city,  and  so  likely  was  such  an 
event  at  that  time  that  Gov.  Lane  gave  a  written  authority  to 
Gens.  Robinson  and  Lane  to  defend  the  place  with  the  forces  then 
enrolled.     From  that  day  there  had  never  ceased  to  be  some  dis- 
quieting expectation. 

Eumors  often  exaggerated  and  painfully  indefinite  were  contin- 
ually being  half  revealed  about  deep  laid  plots  to  surprise  the 
little  settlement,  and  leave  it  a  smoking  ruin,  are  combining  a 
carnival  and  a  massacre  within  its  walls.    Well  known  proslavery 


:S»&mxii>r- 


^Kaxsas  CoxFucTs  —  ErFsrs  of  If^rA 


295 


:  llcport— f^iit- 
I  but  no  Mon- 
d  Crowns  .he 
ts  of  Wukiirusa 
1  —  lluuso  auil 
legiilfs— Wliit- 
['owers  uiul  Du- 
liiiiinidiilion  — 
,1)11  —  The  Meu 

-  Deposilious  at 

i,fhl  — Hq»"'"~ 
luiiuistiatiou  — 

ur— Fair  Elec- 

—  Couuuiltee  a 
lit!  North  — 13u. 
•ilur  Mildness  — 
arantiuo  — Lex- 
iig  —  Unseiitiug 
■d. 

the  far  south. 

upon  Kansas 

the  camp  of 
•f  the  terrible 
[  many  states, 
lid.  The  free 
idy  for  instant 
d  is  being  im- 
)ur  of  danger, 
iiie  at  any  mo- 
nth of  Decein- 

conceutratiiig 
y  was  such  an 
n  authority  to 
the  forces  then 
to  be  some  dis- 

te  were  con  tin - 
to  surprise  the 
■e  combining  a 
own  proslavery 


leaders  onmo  to  Lawrence  in  hot  haste,  hold  whispered  consulta- 
tions with  their  adherents,  and  were  off  for  all  that  could  bo 
known,  to  carry  out  some  nefarious  scheme  already  coticoctc.I  for 
the  destruction  of  the  free  state  party.     Tlie  press  in  the  border 
counties  continutilly  breathed  lire  and  sword,  and  there  was  no 
means  of  ascertaining  at  what  instant  the  customary  braggadocio 
might  cover  the  sinister  movement  long  anticipated.     Messenger.'} 
had  long  since  a.ssured  the  ever  wary  authorities  of  Lawrence 
that  stores  were  being  collected  on  the  border,  and  none  could 
doubt  their  eventual  destination.     Civilized  nations  do  not  cr.m- 
mence  hostilities  until  there  has  been  ilrst  a  declaration  of  war, 
but  there  could  be  no  surety  when  the  fatal  blow  would  come 
from  an  enemy  that  declared  war  every  second.     The  assault 
must  come;    on  that  point  there  was  no  difference  of  opinion,  but 
when,  where   and  how,   were  the  momentous  anxieties  of   tho 
troubled  citizens.     A  cainisado  was  the  event  mo.st  dreaded,  and 
men  hated  the  thought  of  being  surprised  in  their  beds  by  aa 
enemy  so  relentless  as  the  foes  across  the  border.     The  certainty 
and  the  uncertainty  were  alike  disturbing  causes,  but  the  leaders 
took  such  precautions  as  were  possible,  and  trusted  the  rest  to 
Oo.l.     Lawrence  was  known  to  have  earned  almost  a  monopoly 
of  ^lissourian  hate,  but  Topeka  had  latterly  begun  to  concentrate 
upon  herself  the  baleful  regards  of  the  proslavery  party.     One  of 
the  ideas  which  obtained  currency  was,  that  an  attack  would  bo 
made  on  one  or  both  of  the  cities  by  bands  of  armed  men  coming 
suddenly  from  different  directions,  and,  under  the  pretext  of  law, 
carrying  off  the  principal  citizens  as  prisoners,  to  be  tortured  to 
death  as  Capt.  Brown  had  been.     From  that  ghastly  thought  it 
will  be  seen  that  law  was  not  considered  in  Kansas  a  protection 
for  the  weak  asrainst  the  strong.     In  the  larger  and  broader  sig-  ■ 
nification,  the  Kansas  free  settlers  were  willing  to  commit  their 
interests  to  the  decisions  of  the  courts,  but  the  local  enactments 
and  their  administration  were  compounded  largely  of  farce  and 
tragedy.      The  eastern   and   northern    states   were    continually 
warned  that  the  war  bad  hardly  yet  commenced,  and  that  the 
next  act  in  the  drama  would  assume  more  terrible  aspects  than 
anything  yet  seen  in  the  territory.     The  little  community  did  nofc 
fear  that  they  would  he  forgotten  by  their  friends,  but  was  it  pos- 


290  Tvrn.i's  Ifisronr  or  K.tss.ts. 

Bible  that  in  the  cili('S  two  lliuu.san.l  miles  tiwny,  in  which  life 
and  property  were  \.y  conipurisun  sacred,  the  con.lition  of  ail'urs 
j.revuiliny  in  Kansas  would  be  fully  coinprchcnde.l?    They  could 
not  help  u  terrible  d.nibt  sometimed  that  a  full  reah/.ation  of  tin 
force  a-ainst  which  they  were  combatting  would  only  reach  the 
population  in  the  free  states  after  they  had  all  fallen  fight.ng  at 
their  posts;  but  in  any  case  they  would  do  their  duty,  warn  their 
friends  as  they  best  might,  and  commit  the  event  to  the  God  of 
battles.     It  was  a  question  of  time  merely.     The  mails  brought 
them  intimations  that  there  were   thousands  making  ready   to 
come  down  upon  them  in  the  spring,  even  supposing  the  assault 
to  be  so  long  delayed,  and  for  all  that  appeared,  there  was  no 
Bword  of  Damocles  suspended  over  the   rebellious  horde  which 
vas  ready  to  violate  the  most  sacred  tics  in  the  name  of  law. 
The  reinforcements  wiiich  they  knew  had  been  long  called  for 
from  the  south  were  already  on  the  march,  and  the  forces  were  so 
nearly  balanced  that  a  few  hundreds  added  to  the  ranks  of  the 
enemy  would  render  the  struggle  all  but  hopeless,  unless  the  free 
States  moved  with  energy  and  speed.     Even  though  a  sulUcient 
number  of  men  should  start  at  once  to  sustain  the  gallant  defend- 
ers of  right,  there  was  no  certainty  that  they  would  -rrive  before 
the  contest  had  been  ended  fwr  the  force  now  struggling;  as  the 
natural  highway  to  the  Kansas  territory  before  railways  had  yet 
entered  this  region  was  by  the  ^[issouri  river,  and  that  avenue 
had  long  been  guarded  against  emigration  from  the  free  states 
The-  knew  all  these  facts  right  well,  and  by  repeated  letters  had 
warned  their  friends  at  a  distance;    but  even  the  post-offices  were 
in  the  hands  and  under  the  directions  of  enemeis,  such  men  as 
Sherift  Jones  being  preferred  to  every  position  that  would  enable 
the  Missourians  to  harass  the  colony.     Still  there  would  be  one 
satisfaction  in  any  event,  the  free  settlers  were  in  the  line  of  duty, 
ready  to  die  in  harness  if  the  cause  demanded  that  sacrifice,  ready 
to  do  and  dare  to  any  extremity  rather  than  submit  to  dishonor- 
ing conditions.     The  fortifications  were  strengthened  and  guarded 
'With  redoubled  care  ;    the  earthwork  at  the  foot  of  Massachusetts 
Street,  which  covered  an  approach  from  the  river,  was  paced  night 
und  day  bv  watchful  men,  and  the  barracks  within  the  inclosure 
would  hold  and  shelter  the  «OKlic-  s  necessary  for  defense  with  ali 


KjSS.iS   ('(IXFI.ICTS —  KvLSrs   OF   1S.')(). 


20* 


I  which  life 

II  of  atTiiir.s 
Tlicy  could 
tion  of  tho 
y  reach  tlie 

fiL'ht'.iii'  at 
warn  their 
the  Ciod  of 
ila  brought 
g  ready  to 
the  assault 
ere  was  no 
ordn  whicli 
rue  of  law. 
f  called  for 
rces  were  so 
anks  of  the 
[ess  the  free 
a  sulUeient 
lant  defend- 
rrive  before 
ling ;  as  the 
ays  had  yet 
that  avenue 
!  free  states. 
[  letters  had 
-offices  were 
uch  men  as 
rould  enable 
ould  be  one 
line  of  duty, 
erifice,  ready 
to  dishonor- 
and  guarded 
[assachusetts 
paced  night 
,he  inclosure 
ense  with  ali 


the  weapons  and  ammunition  re(piisitc  to  repel  a  sudden  and 
brief  onset.  The  work  itself  was  one  hundred  feet  in  diameter, 
four  feet  wide  on  the  top  of  the  ram[)art,  and  live  feet  high  on 
the  risiiiL'  ground  ascending  from  the  Missouri,  so  that  unless  the 
citizens  allowed  themselves  to  be  lulled  into  a  false  security,  there 
was  no  danger  of  a  fatal  surprise.  Company  A  was  but  one  of 
many  excellent  bodies  of  men,  equipped  and  mustered  for  pur- 
poses of  defense,  and  carriers  were  ready  at  a  moment's  notice  to 
scour  through  the  territory,  to  warn  outlying  settlers  to  concen- 
trate at  the  point  of  danger  for  mutual  safety  and  2)rotection. 
There  were  few  noncombatants  among  the  settlers ;  even  the 
women  were  prepared  by  careful  practice  with  firearms  to  act 
with  precision,  if  street  fighting  should  become  inevitable;  and 
there  was  a  common  understanding  that  the  whole  body  would 
die  in  the  last  ditch  rather  than  submit  to  insolent  dictation. 
The  Free  State  hotel,  in  which  the  pacification  feast  had  been 
held  less  than  two  months  ago,  was  once  more  a  barrack,  an 
arsenal  and  a  magazine,  in  which  the  ofTieers  slept,  with  their 
arms  within  reach,  when  there  was  reason  to  anticipate  an  alarm. 
The  troops  distributed  in  their  homes  knew  the  rappd  which 
might  call  them  to  battle,  and  tliey  were  aware  that  everything 
might  depend  upon  their  alacrity  in  responding  to  the  first  tap  of 
the  drum.  There  was  a  fierce  pleasure  in  such  readiness,  but  the 
necessity  out  of  which  it  arose  was  cruel. 

Some  time  before  this,  a  deputation  of  eminent  citizens  had 
been  nominated  by  the  executive  committee  of  the  territory  to 
visit  the  chief  cities  of  the  free  states,  and,  by  viva  voce,  represen- 
tations, to  make  the  people  conversant  with  the  facts.  That  nomi- 
nation was  made  on  the  4th  of  January,  1856,  and  the  same 
delegation  was  empowered  to  convey  to  Washington  and  to  lay 
before  congress  the  constitution  recently  adopted  by  the  settlers. 
There  was  to  be  some  legitimate  lobbying  on  behalf  of  the  free 
state  movement.  Such  men  as  Charles  Sumner  and  his  immedi- 
ate confreres  would  not  need  to  be  refreshed  by  their  representa- 
tions, but  there  w^ere  men  in  both  houses  who,  at  this  juncture, 
could  be  roused  from  tame  acquiescence  in  the  right  course,  to 
vigorous  participation ;  and  there  was  an  absolute  necessity  for 


' 


Sits 


Trni.ii's  JlisToiiv  or  Kaxsas. 


every  man  in  congress  to  work  with  a  will  against  tlic  party  ot 
the  south,  anil  oi  Missouri  more  espceially  : 

"  Where  t!ie  emit  of  demoeiaey  dwelt  on  the  lips 
Of  the  f.ir;;er.s  of  feUeis  ami  lliu  wicliler.t  of  whips." 

The  liglit  of  battle  was  now  on  the  faces  of  men;  disgnisea 
were  thr.nvn  asi.le  ;  Douglas  was  (;n  the  side  of  wrong,  as  he  had 
Lcen  all  his  life,  doing  the  work  ot  a  giant,  and  earning  the  defeat 
of  which  he  died,  when  the  men  whom  he  had  served  with  hardly 
a  scruple  deserted  him  in  the  crisis  of  his  fate;  Sumner  was  soon 
to  be  answered  by  the  deadly  assault  made  up.m  him  by  Preston 
S.  Brooks,  in   the  very   halls  of  legislation;  AVilson  was  to  bo 
challenged  to  meet  death,  because  he  denounced    the  outrage  ; 
but  eve°y  movement  was  tending  toward  the  end,  and  the  lobby- 
ists from  Kansas  were  very  valuable  adjuncts.     The  governors 
of  free  states  were  appealed  to  by  the  executive  committee,  and 
only  from  Indiana  was  there  one  word  of  rebuke  for  the  very 
natural  action  so  initiated;  from  the  other  executive  officers  of 
free  states  came  words  of  encouragement  an,l  hearty  assurancesof 
constitutional  support.     Governor  Wright  of    Indiana,  like  the 
priest  and  the  Levite,  passed  by  on  the  other  side,  havmg  no  sym- 
pathy  to  bestow  upon  the  men  who  had  fallen  among  thieves,  ex- 
cept'the  hollow  suggestion,  "that  if  the  people  of  the  territory 
were  aggrieved,  it  was  the  duty  of  the  president  of  the  Lnited 
States  to  redress  them."     Assuredly,   that  was  the   presidents 
duty,  but  would  he  dare  to  attempt  its  discharge  ?     The  commit- 
tee had  not  allowed  him  to  remain  unasked,  for,  on  the  21st  of 
January,  the  facts  of  the  intended  invasion  were  clearly  stated  in 
a  dispatch  to  that  official,  and  a  "respectful  demand"  was  made 
that  the  commandant  of  United  States  troops  in  Kansas  should 
be  instructed  to  prevent  "an  inhuman  outrage."     On  the  2dd  ot 
the  same  month  another  dispatch  was  forwarded  by  safe  hands  to 
the  same  quarter,  urging  upon  the  president  his  duty  to  issue  h.s 
proclamation  forbidding  an  invasion  of  the  territory.     They  ac- 
companied their  prayer  for  constitutional  protection  with  such 
evidence  of  the  bona  fides  of  their  representation  as  could  not  be 
gainsaid;  and,  in  return,  on  the  11th  day  of  February,  after  a 
lapse  of  nearly  three  weeks,  they  were  answered  by  the  pubhca- 


Kaxhas  L'i>SFI.I<TS  —  l-:\i:XTS  of  1<>>>- 


209 


-he  party  of 


n ;  dipgnises 
12,  as  he  had 
IK  the  dcfoiit 

I  with  hardly 
nor  was  soon 

II  hy  PrcHtnn 
11  was  to  bo 
the  outrage  ; 
d  the  h)bby- 
be  governors 
inmitteo,  and 
for  the  very 
/e  officers  of 

assurances  of 
ana,  like  the 
,ving  no  sym- 
ig  thieves,  ex- 

the  territory 
f  the  United 
le   president's 

The  commit- 
a  the  21st  of 
arly  stated  in 
d  "  was  made 
[ansas  should 
3n  the  23d  of 

safe  hands  to 
ty  to  issue  his 
iry.  They  ac- 
ion  with  such 
i  could  not  be 
)ruary,  after  a 
y  the  publica- 


tion of  a  document  whic-h  romindi'd  i  readers  in  Kansas  of 
"those  jngirliiig  liends,"  against  whom  the  bravo  Macbelli  in- 
veighed ;  — 

"Tliiil  puller  with  m  in  n  doulilc  sense; 

That  keep  llie  word  dl"  piomise  to  our  car, 

Anil  lireiik  il  lo  our  liope." 

It  might  well  be  ([ucstioned  whether  the  hand  of  the  ]ircsideut 
or  that  of  JefTeraon  Davis,  his  astute  minister  of  war,  had  writ- 
ten the  proclamation  which  made  the  offense  of  self-protoclion 
among  tlie  free  settlors  as  reprehensible  as  the  invasion  t(j  which 
they  had  been  subjected,  and  with  -hich  they  were  again  men- 
aceil.  i'nless  the  document  in  question  was  expressly  designed 
to  give  succor  to  evil  doers  in  their  trespasses  and  sins,  and  to 
discourage  the  settlements  in  Kansas  from  any  further  attempt  to 
bold  the  territory,  we  are  constrained  to  the  conclusion  that  Dog- 
hern/  had  taken '  possession  of  the  White  House  in  Washington, 
and  was  learnedly  rehearsing  his  directions  to  the  watch : 

"  If  you  meet  a  thief,  you  may  suspect  him,  by  virtue  of  your 
office,  to  be  no  true  man ;  and  tor  such  kind  of  men,  the  less  you 
meddle  or  make  with  them,  why  the  more  is  for  your  honesty.     * 

*  The  most  peaceable  way  for  you,  if  you  do  take  a  thief,  is  to 
let  him  show  himself  what  he  is,  and  steal  out  of  your  company. 

*  *     For  indeed  the  watch  ought  to  offend  no  man,  and  it  is  aa 
offense  to  stay  a  man  against  his  will." 

The  ruffians  of  the  border  who  could  come  and  go  under  the 
provisions  of  the  law  made  by  their  accomplices,  were  hardly 
touched  by  the  president's  pronunciamento  ;  but  the  settlers  who 
desired  to  realize  republican  rule,  "the  government  of  the  peo- 
ple, by  the  people,  for  the  people,"  were  to  be  hemmed  in  at  every 
point,  "corralled"  in  fact,  for  the  greater  convenience  of  their 
persecutors  and  oppressors.  But  the  proclamation  is  public  prop- 
erty and  it  will  speak  for  itself.     The  president  says : 

"  Whereas,  Indications  exist  that  public  tranquillity  and  the 
Bupremacy  of  law  in  the  territory  of  Kansas  are  endangered  by 
the  reprehensible  acts,  or  purposes  of  persons,  both  within  and 
without  the  same,  who  propose  to  control  and  direct  its  political 
organizations  by  force  ;  it  appearing  that  combinations  have  been 
formed  therein  to  resist  the  execution  of  the  territorial  laws,  and 


#' 


800 


Tirri.i:''!  Ifisnu.y  "/•'  A'. i. vs. is. 


: 


th.m  in  rtr.-ct,  sul.vnt  bv  vIoUmuv  .11   present  constitutional  ami 
W.uthuritv;  it  also  appcarin-  that  persona  rcsi-ln.;.^  w.tl.out 
this  tc.rritory/l.nt  nrar  its  bordors,  cont.-niplatc  anno.l   interven- 
tion in  tho  alTairs  thereof;  it  also  app.'aring  that  other  persons, 
inhabitants  of  remote  states,  arc  collecting  money  and  provuling 
arms  for  the  same  purpose  ;  and  it  further  appearing  that  combi- 
nations in  the  territory  are  endeavoring,  by  the  agencies  of  emis- 
sarics  and  otherwise,  to  induce  individual  states  of  theinumto 
interfere  in  the  afTairs  tl>ereof  in  violation  of  the  constitution  of 
the  rnite.l  States;  and,  whereas,  all  sneh  plans   for  the  determi- 
nation of  the  fnfire  institutions  of  the  territ(,ry,  if  earric.l  into 
a..tiou  from  or  w  thin   the  same,  will  constitute  the  fact  of  insur- 
rection, and  from  without  that  of  invasive  aggression,  and  will  m 
cither  case  justify  and  rcpiir-^   the  forcible  interposition   of  the 
whole  power  ..f  tlic  general  gm-crnment,  as  well  to  maintain  the 
laws  of  the  territory  as  those  ol  the  Union.  ,.  .     , 

"Now,  tlierefore,  T,  Franklin  Picn..e,  rresidcni  of  the  1  nited 
States  do  issue  this  my  proelamati.m,  to  command  all  persons 
en.'a<'cd  in  unlawful  combinations  against  the  constituted  author- 
itv^)f  the  territory  of  Kansas,  or  of  the  United  States,  to  disperse 
and  retire  peaceably  to  their  respective  abodes,  and  to  warn  all 
such  persons  tb^.^  an  attempted  insurrection  in  said  territory,  or 
acmressive  intni.iion  into  the  same,  will  be  resisted,  not  only  by 
the  emphn-ment  of  the  local  militia,  but  also  by  that  of  any 
available  forces  of  the  United  States  ;  to  tho  end  of  assuring  im- 
munity from  violence  and  full  protection  to  the  persons,  property 
and  civil  rights  of  all  peaceful  and  law  abiding  inhabitants  of  the 

territory.  ...  , 

"  If  in  any  purt  of  the  Union  the  fury  of  faction  or  fanaticism, 
inflamed  into  disregard  of  the  great  principles  of  popular  sover- 
ei^nty,  which,  under  the  constitution,  are  fundamental  in  the 
Jiole  structure  of  our  institutions,  is  to  bring  on  the  country  the 
dire  calamity  of  an  arbitrament  of  arms  in  that  terntcry,  it  shall 
be  between  lawless  violence  on  one  side  and  conservative  force 
on  the  other,  wielded  by  legal  authority  of  the  general  govern- 

""^'acall  on  the  citizens,  both  of  adjoining  and  of  distant  states, 
to  abstain  from  unauthorized  intermeddling  in  the  local  concerns 


;i 


Kassas  Cnsti.icrs—  I\\  i:.\i-<  01-  /%>». 


titiitioiial  nml 
i'liiii,'  witliout 
iii-<l   iiitiTveii- 
(itlior  jHTf.ons, 
:ind  proviiVmg 
i<r  that  coinbi- 
iicit's  of  ctiiis- 
tlio  Union  to 
;onslitution  of 
»r  the  (letcrmi- 
if  carried  into 
!  fact  of  insur- 
)n,  and  will  in 
losition   of  the 
0  maintain  the 

of  the  l''nite(l 
id  all  persons 
titutcd  author- 
itcs,  to  disperse 
nd  to  warn  all 
id  territory,  or 
id,  not  only  by 
)y  that  of  any 
of  assuring  im- 
rsons,  property 
iiabitants  of  the 

n  or  fanaticism, 
poj)ular  sover- 
amental  in  the 
the  country  the 
erritcry,  it  shall 
nservative  force 
general  govern- 

»!  distant  states, 
le  local  concema 


of  the  territory,  admonishing   thorn  that  its  ..rgai.u;  la  a"  :       -be 
cveculcd  with  impartial  jusiire  ;  that  all   individual  act«  ■      l?le- 
l;u1  inlorloroneo  wdl    incur  condign  punishment,  and  that  uuy  cu 
dcavor  to  iulerfcro  bv  organized  force  wdl   bo   lirudy  withstood. 
"  1  invoke  all  good  citi/cns  to  promote  order  by  rciidcnng  obc 
dicnco  to  the  law  ;  to  .sock   remedy  for  tompora.y  evils  by  P'>aee- 
ful  moans;  to  discounlonanoo  and  repulse  the  counsels  and  the 
instigations  of  agitators  and  disorgani/.ers ;  and   to  leslity  tlu'ir 
attachment  t.,  their  pride  in   its  greatness,  their  api.rocalion  ..f 
the  blessings  they  enjoy,  an.l   their  determination  that  roi-ubiioau 
institutions  shall  not  fail  in  their  hands,  by  c.uperaUng  to  ui.lu.id 
the  majesty  of  the  laws  and  to  vindicate  the  sanctity  of  the  coii- 

slilulion.  Ill 

"In   testimony   whereof,  I   have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and 

caused  the  great  seal  of  the  United  Stales  to  be  allixed  to  these 

^"''dLio  at  the  city  of  Washington,  the  eleventh  day  of  Feb- 
ruary, in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
lifty-six,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  the 
eightieth.     ^^  ^^  ^^^^  President.  Fuanklin  Piehck. 

"  W.  L.  Maucv,  Secretary  of  State." 

The  purpose  of  the  president's  action  was  unmistakable.     Pop- 
ular sovereignty,  about  whi.h  there  had  been  so  much  unmeaning 
talk,  even  .squatter  sovereignty,  in  the  only  .sense  in  which  it  was 
justifiable,  where  the  squatter  was  an  actual  resident  in  the  terri- 
tory, was  maligned  by  the  chief  executive  and  an  injustice  of  the 
grossest  description  was  aiflieted  upon  Kansas.     It  was  an  ofTenso 
of  the  gravest  kind  to  have  called  in  question  the  enactmenta 
passed  at  Shawnee  in  violation  of  the  organic  act;  and  to  have 
sou<^ht  by  the  only  possible  means  to  ascertain  the  will  of  the 
people ;  but  beyond  that  there  was  nothing  said  by  Mr.  Pierco 
which  might  not,  like  the  words  of  the  Delphic  oracle,  be  road  in 
contrary  ways.     It  still  remained  to  be  seen  how  the  charm  would 
work,  for  the  race  is  not  always  to  the  swift,  nor  the  battle  invari- 
ably to  the  strong.     Would  ruffianism  receive  the  proclamation 
as  a  license?     Would  it  be  acted  upon  in  that  sense  by  Gov. 
Shannon?     Would  the  officers  in  command  of    United   States 


flOi 


TfTTI.K's  lllSTOUV  or  h'.WS  \s. 


troops  in  tlio  torritorv  In'  (»lili,!j;i'(l  or  iiiiliu'cd  to  rend  it  in  tluit 
wny  ?  Tlic  tiiiruiiiltit'rt  liDiii'ly  tliii'l^i'iiin;^' woiiKl  noon  liniif/ alt 
tlicHO  issiioH  to  tlii'ir  tcHt ;  nnd  tlio  poopio  looked  toward  tlit;  ivi'iit 
with  Jiiiicli  arixinty.  Five  dtty«  nftcr  tiio  proclamation  wii.s  issued 
the  j/ovcrtior  of  the  territory  was  authorized,  under  a  letter  from 
Secretary  Mney,  whieh  did  not  reach  him  until  nearly  the  end  of 
that  month,  to  call  upon  the  ollicers  in  command  at  l''ort  Uilcy 
and  at  licavenworth,  for  aid  to  suppress  "  insurrectionary  combi- 
nations,"  and  "resistance  to  the  execution  of  the  laws."  Tho 
j)Cople  in  Kansas  were  still  weighted  in  the  rac(\  because  Missouri 
would  not  ipnirrel  with  tho  Kansas  laws  which  had  been  made 
by  Missoiirian  nominees  to  forward  the  aims  of  the  proslavery 
party  ;  the  only  persons  discontented  with  the  scandalous  enact- 
ments were  tin;  men  who  knew  that  the  jiopular  V(jico  had  been 
oxclude(l  from  the  lepislaturc  in  which  the  laws  had  been  framed. 
Meantime  the  unusually  severe  winter  of  1 800  5*5  had  come  tO' 
an  end  and  tin;  attack  was  still  deferred;  spring  had  come  and  it 
was  known  that  troo})s  were  concentrated  upon  the  border,  ready 
to  cross  the  Missouri  upon  the  signal  being  given.  The  fourth 
day  of  March  was  the  time  named  for  tho  free  state  legislature  to 
assemble,  and  (ien.  Atchison  had  nameil  that  date  for  his  attack 
in  force.  On  that  day  he  would  call  upon  his  indomitables  to 
march  into  tho  territory.  Tho  news[)apers  in  Missouri,  at  Inde- 
pendence and  elsewhere  on  the  western  frontier,  had  called  upon 
the  militia  oi  tho  border  counties  to  assemble  at  V'^:'o  Scott,  the 
present  capital  of  B-jurbon  county,  Kansas,  on  the  last  day  in 
February,  and  that  notice  also  pointed  to  the  probability  of 
offensive  action  being  soon  resumed.  The  men  thus  to  be  mus- 
tered were  mounted  troops,  armed  with  rifles,  against  whom  tho 
territory  had  no  corresponding  arm  of  defense.  The  assembly  of 
the  state  legislature  was  held  to  be  an  oflense  under  the  jirocla- 
mation  recently  issued,  and  should  the  ollicers  recently  elected  or- 
ganize and  subscribe  their  several  oaths,  it  was  contended  with 
some  show  of  reason,  that  every  man  might  be  adjudged  guiliy 
of  treason  ;  at  any  rate  guilty  enough  to  warrant  their  enemies 
from  across  the  border,  in  coming  to  the  rescue  of  the  territorial 
executive,  against  "  organized  resistance,  such  as  the  message  of 
Mr.  Pierce  bad  described  to  congress,  as  treasonable  insurrection."" 


\\ 


Kaxs.is  0>,vf7-/<"r.v— A'rA.'.vr.v  or  /n.V;. 


303 


c'ld  it  ill  tli.'it 
soon  Ipiiiijr  alf 
ward  tlic  c'Vi'iit 
lion  WII.S  issued 
r  a  h'ttcr  from 
iriy  till'  (Mill  of 

at  l-'orl  Uiley 
;ionnry  coiubi- 
)  hiws."  Tho 
•aiist!  Misso'iri 
lul  Im'cii  iimdo 
tlio  jiroslfivcry 
ndiiloufl  enact- 
.'(jifo  Iiiid  been 
I  been  framed. 
•t5  hud  come  to 
d  come  and  it 

border,  ready 
1.  Tho  fourth 
3  logisliitureto 

for  lii«  attack 
idomi tables  to 
4ouri,  at  Iiule- 
id  called  upon 
*''^rL  Scott,  the 
be  last  day  in 
probability  of 
lus  to  be  mus- 
nat  whom  tho 
le  assembly  of 
er  the  jirocla- 
itly  elected  or- 
antended  with 

0 

[judged  guilty 
their  enemies 
the  territorial 

he  message  of 
insurrection.'*^ 


There  wore  many  eouraL^coiH  friends  of  the  free  st.'itc  movement, 
who  Ha\v  in  .such  a  eonibiiiatiou,  at  .such  a  nioiiieiit,  cause  for  prii- 
doiit  hesitation:  and  they  did  tlieirbest  to  di.ssiiado  Dr.  llobinson 
and  (uhcrs  against  assuming  tho  responsibilities  of  oIl'Kic,  le-it  un- 
der the  pretense  of  law,  every  one  of  the  jiopiilar  leaders  should 
be  arrested  :uid  held  for  trial,  under  the  territorial  en;ictment«. 
supported  by  the  whole  force  of  tho  genenil  governmeiit.  In 
spite  of  every  scruple  tho  legislature  met  at  Topeka  at  tho  time 
appointed,  ami  the  newly  elected  ofTicers  wore  also  present,  an- 
swering the  call  of  tho  chairman  of  the  executive  committee. 
Col.  Lane  called  the  assembly  to  order,  and  the  se(!rctary  noiii- 
in.itcd  for  the  occasion,  after  calling  the  roll,  a<lministered  tho 
ofiicial  oath.  There  were  thirty-two  men  that  answered  to  tho 
roll  call,  and  one  member,  Capt.  Brown,  ha<l  long  before  answer- 
ed the  mil  elsewhere,  having  been  murdered  by  the  rabble  known 
ns  the  Kickapoo  Hangers.  Mr.  T.  .Miiiard  of  Kastoii,  one  of  tho 
men  that  had  been  obliged  to  barricade  his  hou.so  to  prevent 
eviction,  was  elected  speaker,  and  Messrs.  Goodin  of  Blanton, 
Tappan  of  Lawrence,  Snoilgrass,  Goodin  Juni"i'  and  .Mitchell  as 
clerks  and  sergcant-at-arms  respectively.  Tho  .senate  was  also 
organized  and  the  oath  having  been  adii mistered  in  a  similar 
form  by  Mr.  Curtis,  president  pro  tern,,  the  two  houses  held  a 
joint  session  for  the  installation  of  the  governor  and  tho  other 
ofiicers  of  the  state.  The  business  of  the  day  came  to  an  end 
without  any  attempt  at  a  disturbance  by  the  other  side,  but  tho 
vigilant  .sherifl,  Jones,  was  present  during  tho  whole  of  the  cere- 
mony, and  it  was  evident  that  ho  was  taken  aback  by  the  cool- 
ness and  unanimous  disregard  of  consequences  which  was  evinced 
by  the  free  state  ofRcials.  The  inaugural  address  of  Gov.  Eub- 
inson  was  delivered  immediately  upon  his  installation,  but  the 
houses  deferred  its  consideration  until  the  next  day,  the  interval 
being  used  in  printing  and  distributing  the  document  among 
those  who  were  entitled  to  that  courtesy.  The  governor's  mes- 
sufj;c  came  under  con.sideration  on  the  second  day  of  the  session, 
and  it  was  found  to  be  a  very  statesmanlike  production.  The 
peculiar  dilBculties  vhich  had  obstructed  the  course  of  tho  free 
state  party  were  adverted  to  with  much  care,  but  it  was  evident 
that  there  had  been  much  discrimination  in  the  use  of  language, 


30i 


TcTTLi^'s  History  of  Kassas. 


and  the  rclutivc  positions  of  the  state  ofricials  and  the  territorial 
bjvennnent  wore  so  handled  as  while  tlio  truth  was  told,  there 
was  no  wa"tonness  of  expression,  such  as  might  be  likely  to  an- 
tagonize those  who  were  still  neutral  on  the  questions  of  the  day. 
Dr.   Eobinson  referred  to  territorial  organizations  as  neeesssrily 
transient,  and  intended  to  prepare  the  way  for  state  institutions, 
such  as  the  people  had  now  authorized  on  their  own  behalf.     The 
provisional  character  being  thus  defined,  there  was  no  attempt  to 
question  or  deny  the  validity  of   the    territorial   appointments 
pending  the  recognition  by  the  general  government  of  the  state 
constitution  and  the  oflieial  stall  elected.     Good  reasons  were 
given  for  the  expectation  that  the  action  of  the  people  would  be 
indorsed  at  Washington,  by  the  admission  of  the  state  of  Kan- 
sas to  the  union,  whereby  the  government  would  become  respon- 
sible  to  the  community  governed,  instead  of  owing   allegiance 
only  to  a  remote  and  half  informed  body  of  men,  necessarily  un- 
conversant  with  the  wants  of  the  population.     The  peculiar  tyr- 
anny  which  had  invested  the  institutions  of  Kansas  from  their 
proper  functions  to  make  them  the  means  of  oppression   were  in- 
sisted upon  with  cogency  and  force.     The  fact  that  outrages  of 
the  most  flagrant  kind  could  be  committed  in   Kansas  territory, 
by  the  friends  of  the  usurping  legislature  which  had  assembled  at 
Shawnee,  and  that  such  crimes  remained  unchecked  and   unchal- 
lenged by  the  authorities,  was  cited  to  prove  that  the  executive 
power  ill  the  territory  was  inoperative  for  good,  while  there  had 
been  evidence  enough  that  the  same  officers  could  act  with  crush- 
ing force  on  the  very  lightest  pretext,  against  law  abiding  resi- 
dents.    The  conduct  of  the  neighboring  state  of   Missouri  was 
submitted  to  a  scathing  criticism,  and  the  action  recently  taken 
by  Prest.  Pierce  was  animadverted  upon  with  the  freedom  which 
belongs  of  right  to  a  citizen  of  the  great  republic,  the  equal  of  any 
officerin  every  respect  save  in  the  representative  character  con- 
ferred upon  him  by  the  people. 

The  task  of  codifying  the  laws  for  the  state  of  Kansas,  subject 
to  the  will  of  both  houses  after  the  work  so  assigned  should  have 
been  completed,  was  handed  over,  by  joint  ballot  of  both  houses, 
to  three  commissioners.  Col.  Lane  and  ex-Gov.  Reeder  were 
chosen  as  United  States  senators  for  the  state,  to  assume  their 


JUr- 


Kaxsas  Coxflicts  —  Evexts  of  1%C>. 


305 


ic  teri'itoiiiil 

3  toltl,  there 
likoly  to  au- 

4  of  the  day. 
3  necessv.rily 

institutions, 
Dchalf.     The 
lo  attempt  to 
ippointnients 
of  the  state 
reasons  were 
dIc  would  be 
state  of  Kan- 
come  respon- 
ig   allegiance 
;cessarily  un- 
peculiar  tyr- 
as  from  their 
sion   were  in- 
t  outrages  of 
isas  territory, 
assembled  at 
and  unchal- 
the  executive 
lile  there  had 
ct  with  crush- 
abiding  resi- 
Missouri  was 
scently  taken 
'eedom  which 
e  equal  of  any 
iharacter  con- 
Kansas,  subject 
i  should  have 
f  both  houses, 
Reeder  were 
assume  their 


positions,  of  cour.<o,  upon  the  admission  of  Kansas  to  the  Union. 
The  laws  and  customs  which  govern  deliberative  assemblies  were 
adopted,  and  some  unimportant  acts  of  legislation  were  carried 
through.  State  officers  were  allotted  their  respective  salaries,  and 
their  duties  were  dclincd.  The  importance  of  agricultural  im- 
provements was  recognized  by  the  passage  of  a  bill  for  its  encour- 
agement, and  a  joint  memorial  to  Congrcs-s  prayed  for  the  admis- 
sion of  the  state  to  the  union,  under  the  constitution  framed  at 
Topeka  and  accepted  by  the  people.  The  session  was  brought  to 
an  end  on  the  loth  of  March,  eleven  days  from  the  opening,  when 
the  legislature  adjourned,  to  reassemble  in  the  same  place  on  the 
4th  of  July,  185G.  There  had  been  no  treason  dreamed  of,  and 
there  was  none  uttered,  but  it  would  have  been  an  interesting 
matter  to  have  perused  the  well  ft.sed  notebook  of  the  sherifl  of 
Douglas  county,  in  which  Mr.  Jones  most  diligently  entered  the 
words  and  acts  of  the  several  members,  with,  it  is  probable,  many 
flourishes,  such  as  his  own  economy  in  the  use  of  truth  would 
naturally  suggest.  Tliere  remained  now  one  duty  to  be  done  to 
complete  the  programme:  The  executive  eommittee,  to  which 
the  work  of  organizing  a  state  government  had  been  entrusted, 
must  give  an  account  of  its  stewardship,  and  in  so  doing,  pass 
away.  The  committee  made  their  report  with  considerable  de- 
tail, in  a  document  remarkable  for  its  perspicuity,  which  was  pub- 
lished in  the  llerald  of  Freedom,  and  commanded  the  approval 
of  those  who  were  best  informed.  The  committee  had  discharged 
many  of  the  functions  of  a  provisional  government  for  the  free 
state  party,  and  had  won  the  respect  of  all  classes,  until  the  con- 
vention first  nominated  for  the  purpose  had  framed  the  constitu- 
tion ;  accepting,  then,  the  additional  duties  imposed  by  the  con- 
vention, the  constitution  had  been  presented  for  the  decisive  vote 
of  the  people,  and  when  that  conclusion  in  the  affirmative  had 
been  arrived  at,  it  became  the  duty  of  the  same  body  to  convene 
the  peo])le  for  the  nomination  of  the  officers  whose  inauguration, 
under  their  arrangements,  ended  the  existence  of  the  temporary 
executive.  Col.  Lane  and  Mr.  J.  K.  Goodin  were  the  chairman 
and  the  secretary  of  the  body  which  had  now  become  functus 
officio.  When  the  executive  first  assembled  in  Lawrance  to  form, 
as  it  were,  the  nucleus  of  a  government,  the  organization  was 
20 


^■yiyw^i^yy'^ 


gOg  Tuttle's  HisTOiiY  OF  Kaxsas. 

without  money  or  means,  except  such  contributions  as  the  imli- 
vidual   mc.i.bers  subscribed  from  their  own  resources,  and  the 
scrip  wliich  they  had  been  authorized  by  the  convention  to  issue, 
to  be  rcdoe.ned  by  the  legishiture  which  they  were  to  ass,st_  in 
l,rocurin.^     Thoy  had  carried  out  the  several  elections,  organ./.ing 
the  tcrrit°ory  for  that  purpose  into  electoral  districts,  and  had  con- 
ducted  the  elections  of  October  0,  1855,  for  delegates  to  the  con- 
vention     Tliey  had  then  distributed  tlirough  the  territory,  by 
special  messengers,  the  documents  necessary  to  procure  an  ex- 
pression of  the  popular  will  upon  the  constitution  which  had  been 
ramed,  and  on  tlie  15th  of  December,  1855,  had  earned  the  bus- 
ness  of  polling  the  population  successfully  through.     One  m.^  H 
later  the  executive  had  submitted  to  the  people  the  official  ticket, 
which,  in  spite  of  a  seditious  attempt,  had  obtained  popular  ap- 
Lva    covcrin.^  all  the  expenses  of  the  several  steps  in  succession 
Ty       u      of  s^rip.     Dariiig  the  month  of  Dceember,  when   tlic 
vote  upon  the  constitution  was  pending.  Gen.  Schuyler  was  sen 
lo  the    astern  states  to  collect  funds  to  assist  the  executive,  and 
ns  miss  o    was  crowned  with  success  ;  but  during  his  absence  he 
c  tyTLawrence  had  been  defended  against  the  ruffians,  and  the 
ominittee,  instead  of  reimbursing  themselves  ^oMheiiMndivid 
outlay,  devoted  all  the  money  so  obtained  to  paying  t^^^M^ense. 
of    Sliding  the  settlement  from  invasion.    Mr.  Parrot,  of  Leaven- 
wo  tl  who  tried  to  be  heard  in  the  law  and  order  convention,  o 
I  i       >f  r.  Shannon,  on  his  lirst  coming  to  the  territory  permitted 
; -if  to  be  made'chairman,  visited  the  east  ^^^^^^^ 
of  tlie  executive,  to  convey  an  accurate  statemen  of  I^^"  ^^  ^^^^^^^^ 
to  members  of  con-ress,  and  to  whomsoever  might  assist  in  mouid- 
t^^^Z^^^  the  free  states.     One  member  had  been  com- 
elll        Jcnt  himself  from  the  sessions  of  the  com-ttee  dunng 
n    rly  all  the  time,  and  in  consequence  nearly  all  the  exeeu ti  c 
:    .1.  had  devolved  upon  four  men,  who  had  only  suceee^^^^^^ 
their  onerous  task  by  dint  of  sleepless  energy,  nearly  allied  to  per 
tual  motion.     Tlie  discomforts  endured  by  these  unwearying 
uW     savants,  without  fee,  or  the  probability  of  reward  excep 
at       o  seiousness  of  a  duty  well  done,  and  in  the  gratitude  of 
LI  fellow  colonists,  is  beyond  all  praise,     ^he  de  aded  ^^^^^^ 
ment  of  their  actions  and  expenditure  was  presented  to  the  k.is 


Kaxsas  Conflicts  —  EvESTfi  or  IS'iG. 


807 


as  tlic  indi- 
rccs,  and  the 
ition  to  issue, 
3  to  assist  in 
ns,  organizing 
and  liad  eon 
es  to  the  con- 
territory,  by 
•ocure  an  cx- 
liich  had  been 
rricd  the  busi- 
.     One  month 
ofhcial  ticket, 
i  popular  ap- 
s  in  succession 
ber,  -when   the 
uyler  was  sent 
executive,  and 
his  absence  the 
ifTians,  and  the 
heir  individual 
g  the  expenses 
•rot,  of  Leaven- 
convention,  o£ 
tory,  permitted 
er  the  auspices 
[  Kansas  affairs 
assist  in  mould- 
r  had  been  com- 
mmittee  during 
1  the  executive 
ly  succeeded  in 
•ly  allied  to  pcr- 
ese  unwearying 
reward,  except 
the  gratitude  of 
}  detailed  state- 
ted  to  the  legis- 


lature during  tlio  y,h\\'c\\  session  and  duly  audited,  and  it  then 
appeare<l  that  tlic  whole  cost  of  their  action  in  bringing  the  state 
government  to  perfect  organi;5ation,  pending  the  action  of  con- 
gress, hardly  exceeded  $11,000.  Their  labors  were  then  com- 
pleted, and,  as  tliey  looked  round  upon  the  able  and  self-sacrific- 
ing body  of  men,  democrats  and  whigs,  abolitionist  and  pro- 
slavery,  whom  they  had  united  under  the  free  soil  banner  to 
uphold  the  integrity  of  Kansas  territory  against  the  Missouriaii 
faction,  they  were  able  to  say  with  satisfaction :  "  The  end 
crowns  the  work."  They  had  carried  their  undertaking  to  a  suc- 
cessful issue  within  six  months,  and  had  found  leisure  to  assist  in 
the  defense  of  Lawrence,  as  well  as  in  the  negotiations  arising 
therefrom ;  and  there  were  none  who  could  say  that  they  had 
omitted  one  duty  which  it  devolved  upon  them  to  do,  or  had 
shirked  one  danger  on  account  of  their  manifold  labors.  There 
were  some  who  inquired  why  the  constitution  had  not  been  sub- 
mitted to  congress  as  soon  as  it  had  been  pronounced  upon  by  the 
people  in  December?  but  when  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  the 
house  of  representatives  was  not  organized  by  the  election  of 
a  speaker  until  the  end  of  January,  1856,  after  a  nine  weeks  con- 
test, which  ended  in  the  choice  of  a  man  upon  whom  the  free  soil 
men  could  entirely  rely,  there  was  no  cause  to  complain  of  the 
wise  discretion  which  had  been  used. 

The  murder  at  Easton  and  the  necessity  to  conciliate  the  free 
soil  forces  in  that  quarter,  to  prevent  the  proslavery  Missourian 
faction  driving  every  free  soil  settler  from  his  dwelling,  had 
taxed  the  energies  and  the  time  of  the  executive  considerably, 
bringing  their  proceedings  down  to  the  date  when  the  legislature 
was  about  to  assemble;  and  when  only  a  few  days  more  would 
suffice  to  enable  the  members  of  that  body  to  ad'l  their  memorial 
to  congress  to  the  constitution,  which  remained  to  be  submitted, 
it  was  thought  best  that  the  completed  work  and  the  evidence  of 
the  perfected  organization  should  be  forwarded  together ;  so  that 
the  friends  of  the  free  state  movement  could  answer  the  sneers 
and  insinuations  of  the  dominant  faction  as  to  the  lawlessness  of 
Kansas,  by  pointing  to  the  best  possible  proof  that  the  settlers 
who  were  maligned,  and  who  had  been  almost  trampled  ujion, 
were  a  law  abiding,  intellectual  class,  capable  of  well  wielding 


308 


T utile's  II is  Ton  r  of  K ass. is. 


the  powers  with  which  they  ought  to  bo  ondowca.     It  was  now 
bcgiiiiiiiig  to  bo  ovidout  to  careful  observers,  tlial  the  rcigu  of  the 
democratic  party  was  drawing  near  to  its  end,  and  that  the  peo- 
ple,  the  great  mass  of  the  conmiunity  whicli  holds  aloof  from 
party  organizations,  were  dubitating  whether  the  great  thought 
which  had  been  made  to  live  and  move  in  the  old  organization 
by  the  patriotism  and  the  genius  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  had  not 
long  since  died.     The  balance  of  power,  whicli  had  been  lield  for 
so  many  years  in  the  house  of  representatives,  had  gone  out  of 
the  hands  of  the  democracy,  and  in  the  senate,  brutal  violence 
rioting  almost  unchecked,  was  giving  a  fatal  indication,  that  m 
the  growing  weakness  of  the  better  thought,  the  worst  features 
of  party  existence  were  assuming  direction.     Under  such  circum- 
stances delay  might  help  the  men  of  Kansas,  and  could  hardly 
injure  them,  when  their  friends  were  improving  their   position 

evei'y  hour. 

The  costs  of  the  Wakarusa  war  were  found  to  have  slightly 
exceeded  $1,000,  in  addition  to  the  sum  expended  after  the  re- 
turn of  Gen.  Schuyler  from  the  east,  hence  tiie  amount  of  scrip 
to  be  provided  for  by  the  state  legislature  showed  a  total  of 
$15,26(3,  bating  a  few  cents.     That  amount  would  have  been  pro- 
vided for  in  due  course,  according  to  the  promise  contained  in  the 
Topeka  constitution,  but  the  first  state  government  could  not  sur- 
vive tlie  difficulties  with  which  it  gallantly  struggled,  and  event- 
ually the  scrip  became  of  no  value  in  the  market ;  but  the  men 
who  had  bought  it  had  not  gone  into  the  venture  for  the  sake  of 
pecuniary  gain ;  they  had  given  freely  from  their  means  to  sustain 
a  gallant  struggle,  and  they  were  inoie  than  repaid  by  the  event 
The  members  of  the  first  free  state  legislature  in  Kansas  were 
men  of  intellect  and  courage,  and  their  names  will  live  in  lus- 
tory ;  without  that  record  the  history  of  the  conflicts  of  1856 
would  be  incomplete,  and  they  are  given  in  this  place  for  more 
convenient  reference. 

/Senators. -Adams,  J.  M.Cole,  J.  Curtis,  J.  Daily,  -  Dunn, 

L  Fish,  r.  Fuller,  J.  C.  Green,  13.  Harding,  G.  S.  llillyer,  H.  M. 

Hook  J.  M.  Irvin,  D.  E.  Jones,  S.  B.  McKenzie,  B.  W.  Miller, 

J  E.  Pillsbury,  J.  K.  Rhaum,  T.  G.  Thornton,  W.  W.  Updegraff. 

Iiei>resentalives.-S,.  N.  Hartwell,  J.  B.  Abbott,  John  Hutching- 


u 


.i.iMm  \M'\Uttmmtim 


Kassas  Conflicts  —  Evr.yrs  of  1856. 


309 


It  was  now 
rcigii  of  the 
Kit  tho  peo- 
aloof  from 
eat  thought 
ui'gai  ligation 
on,  hat'   not 
eeu  held  for 
gone  out  of 
tal  violence 
tion,  tliat  ill 
arst  features 
such  circum- 
;()uld  hardly 
leir   position 

lave  slightly 
after  the  re- 
^unt  of  scrip 
id  a  total  of 
ive  been  pro- 
itained  in  the 
ould  not  sur- 
d,  and  event- 
but  the  men 
)r  the  sake  of 
ms  to  sustain 
by  the  event 
Kansas  were 
.  live  in  his- 
licts  of  1856 
)lace  for  more 

ily,  —  Dunn, 
lillyer,  H.  M. 
B.  W.  Miller, 
\V.  Updegrali'. 
»hn  Hutching- 


son,  IT.  F.  Saunders,  James  Blood,  C.  Ilornsbury,  E.  B.  Purdam, 
J.  McGoc,  M.  C.  Dickey,  W.  R  Frost,  W.  A.  Sumnerwcll,  S. 
^fcWhinney,  S.  T.  Shores,  S.  R  l^aldwin,  David  lieos,  D.  W. 
Cannon,  Isaac  Landers,  J.  M.  Arthur,  II.  II.  Williams,  II.  W. 
Lubor,  A.  B.  Marshall,  J.  D.  Adams,  T.  W.  Piatt,  Bees  Furby, 
]5.  II.  Brock,  John  Landis,  E.  It.  Zimmerman,  W.  T.  Burnett,  L. 
P.  Patty,  F,  A.  Minard,  Isaac  Cady,  Thomas  Bowman,  J.  Brown, 
Jr.,  Henry  Tt)dd,  J.  Hornby,  Abraham  Barre,  lliciiard  Murphy, 
"William  Hicks,  B.  R.  Martin,  William  Bayliss,  J.  W.  Stevens, 
J.  K.  Eilsaid,  S.  J.  Campbell,  S.  Go.slin,  II.  B.  Strandiford,  Isaac 
B.  Higgins,  T.  J.  Addis,  D.  Toothman,  William  McClure,  J,  B. 
Wctsori,  William  B.  Wade,  A.  Jameson,  A.  D.  Jones,  Willio.m 
Crosby,  S.  S])arks,  li.  P.  Brown,  A.  Fisher. 

Congre.'!sional  action  during  December  and  January,  185o-8, 
became  of  great  moment  to  the  settlers  in  Kansas.  Nine  weeks 
were  consumed  in  ineffectual  ballotings  before  the  house  of 
representatives  could  organize  by  electing  a  speaker,  and  at 
length,  when  it  had  become  apparent  that  there  was  no  party  in 
the  house  strong  enough  to  obtain  an  absolute  majority  of  tho 
members  present,  it  was  resolved  to  end  the  deadlock  which  was 
injuriously  aflecting  public  bu.siness,  by  allowing  a  plurality  of 
votes  to  carry  the  sense  of  the  house.  The  result  of  that  move- 
ment was,  that  Mr.  N.  P.  Banks  was  chosen  speaker,  and  in  that 
fact,  a  man  well  known  to  Massachu.setts,  and  in  every  way 
worthy  of  trust  by  the  freesoil  party  came  to  the  front.  In  the 
house  the  popular  party  had  olstained  control,  and  were  not  to  lose 
their  ground  again  until  many  years  had  pas.sed  away.  In  the 
senate  there  were  savage  attacks  upon  men  because  of  their  social 
position,  or  their  want  of  social  position,  which  were  soon  after- 
wards to  degenerate  into  a  form  of  brutality  still  worse,  but  tho 
popular  party  were  daily  gaining  ground.  The  house  of  repre- 
sentatives had  for  Kansas  more  interest,  because  to  that  body,  the 
two  delegates  recently  chosen  in  Kansas  territory.  Gen.  Whit- 
field by  the  ruffians  from  Missouri  border,  and  Mr.  Reeder  by 
the  popular  vote  without  the  sanction  of  legal  forms,  must  appeal 
for  a  decision.  In  the  beginning  of  February  Gen.  Whitfield 
presented  himself  as  a  newly  elected  delegate,  the  forms  of  the 
house  were  complied  with,  the  member  was  intToduced,  the  cus- 


pwr«Ma|*«o«*WMP>^ 


810 


Tvrrjjfy  llisrouy  of  Kaxsas. 


tomary  oatli  was  subscribed,  atul  the  general  assumed  the  scat. 
No  sooner  had  tli;it  i)roceas  beeu  eouipletud  than  cx-(Jov.  A.  II. 
Iteeder  announced  in  proper  form  his  intention  to  contest  the 
position,  and  so  well  was  the  case  laid  before  tlie  house,  that 
instead  of  the  customary  handing  over  of  such  matters  to  be  dealt 
with  by  a  committee  on  tlie  si)ot,  a  special  committee  of  liu'ce 
was  appointed  on  tlie  IDth  of  March,  armed  with  all  the  powers 
of  the  house  itself,  with  aununoning  ollieers  and  clerks  sullieient 
for  every  purpose,  and  with  a  si'.flicient  appropriation  to  cover  all 
the  outlay  necessary  during  a  journey  of  two  thousand  miles  to 
the  scene  of  disturbance,  and  a  full  investigation  into  all  the 
statements  made  in  the  process  served  by  Mr.  lieeder.  The  men 
forming  tnat  potential  body  were  not  limited  b^'-  questions  of  dry 
law;  they  were  competent  to  look  into  the  ecpiitics  of  the  case 
under  eoiisideration,  to  call  for  persons  and  papers,  to  administer 
oaths,  and  to  compel  the  attendance  of  witnesses.  Although  the 
claim  made  by  Mr.  lieeder  was  the  beginning  of  the  investigation, 
the  committee  were  not  limited  to  that  question,  but  were  fully 
authorized  to  examine  into  and  report  upon  "the  troubles  in 
Kansas  generally,"  touching  all  elections  under  the  organic  law, 
"and  under  any  pretended  law."'  The  scope  of  the  inquiry  and 
the  powers  <;f  the  court  were  alike  as  full  as  the  occasion  might 
require,  and  should  there  be  manifested  at  any  point  a  design  to 
intimidate  and  overawe  the  members  in  the  execution  of  their 
duty,  the  president  was  requested  by  the  house  to  cause  military 
aid  to  be  aiTorded,  sufTicient  to  enable  them  to  pursue  their  inves- 
tii^'ation  unmolested.  This  was  a  new  feature  in  Kansas  experi- 
ences. Men  of  the  Leeompt  class  might  be  influenced,  if  not 
intimidated  into  acquiescence  or  vigorous  partiei}iation  in  the 
sciiemes  of  oppression,  but  this  committee  could  not  be  reached 
by  any  mechanism  known  to  the  Missourian  faction.  The  press 
in  the  border  towns  of  Kansas  might  be  broken  and  castjnto 
the  Missouri,  so  that  men  feared  to  say  the  thing  which  lay 
nearest  to  their  hearts,  lest  the  result  should  be  not  only  a 
ruffianly  assault,  but  the  destruction  of  the  means  whereby  a 
livelihood  could  be  procured  and  further  good  work  accomplished 
for  the  cause  ;  but  in  the  movements  of  this  committee  the  presses 
ail  over  the  union  would  be  set  to  work,  and  the  records  of  crime 


niiiffiMJiitrfi-ifiir" 


titimlileiA. 


Kansas  Coxrucrs  —  E fi-:yTs  or  l^'>n. 


311 


id  tlie  scat. 
Gov.  A.  11. 
contest  tho 
house,  that 

to  be  dealt 
;ec  of  ilireo 
tlie  })ovvcrs 
:s  sulUcient 
to  cover  all 
lid  miles  to 
iito  all  the 
The  men 
Lions  of  dry 
of  the  case 
I  administer 
Ithout'li  the 
vestigation, 
t  were  fully 
troubles  in 
rgauic  law, 
inquiry  and 
ision  might 

a  design  to 
ion  of  their 
use  military 
their  iiives- 
nsas  experi- 
leed,  if  not 
ition  in  the 

be  reached 

The  press 

id  cast. into 

f  wliich  lay 

not  only  a 

whereby  a 
ccomplished 
5  the  presses 
rds  of  crime 


lil&IWiMiSiiM' 


wliich  had  been  systematically  denied  in  one  place,  while  boasted 
of  ill  another,  would  find  currency  all  over  the  world,  to  the  dis- 
grace of  the  men  and  ))arties  who  had  lent  their  countenance  and 
support  to  such  abominable  pmccedings.  There  was  do  time  lost 
ill  preliminary  business;  there  was  urgency  in  the  business,  and 
before  Gen.  Atchison  and  his  party  were  quite  sure  that  tho 
spring  had  set  in,  the  committee  were  at  their  labors  in  Leeomp- 
ton.  The  committee  nominated  by  the  new  speaker  of  the  house, 
consisted  of  Messrs.  John  Sherman  of  Ohio,  Win.  A.  Howard  of 
:Michigaii,  and  Mordecai  Oliver  of  I^Iissouri.  They  commenced 
their  sittings  in  Lecompton,  April  18,  185(),  and  the  two  dele- 
gates who  were  present  were  requested  to  give  the  committee  their 
assistance  in  fathoming  the  truth,  by  making  such  suggestions  as 
were  likely  to  prevent  a  wrong  statement  going  uncontradicted. 
Witnesses  named  by  them  were  subpcunaed  by  the  committee, 
and  the  public  papers  likely  to  affect  the  case  were  duly  copied. 
From  Lecompton,  the  committee  adjourned  to  Lawrence,  where 
the  work  went  bravely  on,  and  from  that  point  to  others  all  over 
the  territory,  until  four  months  had  been  spent  in  procuring  evi- 
dence which  supported,  among  other  "facts  and  conclusions" 
now  slowly  coming  to  the  light,  .,ach  results  as  justified  the  com- 
mittee in  saying,  "  that  each  election  *  *  had  been  carried 
by  an  organized  invasion  from  *  *  Missouri."  ''That  the 
alleged  territorial  legislature  was  illegally  constituted  *  *  and 
their  enactments  *  *  void.  That  these  laws  bad  been  used 
for  unlawful  purposes."  That  Gen.  John  W.  Whitfield's  elec- 
tion was  not  valid,  and  that  the  election  of  Andrew  11.  Reeder 
"  was  not  held  in  pursuance  to  law,"  but  that  Mr.  Reeder  re- 
ceived more  votes  of  resident  citizens  than  Mr.  Whitfield.  It 
was  also  evident  to  the  committee  that  no  election  could  be  fairly 
held  without  ''a  new  census,"  a  stringent,  well  guarded  election 
law,  "impartial  judges,"  and  "United  States  troops"  in  every 
precinct ;  and  that  the  constitution  submitted  to  congress  "  em- 
bodied the  will  of  the  majority."  The  committee  did  not  give 
satisfaction  to  Missouri,  but  they  had  not  been  appointed  for  that 
purpose ;  they  had  succeeded  in  finding  the  truth  and  they  gave 
it  to  congress  and  to  the  world  in  more  than  three  hundred  depo- 
eitions,  with  numerous  documents,  filling  more  than  twelve  hun- 
dred octavo  pages. 


:.mi      .•«».;. 


312 


Tittles  llisrouy  of  Kassai^. 


"Mnuy  partio.s  had  joIirmI  to  procure  the  nomination  of  that  com- 
mittee, some  believing  tliat  tlie  free  state  men  would  be  found  as 
much  to  blame  as  the  border  rufhans ;  others  thought  there  had 
been  much  exaggtiratiou  ;  the  abolitionists  having  faith  in  their 
friends,  wanted  the  whole  truth  to  be  made  known  ;  and  the  gen- 
oral  public  acquiesced  in  the  nomination  as  a  step  toward  the 
reali/.aiion  of  justice.     Tlierc  was,  of  course,  a  party  which  had 
fought  the  iufpiiry  step  by  step ;  they  had  nothing  to  gain  by 
coming  out  into  the  daylight ;  and  on  a  closely  contested  vote,  in 
■which   191  members  were  represented,  the  committee  was  only 
carried  by  a  majority  of  eight.     The  facts  of  which  the  north  had 
now  become  possessed  more  than  justified  all  that  the  press  had 
hinted  in  its  occasional  correspondence,  but  not  one  syllable  of 
such  conlirmation  would  have  been   obtained  if  the  proslavcry 
party  could  have  negatived  the  motion.      They  knew  that  when 
the  truth  became  known,  the  beginning  of  the  end  would  have  ar- 
rived, and  that  unless  in  the  meantime  they  could  so  arrange  their 
forces  as  to  defy  jjublic  opinion,  their  chance  of  ultimate  success 
was  small  indeed.     Kansas  was,    and  they  knew  it,  the  key  to 
their  position,  and  they  were  prepared,  to  fight  for  victory  to  the 
bitter  end.     The  facts  were  now  patent  to  every  reading  man,  and 
indeed  to  every  man  that  walked  the  streets.     The  newsboys  in 
the  pursuit  of  their  vocation  shouted  the  main  items  of  sensational 
matter  as  an  incentive  to  the  purchase  of  their  sheets.     Congress 
rang  with  the  clamor  of  debute  night  after  night,  and  editorial 
columns  from  such  men  as  Horace  Greeley  demanded  an  answer 
to  the  question :  "  Would  the  free  states  submit  to  see  a  free  col- 
ony dragooned  to  death  by  border  rufTians  because  they  dared  to 
say  that  the  area  of  slavery  should  not  be  extended?  " 

The  men  across  the  border  had  not  been  held  back  even  dur- 
ing the  time  that  the  committee  sat ;  they  weie  now  as  near  to 
madness  as  was  consistent  with  their  being  outside  the  walls  of 
lunatic  asylums ;  they  said  that  all  their  forbearance  had  been 
thrown  away  ;  their  conduct  became  worse  than  ever.  Congress 
had  no  longer  an  atom  of  their  respect,  the  general  government 
•was  beneath  contempt  when  it  could  not  prevent  an  exposure 
such  as  must  now  supervene,  the  union  was  no  longer  worth  pre- 
servinjj,  and  against  all  the  forces  of  earth  and  heaven,  they  would 


uiJ>B<rtW»ilN<fa***M 


^mVt  1 


7v'.I.V.v.l.s'   COXFLK'TS  —  E VESTS  OF  18')6. 


313 


f  that  com- 
)C  fouiul  aa 
t  tliorc  had 
til  ill  tlioii' 
id  tlie  gcn- 
Loward  tlio 
which  had 
to  gain  by 
ted  vote,  in 
c  was  only 
3  north  had 
e  press  had 
syllable  of 
prorilavery 
,•  that  when 
lid  have  ar- 
rrange  their 
nte  succesa 
the  key  to 
t;tory  to  tho 
ig  man,  and 
iewsb(jys  in 
'  sensational 
Congress 
id  editorial 
d  an  answer 
c  u  free  col- 
ey  dared  to 

V  even  dur- 
w  as  near  to 
the  walls  of 
e  had  been 
'.  Congress 
government 
in  exposure 
r  worth  pre- 
they  would 


bring  tlio  machinations  of  the  nethermost  jiit  to  make  Kansas  a 
slave  state  at  all  hazards.  Tho  war  became  more  bitter  nt  every 
step.  The  policy  of  extermination  was  the  only  alternative  that 
remained.  The  Missouri  lliver  had  long  been  watched  by  gangs 
of  men  at  Lexington  and  elsewhere  to  annoy  ami  assault  emi- 
grants from  the  eastern  states  who  might  be  so  indiscreet  as  to  at- 
tempt that  dangerous  passage  ;  while  the  committee  sat  in  the 
territory  the  system  of  surveillance  was  being  carried  on  about 
forty  miles  from  the  territorial  boundary,  and  of  course  evidenco 
as  to  that  fact  was  certain  to  reach  the  committee.  A  steamer 
having  on  board  a  quantity  of  rilles  was  detained  at  Lexington, 
the  weajions  seized  as  contraband  of  war,  and  the  mob  of  Missou- 
rians  armed  with  the  property  of  other  men.  The  idea  was  moot- 
ed in  tho  press  that  the  Missouri  Kiver  should  be  regularly  block- 
aded, and  a  political  quarantine  station  established  at  Lexington, 
where  every  boat  should  be  regularly  searched  for  free  state  pas- 
sengers and  their  weapons,  and  that  no  infectious  papers  should 
be  permitted  to  pass  that  point.  Neither  mails,  cargo  nor  jiersons 
should  be  safe  against  their  most  odious  inquisition  ;  and  when 
the  free  settlers  were  thus  cut  off  from  being  succored  by  their 
friends,  there  would  be  less  difTiculty  in  disposing  of  the  settle- 
ments which  were  to  be  ridden  down  by  the  mounted  riflemen 
and  sharpshooters  from  the  south.  Immediately  before  the  com- 
mittee commenced  their  session  at  Lecompton,  the  Eev.  P.  Butler, 
who  has  been  mentioned  in  these  pages  before,  as  being  set  adrift, 
after  many  indignities,  on  a  Cottonwood  raft  on  the  Missouri  at 
Atchison,  was  once  more  seized  by  a  mob  in  the  same  town,  and 
subjected  to  innumerable  insults,  which  ended  in  a  mock  trial 
and  a  sentence  of  hanging.  The  ruffians  engaged  in  this  exquisite 
sport  were  some  of  the  chivalrous  young  men  of  the  south  re- 
cently imported  in  response  to  the  cry,  "  we  want  armed  men." 
The  noncombatant  clergyman  was  of  course  fair  game  on  which 
to  try  "  their  'prentice  hands,"  so  that  they  might  earn  their  pas- 
sage, their  sustenance,  and  their  bounty  in  land,  by  doing  essen- 
tial service  to  the  cause.  Having  failed  to  "  extend  the  area  of 
slavery  "  by  such  enlightened  proceedings,  they  next  stripped  the 
defenseless  man  to  the  waist,  tarred  and  feathered  him,  and  then 


I 

w 


3l4 


Tirrr.t.'s  llisrour  or  Kashas. 


w;iit  liitii   on  liis  jounioy  with  iiii  iissuniiico  tliiit  lie  would   bo 
liuiigi;il  .should  ho  ever  agiiiu  bo  soeu  iu  Atohi.soii. 

Tho  Kansas  conimitteo  subinitlod  iho  ovidouco  and  thoir  ro- 
port  to  the   house  of  ropro.suntatives   on  tho    lirrft  day  o£  Julji 
18")(!,  and  ininu'diatoiy  after  that  cvont  tho  conmiittoo  on  con- 
testod  I'loclious  oanio  tlown  to  the  liou.so  with   their  rcconuncnda- 
tion  tliat  (ion.  Whilliolil  .shoidd  bo  unseatod,  and  his  opponent, 
tho  Hon.  A.  11.  Jiooder,  be  declared   the  .sitting  ineniber.     Tho 
resolution  embodying  tho  two  proposilion-s,  wa.s  lost;  but  upon 
the  (pu'stion  being  divided,  the  liouse  unsealed  Mr.  Whittiold  on 
August  -Itli,  by  a  vole  of  ilO  again.-l  !I2.     Tiie  pro-slavery  party 
was  one  vote  weaker  than  when  tho  conwnitteo  was  appointed,  and 
tho  popular  vote  was  stronger  by  nine.     The  proi)osal  to  seat  Mr. 
Iloeder  had  a  rospeetablo  minority  of  8S   in  its   favor,  but  it  was 
iiegative.l  by   Ho.     Tlio  tide  had   turned,  but   it  moved  .slowly 
and  it  was  somethii)  \,  that  by  tho  middle  of  iHolJ,  a  vote  so  strong 
as  that  eould  be  obiained  on  that  i.ssuo  in  the  hou.sc.    Stephen  A. 
Douglas  had  been  heard  on  his   popular  sovereignty  nostrum  in 
the  .senate,  and  had  been  answered  with  many  withering  rebukes, 
and  tho  whole  of  the  inllueneeof  Ma.ssaehusetls,  which  printed  and 
circidated  more  new.spapers  than  tho  liftceu  southern  states,  was 
being  moved  like  tho  strength  of  one  nuin  against  the  tyrannous 
party  which  had  stricken  down  with  a  coward's  blow  one  of  tho 
ablest  and  truest  men  in  the  senate,  and  then  had  justified  the 
outrage  with  such  words  as  were  even  worse  than  the  physical 
as.sault  upon  Charles  Sumner,     The  year  was  bearing  fruit,  and 
the  popular  party  was  advancing  steadily  to  the  front. 


i;  iMitf^mUltamm 


mil"  liiiiiiifii 


0  would   bo 

ml  their  ro- 
ay  of  July, 
Ltoo  on  coil- 
cct)ii\inonda- 
is  opponent, 
•nibcr.  Tho 
t ;  but  upon 
WliitticKl  on 
luvcry  piU'ty 
•pointed,  and 
il  to  seat  Mr. 
I',  but  it  wan 
oved  .slowly 
oto  so  strong 

Stephen  A. 
^  nostrum  in 
ing  rebukes, 
li  ])rinted  and 
II  states,  was 
lie  tyrannous 
)W  one  of  tlio 
justified  the 

the  physical 
ng  fruit,  and 
t. 


Kas'sas  CoShLKTs—  l-:n:s'rs  of  hiki. 


815 


CllAI'TKU    Xlll. 

TKlilllToltlAli    IIISToUV. 
imnliiiutil.) 

KAltLY  KANSAS  ( ONFLUTS- KVKNTS  OF  IHM. 

Free  H(tll<ts    IIclplcss— I'loclumMtioii   WoiUin.i:--Frf«'  Stato  Sympiitliy — 
Miishriiii;-  :''>i'  I'.iiulf—  Anniil  muI  l{(;»ay—  Not  II'>iui's  l)iil  Wiir  —  Pub- 
lic Miriiii;,'s—  Lccliiri's  oil  Kaiisiis  —  .1  ml,i;c  Wooil  —  C'xii.siiiii'.iinml  Ol). 
lljjiilioiH  —  Oiif-siilfil     l{ocii«-.)uUy  —  «oulli«iii     F.nces  —  I'li'siaciillul 
Autlidiiiy  —  niitonl'!*  Contiiif,"'"'  — II"i»''"^''''"l'*  ■'"''   Sliiui,'liti'r  —  Mine 
iiLiri'liiiic  -TiikiiigtlicOalli  — Soullii'in  lloiior  —  I'hiii  olOpciiitioiis  — 
AiTcst  1111. 1   I'rdsecilto—  Woiul  und  tlu'  SlicrilV—  l\cci)iiiK  Siililialli  —  Ucs- 
(Mic  Smiiilit  —  Sieziii-i'  ot'Tappan  —  Slrikiiiu;  llii'  Slu'iiH'— Tioopi^  l)<inand. 
t.,l_Tcii  SiililuTs— Col,  Hmnner's    Coun(^Hy  —  I'unisliiii.i;  t"«iileinpt  — 
Illc;.'al  Delfiillon—  WihmI'h  i'.xil--  Slioniiiin  .loiics  —  hawn'MCf  Dcuoiin- 
co»  AssuHsin— Ucward  lor  Arrest  —  SlicrilV    Deputy —Coiiliiiuoiis  Ar- 
rests—  UriiiisDir.s  Uoscucrs—  Free  SctllerH  at  Hay  —  Trooii.s  Marching  — 
Lawrence  F.iviroiu'il—  Kansas  InvesliiiatoiH  — WhiHiiilil's  Fears  — Slmn- 
iioiiK's   DiscM-elioa- Sumner   not    Wanted  —  Sumner   and    Uoliinsou  — 
Vindieatinj:  Lawrence  — Arrest  of    Ueeder— Pnt-Sluveiy   Hate  — Coa- 
gi-essional   I'rivile.ire— Nulnral  Hii?lits—  High  Treason —  Chiel'  Justico 
Leeompte  — (Iraml  llatloii  — Arrest  of  Stale  Oovernment  —  Missouriim 
Designs—  Mine  and  Counlermine—  Delendinj,'  Institutions  — Arrest  of 
Uobinson  — The  Govern()r's  Wile—  Detention  Unauthorized  —  Shannon 
ft  Tool  — Prisoner    iu   Danger  —  Ueeder   Escapes— IJrown   Captured  — 
Sheltered   by   Love  —  Indicted    lor  Treason— Marching  to  Lawrence  — 
Rulllim  Pretexts  — Horder  Motto  —  Shannon   Censured  —  .Marshal's  Pro- 
clamalion  — City  Alarmed  — Appeal  to  Governor  — Horder  Coercion  — 
Abandon  Defense  —  Citizens  Ueplication  —  Leaders  Absent  —  Anarchy  — 
Safety     Conniiiltee  —  General      Pomeroy  —  Submission  —  Discontent  — 
Southern      Chivalry  —  Depredations  — Sergeant-at- Anns    Imprisoned  — 
Manifold   Seizures  —  Terms   for  Surrender— Denial  of  Accusatiims — 
What  do    you   Seek  — Constituted  Authorities  — U.   S.  Marshal— Tho 
Keeder  Escape— Conqueror's  Taunt  — Insolent  Kll'rontery-  Still  Plead- 
iug  — Visiting    Shannon- Envoys   Imprisoned  — Troops   Vv'aiting  Or- 
ders- OfVer    to    Surrender  — Deputation    Arrested  — Hideous    Night- 
mare—Murder    Reigns  — Uesistance      is      Rebellion —Col.     Sumner's 
Duty— Doomed  to  Destruction- May  21,  18.10- Policy  of  Weakness  — 
Southern  Rights  — Weeping  not  Fighting  — President's  Victory  —  Mak- 
ing  Arrests  — Slieriff  Jones    Commander- Pitiful   Declaratiim  —  Sur- 
render  Arms  — Submission  or  Bombai'duient  —  Cannon  Abandoned  — 


mmmmmmitnii^J^' '''  ^ 


^0  Trrn.r's  Ilismity  of  K.ixs.ts. 

AtcliUon  on  the  Slnin|.-/W, ,.'/./  ./.<  r<,rthnfr>-Trm\rrnv*»  to 
1\'omfn-rinul  Oniric  -  Army  witli  Uiinnrrs— Hnpniur  Hikt --Hul)tcr. 
f„,„,,_V..nu'fuiuT-n..wn  wllli  tl.o  I'rcsH  -  Fluiui'  Uisiiitc  I..  Il.uvfii  — 
AVurk  .11'  Uuiii  — Writ-  Ia'tuLmI  — lUot  luxl  I'IiuhI.'I  —  Killol  iiml 
Wuun.l.'d-  IIhin.'  Slc.tlin--  Wnii-inv  ilir  S|.oils -Soi.il.cn.  nisKUHl- 
Ilum..n  U.'J()lclnK*-ll..l.')inK  HmiTs  -  hcvH  Kv.iy  S(nl....r.,i  -  Slmn- 
noiiN  (•..i.i|.liM.i.<--IIai'vcHl  r,ml,.n,i;i'ml-I).'rcnsc  Incvit.ibli'- U-i.n- 
B„ls  _  Frr..  Slut.'  (lu.rillas  -  I'lvHC-ve  I'r.uM!  -  Ci.t.  Wulkcr-^.VH)  lor 
ft  |[,.,..l-C;.u.tur.rsCni.llve-Mr.rN  Mi^plm...! -.I...l,«.;  WukHlrl,!  Pns. 
..M.T-Ouoru'lim  Ki.lcri.rlst.-Ass,i..lls  iu..l  Mi>l..iiw- Fn.slinK  hh.m. 
lion— Sciircli  |\,i\Vfi»ipniiH-('ongiv«Hloni.l('nmmiil.r  — Cnpt.  Hemp  — 
Lciivcnworth  Or.l.T- Vi'-'ilmu'.'  Coi,imi..„l<T- Wurrm  I).  Wilk.'!t  — 
U(l,'n  of  Tirror—  How  Lou',',  (>  Loril!  How  Long  I 


I 


TiiK  free  settlors  in  Kiinsas  were  now  holi)lcH8  in  the  presence 
of   their  enemies,  not  beeauso   ilu<y  litid   uoi  .-tout  hearts  and 
Htrong  arms,  as  well  as  trusty  weapons  as  of  yore,  when  they  had 
held  the  forces  of  the  Missonrian  faction  at  arms  length  and  dic- 
tatc.l  the  terms  upon  which  a  pa.'ification  had  been  concluded; 
but  the  president's  proclamation  was  doing  the  deadly  work  that 
was  designed  by  its  fabricators,  and,  in  its  letter  and  spirit,  the 
free  state  men  saw  that  tluiy  could  only  proceed  with  the  vuidica- 
tion  of  their  rights  as  .•ili/cns  of  the  United  Slates  on    Kansas 
territory  by  entering  upon  a  contest  with   the  whole  force  of  the 
Union.     Prudential  considerations  as  well  as  patriotism  said  that 
they  must  bear  and  forbear  greatly  rather  th.an  be  betrayed  into 
a  position  so  terrible  as  that.     The  sympathy  of  the  free  states, 
whicli  was  now  steadily  rising  to  fever  heat,  would  have  gone 
down  to  zero  in  a  moment  if  it  had  appeared  that  there  was  a 
desi-n  to  rise  in  rebellion  against  the  general       vernment,  how- 
evei^mistakcn  had  been  the  policy  of  Mr.  Pierce,  and  their  own 
feelings  forbade  one  step  in  that  direction.     Supposing  the  con- 
flict to  continue,  as  it  had  con.menccLl,  between  border  ruffians 
and  free  soilcrs,  there  would  speedily  have  been  an  end  of  the 
fight ;  nor  would  the  addition  of  a  few  hundred  or  thousands  from 
the  southern  states  have  been  an  insuperable  difficulty,  for  the 
men  from  the  eastern  states  and  the  noilh  were  mustering  for  the 
onslaught,  armed  and  ready,  in  such  numbers  and  with  such  en- 
thusiasm as  would  have  borne  down  the  southern  troops  twice 
told,  and  the  men  who  came  at  this  era  were  not  speculators  seek- 


K.issAS  CoxFUCTn  —  KyKSTs  OF  i>'.v;. 


SIT 


Triulfriiri**    to 

Uacr  --Siililcr- 

111?  tolliiivi'n  — 

r — Killiil  and 
licrii  l>isKii»«i  — 

lciU''Ml,  —  Sllllll- 

vitiiblc  —  Ki'iiri- 
ilkcr  — i|i.VM)  lor 

Wiikftlilil  I'lis. 

KiMsi'm^'  Slum- 
-Cnpt.  Ili'iup  — 
I,    I).   Wilk.s  — 


iho  presence 
It  hcartrt  and 
'hen  thoy  Imd 
Migth  nntl  tlic- 
•n  concluded ; 
lly  work  tliat 
md  spirit,  the 
th  tlu!  viiidica- 
;ea  on   Kansas 
e  force  of  the 
)tisni  said  that 
betrayc<I  into 
he  free  states, 
dd  have  gone 
it  there  was  a 
rernment,  how- 
and  their  own 
osing  the  con- 
border  ruffians 
an  end  of  the 
thousands  from 
fficulty,  for  the 
istering  for  the 
1  with  such  en- 
n  troops  twice 
peculators  seek- 


inj?   investin.M.t.,  nor  srlllor.  primarily  in  search  of  ho.u.v,  but 
„>en  whose  nunds  ha.l  been  tired  by  the  recital  of  the  wrongs  o 
their  kindred  and  eager  for  battle  in   their  behalf.      Ihero  had 
been  many  public  meetings  held  in  the  free  states,  and  lectures  ou 
the  condition  ..f  Kansas  had  aroused  such  interest  m    the  move 
n.ents  of  the  resident  population  as   must  find  an   outlet   u.   tlio 
ubundant  energies  of    the  n.orc  warlike   in   every  comnuuuty. 
M.ny  .,t  the  lighting  men  were  settlers  also,  but  the  necessity  for 
H  struggle  had  tor  then,  a  higher  char.n  than  the  eu^crald  green 
of  the  fertile  glades  in  which  they  would   make  their  homes,  or 
h.y   down  their  lives,  as  the  chances  of  war   n.iyht  deter.nme. 
.lud.n,  Wood,  not  th.en  risen  to  the  offiee  which   entitled  him  to 
the  appellation,  had  gone  e:ist  after  the  Wakarusa  war  was  over, 
because  it  was  advisable  to  avoi.l  an  arrest  for  lus  share  m   the 
rescue  of  Branson,  and  he  was  one  of  the  ablest  lecturers  on  the 
wrongs  endured  in  the  territory.     In  April,  185(5,  he  came  back 
to  his  ado,,ted  city,  bringing  with  hi.a  one  hundred  free  settlers 
prepared  to  share  the  toils  and  the  destiny  of  the  colony       1  here 
hud  been  no  wrong  d,)ne  by  liim  in  rescuing  Branson,  for  whom 
he  had  acted  as  an  attorney,  demanding  to  see  the  m.strument 
u.ulcr  which  the  old  man  had  been  captured,  but  his  absence  from 
Kansas  had  been  advised,  because,  in  the  then  condition  of  the 
courts,  neither  law  nor  justice  would  be  administered   unless  it 
suited  the  Missourian  faction.     The  men  that  accompamed   Mr. 
Wood  on  his  return,  and  hundrcls  besides  who  were  sooi.  to 
join  them  in  the  land  of  their  adoption,  were  of  course  poweness 
to  help  the  cause  which  they  had  at  heart,  bccaiise  o    the  one 
sided  reciprocity  established  by  the  president,  in  winch  free  state 
men  must  sit  down  meekly  under  oppression,  and  the  pro-s  avery 
party  could  enforce  their  usurpations  under  the  name  and    or.u 
of  law.     The  southern  recruits  veru  just  as  enthusiastic  as  ti.e.r 
opponents,  and  there  was  nothing  to  damp  their  ardor.     If  they 
were  in  the  wrong,  they  did  not  know  enough  to  be  aware  of  tha 
discouraging  fact,  as  they  had  been  born  and  educated  among 
slave  institutions,  taught  to  consider  the  ordination   of    n  go 
bondage  as  God  appointed,  and  accustomed  to  think    he  wd. 
earth  as  only  meant  for  slave  plantations;  moreover,  the>  were 
reinforced  at  every  point  by  the  presidential  proclamation. 


818 


'TvTTijfs  UisroitY  Oh'  K.tys.ts. 


Ill  speaking  thus  of  the  men  from  the  south,  it  must  not  be 
supposed  tliat  they  were  all  so  high  toned  as  to  care  whether  they 
were  right  or  wrong,  and  many  a  southern  gentleman  saw  enough 
of  his  comrades  in  his  first  campaign   to  determine  him  against 
any  furtlier  participation  in  the  difhculty.     Many  of  the  men  who 
formed  Col.  Buford's  contingent  were  such  characters  as  no  honest 
man  would  willin  ^ly  associate  with,  attracted  by  mercenery  con- 
siderations mainly,  and  looking  more  toward  plunder  than  even 
to  the  warlike  service  for  which  they  were  not  disinclined.     The 
commandant  of  the  force  was  robbed  by  his  own  gang  before  they 
arrived  in  the  state  of  IMissouri,  and  many  of  the  border  ruffians 
shrank  from  such  disreputable  company.     Their  ideas  of  rneum 
et  tuHiii  were  so  lax  that  tliey  did  not  even  practice  "  honor  among 
thieves."     Their  homesteads,   should   they  be  obtained,   would 
speedily  melt  into  whisky,  and  there  was  no  danger  of  their  be- 
coming permanent  residents  in  the  territory,  unless  strong  prisons 
were  built  for  their  accommodation.     Before  entering  the  terri- 
tory, the  Buford  company  were  sworn  on  bended  knees  in  a  man- 
ner revolting   and   brutal,   which   would   have   made  "  Kirke's 
Lambs  "  .shudder,  black  as  they  have  been  painted  by  Macaulay. 
But  such  items  do  not  call  for  detailed  statement,  and  their  mis- 
deeds will  speak  for  themselves.     Pending  the  commencement  of 
active  service  these  worthies  were  quartered  in  the  border  towns, 
and  Missouri  must  have  borne  its  daily  cross  with  many  shrugs 
of  impatience  and  discontent.     The  other  companies  were  vari- 
ously composed  of  men  who  believed  they  were  engaged  in  a  holy 
enterprise,  and  others  who  sought  nothing  but  free  quarters  in  an 
enemy's  country  for  twelve  months,  and  the  pay  which  would  re- 
ward their  brutality ;  with  all  the  grades  of  character  necessary 
to  fill  in  between  the  two  extremes.     Now  that  the  levies  from 
the  south  were  in  position,  it  was  necessary  to  move  with  such 
skill  as  that  the  forces  of  the  Union  should  be  neutralized,  or 
compelled  to  act  with  the  proslavery  party.     While  Jefferson 
Davis  remained  secretary  of  war  in  the  Pierce  cabinet,  there  would 
be  no  uncertain  sound  from  that  quarter,  but  it  was  necessary  to 
be  wise  as  serpents,  although  they  did  not  emulate  the  harinless- 
ness  of  the  dove.     The  territorial  enactments,  as  we  have  seen, 
were  oppressive  in  the  last  degree,  as  well  as  the  work  of  usurp- 


■W;m!>-»W!Pt-WJ  'gJ^PPW 


luuui  I  ,<  .ij^itfUuaueB)*i»K 


Kansas  Coxflicts  —  Evexts  of  1856. 


319 


must  not  be 
whether  thoy 
1  saw  enough 
}  him  aj^ainst 
the  men  who 
i  as  DO  honest 
ercenery  con- 
ler  than  even 
iclined.  The 
ig  before  they 
lorder  ruffians 
leas  of  rneum 
honor  among 
ained,  would 
er  of  their  be- 
strong  prisons 
ing  the  terri- 
lees  in  a  man- 
ade  "  Kirke's 
by  Macaulay. 
and  their  mis- 
mencement  of 
border  towns, 

many  shrugs 
ies  were  vari- 
iged  in  a  holy 
quarters  in  an 
lich  would  re- 
cter  necessary 
[le  levies  from 
ove  with  such 
leutralized,  or 
hile  Jefferson 
!t,  there  would 
IS  necessary  to 
!  the  harmless- 
we  have  seen, 
!7ork  of  usurp- 


ers, consequently  they  were  distasteful  to  free  settlers,   and  it 
would  be  only  necessary  to  enforce  tliem  in  letter  and  spirit  to 
evoke  some  show  of  discontent,  sufficient  to  warrant  a  demand  for 
a  posse  covutatus,  failing  to  obtain  whicli,  the  president's  message, 
proclamation,  and  orders  would  suffice  for  every  purpose  of  spoiU- 
ation.     Tlie  scheme  was  devised  with  devilish  ingenuity,  and  it3 
execution  was  worthy  of  a  fiend.     Old  and  trivial  offenses  were 
rehashed  to  justify  arrests.    Shortly  after  Mr.  S.  N.  Wood  s  return 
to  Lawrence,  Sheriff  Jones  took  him  a  prisoner  April  19, 18ob,  for 
the  old  offense  in  the  case  of  Branson,  but  a  diversion  was  effected 
in  the  streets,  ^fr.  Jones  was  disturbed  in  the  execution  of  his 
duty,  and  Mr.  ^Yood  walked  leisurely  away.     The  sheriff  went 
to  Lecompton,  procured  a  posse  of  four  men  and  returned  to  the 
eitv  on  the  Sunday  following  to  arrest  the  men  who  had  inter- 
fered with  him.     J^Ien  going  to  church  were  called  upon  to  aid 
liim  in  the  execution  of  his  self  imposed  duty,  and  when  they 
went  on  to  their  places  of  worship  their  names  were  duly  entered 
in  the  sheriff's  book  as  guilty  of  contempt.     The  plot  was  work- 
ing well.     The  search  for  Wood  was  of  little  consequence,  except 
as°a  means  of  annoyance,  but  while  it  was  onward,  Mr.  Tappan, 
who  had  also  been  in  the  Branson  escapade,  was  seized  without  u 
warrant,  and  roughly  handled  by  the  officer.     After   satisfying 
himself  that  Jones  had  no  authority  to  touch  him,  the  gentleman 
assailed  illustrated  the  force  of  a   blow  sent  square  from  the 
shoulder,  and  the  sheriff  retired  with  more  rapidity  than  grace. 
There  was  provocation  enough  now  to  warrant  extreme  proceed- 
ings and  a  requisition  was  penned  immediately  for  United  States 
troops  to  aid  in  the  arrest  of  nearly  all  the  principal  men  in  Law- 
rence    Gov.  Shannon  had  now  fallen  back  under  the  control  of 
the  Missourian  party,  and  he  complied  at  once  with  the  demand. 
Under  the  circumstances,  that  officer  was  bound  to  do  as  he  was 
requested,  and  Col.  Sumner  sent  a  detachment  of  ten  men  under 
a  lieutenant  to  assist  the  sheriff.     The  detachment  left  Fort  Leav- 
enworth April  22,  1856,  and  at  the  same  time  the  commandant 
sent  to  the  mavor  of  Lawrence  a  very  courteous  note,  informing 
him  of  the  action  taken,  and  counseling  compliance  with  the  laws, 
but  expressing  no  opinion  on  the  merits  of  the  dispute. 

The  troops  arrived  on  the  following  day,  and  six  men  were 


820 


TvTTLKs  HisToitr  OF  Kass.is. 


arrested  for  having  gone  to  clmrcb  on  Sunday  instead  oE  •'^S'^>^ting 
the  sherifT  in  arresting  persons  that  ho  was  unable  to  find,      ihe 
citizens  arrested  should  have  been  taken  before  a  justieo  at  once, 
but  instead  of  that  e.uirse  being  taken,  they  were  lodged  m  cus- 
tody, in  violation  of  law,  apparently  in  the  hope  of  further  exas- 
peration affording  greater  scope  for  ofTieial  tyranny.     Tlut  niglit, 
while  the  sherifl'  remained  in  the  tent  of  the  dragoon  officer,  lie 
was  shot  by  some  person,  who  succeeded  in  keeping  his  secret  so 
well  that  it  has  never  yet  transpired.     The  injury  was  not  mor- 
tal, but  it  provoked  the  citizens  of  Lawrence  more  than  any  other 
event  in  the  war,  as  it  tended  to  cast  the  blame  of  a.ssassi nation 
over  the  whole  settlement.     Tliere  were  few  in  the  free  settlers 
camp  that  doubted  that  Uv.  Jones  had  committed  crimes  of  a  deep 
dye  against  society,  that  deserved  punishment,  but  no  man  had 
one  w°ord  to  say  in  defen.se  of  assassination.     A  public  meeting 
was  convened  to  give  expression  to  the  indignation  of  the  com- 
munity, and  a  reward  of  $500  was  ollered  for  the  conviction  of 
the  oilcnder ;  but  no  discovery  resulted.     An  event  more  unfor- 
tunate for  Lawrence  could  hardly  be  imagined,  because  it  gave 
to  the  men  across  the  border  precisely  such  an  excuse  for  :it.   >ii 
as  they  had  sedulously  endeavored  to  find.     A  deputy  w. 
pointed  to  earrv  on  the  sheriff's  work,  and  arrests  were  now    o- 
tinuous.     Numbers  wore  seized  on  the  pretense  that  they  had 
contemned  the  authority  of  the  sherifl,  or  refused  to  help  him, 
and  the  United  Slates  marshal,  a  man  from  South  Carolina,  made 
himself  conspicuous  in  such  proceedings.     The  rescue  of  Bran- 
t;on  was  made  the  plea  for  innumerable  processes,  and  the  men 
threatened  by  these  jacks  in  office  sought  refuge  in  the  surround- 
ing country,  being  hunted  from  place  to  place  by  the  dragoons 
acting  as  the  sheriff's  posse.     All  this  whde  the  ruffians  from 
across  the  border  were  marching  upon  the  city.     Before  the  shot 
was  fired  at  the  sheriff,  the  Delaware  reservation  had  been  occu- 
pied for  several  days  by  one  company,  and  now  the  whole  coun- 
try was  scoured  by  patrols  on  horseback,  so  that  no  man  could 
enter  Lawrence  or  leave  it  without  being  subject  to  an  inquisi- 
tion.    The  Kansas  congressional   committee  were  then   sitting 
here,  and  Gen.  Whitfield  declared  that  himself  and  his  witnesses 
were  in  danger,  but  the  committee  could  not  be  induced  to  ad- 


Kassas  ('itxi-i.icrs  —  K\j:m.s  or  />•'»'». 


321 


(1  of  assisting 
Lo  find.  The 
slice  lit  once, 
oilgcd  in  CLis- 

furlher  cxas- 

Tli.it  niglit, 

lon  officer,  he 

i^  his  secret  so 

was  not  mor- 
han  any  other 

assassination 

0  free  settlers' 
imes  of  a  deep 
,  no  man  had 
ublic  meeting 
•n  of  the  coni- 

convietion  of 
t  more  unfor- 
eeause  it  gave 
!use  for  :u,  '•>n 
leputy  V. 
were  now  '/''■ 
that  they  had 

to  help  him, 
Carolina,  made 
escue  of  Bran- 
s,  and  the  men 

1  the  surround- 
'  the  dragoons 
!  ruffians  from 
Before  the  shot 
tiad  been  occu- 
he  whole  coun- 

no  man  could 
;  to  an  inquisi- 
•e  then  sitting 
i  his  witnesses 
induced  to  ad- 


journ until  the  work  at  that  i)oint  was  completed.  The  environ- 
ment of  Lawrence  having  become  known  to  Col.  Sumner,  tiiat 
officer  proceeded  from  Lfavenworth  to  Lecompton  with  his  wholo 
command,  to  oiler  his  advice  and  aHsi.-laiice  to  «iov.  Sliamion, 
and  a  simple  acceptance  of  that  aid  by  .\[r.  Shannon  would  have 
dissipated  the  war  cloud  at  once;  but  the  help  which  cituhl  bo 
invoked  .<o  freely  against  the  .settlers  was  not  wanted  for  their 
defense,  and  the  military  were  now  relieved  from  duty,  except 
that  the  services  of  a  small  posse  would  continue  the  show  of  Uni- 
ted States  trooi)s  on  tlu;  side  of  the  faction,  witln>ut  endangering 
the  succc.'^s  of  their  ultimate  intentions.  While  near  Lawrence, 
Col.  Sumner  wrote  to  Cov.  Uobin.son,  giving  his  views  as  to  tlio 
course  which  should  be  taken,  ami  the  doctor  replied,  showing 
what  had  been  done  by  the  citizens  to  show  their  regard  for  law 
and  order. 

The  continued  presence  of  ex-Cov.  lleeder  in  the  sessions  of  tho 
committee,  where  he  examined  liis  own  witnesses  and  cross  exam- 
ined the  witnes.ses  of  the  other  side  with  great  acumen  was  au 
eyesore  to  his  enemies,  and  he  was  subp(jona(!d  to  come  before  tho 
in-and  jury  of  Douglas  county,  lie  was  aware  that  his  attentl- 
ance  upon  the  committee  representing  the  highest  court  in  the 
union,  congress  itself,  was  a  sufficient  answer  to  the  summons  of 
the  grand  jury,  and  he  acted  accordingly;  for  which  act  of  con- 
tempt a  writ  was  issued  and  Mr.  Iteeder  was  arrested  in  the  com- 
mittee room.  The  motive  could  not  be  questioned  ;  the  prosla- 
very  men  had  long  hated  the  governor  that  would  not  be  gov- 
erned, the  lawyer  that  could  not  be  duped,  and  beyond  all  doubt 
he  would  have  fared  badly  at  the  hands  of  the  border  party,  who 
were  now  in  force  at  Leeonqiton.  When  the  copy  of  the  writ 
was  handed  to  him  in  the  presence  of  the  investigating  commit- 
tee, Mr.  lleeder  claimed  imm\inity  from  arrest  in  his  iiaasi  con- 
gressional capacity,  and  as  being  cited  to  attend  their  inquiry; 
but  the  committee  hesitated  to  assume  a  responsibility,  about 
which  there  might  have  been  room  for  doubt;  although  un- 
questionably the  claim  made  by  Mr.  Reeder  embodied  sound  par- 
liamentary law,  and  showed  much  intimacy  with  the  kx  et  conm- 
<.iud<>  parlkuiiciiti. 

The  committee  said  neither  yea  nor  nay,  but  Mr.  Reeder  was 

8i 


mifitmm 


m  ". 


322  Trrri.i:'^  IIistoiiy  ov  Kassas. 

„Hu.b  more  (\c.M^  an,!  the  marshal,  intimiclated  by  appearanooB 
final,..'  the  ccntestant  delegate  detormined  to  try    ...      nat,..-al 
ri.d.t<'  whe,-e  the  law  te.nporarily  failed  hi.n,  retn-ed  to  Pra..k l.n 
Jtho.t  his  p.-is.„u<r.     Chief  J.istioe  Leeompte  bad  leg  been  t... 
brai,.s  of  the  te>-ntorial  usun-ers,  and  be  had  ful,...,ated  a  p.-ojec 
fo,-  a  .n-a,.d  button  that  should  bring  down  the  whole  of    be  .ate 
!;ov:,;,.ent  at  one  shot,  as  well  as  every  other  of  the  lead.ng  f.-oo 
state  men  in  Kansas.     The  gi'and  ju.-y  found  true  bdls  nga.n.t 
every  man  presented  for  indictment,  and  of  course  a  pet.t  ju.y 
would  have  no  dimeulty  in  finding  verdicts  of  gu.lty.        .gh 
treason,  usurpation,  larceny,  perjury,  contempt  of  court ;  there 
was  a  eku-ge  to  suit  every  ease  fron.  Andrew  II.  Heeder  through 
a  lo.,.'  list  to  Gains  Jenkins.     The  desig..  of  the  proslavery  men 
was  t;  arrest  all  the  principal  men  idctified  with  the  state  gov- 
ernn.e..t,  and  then  whatever  became  of  the  accusat.ons,  ultimately 
the  government  would  be  broken  up,  as  the  executive  would  be 
unable   to   carry   out   the   duties  devolving    upon   them.       Ti  e 
scheme  was  to  have  been  met  by  a  cou.itermme,  aiul  the  state 
le.nslature   was   to  have  been  convened   at  an    earlier   date  to 
autbori.e  the  levying  of  state  forces  to  defend  the  u,stitutK^^^^ 
recently  organized ;  but  the  proslavery  party  succeeded   n  making 
Tany  of  their  arrests,  and  the  o.gani.ation  fell  into  hopeless  wreck 
To  The  present.     The  state  governor,  Ur.  Robinson,  bad  been 
see  ted  to  visit  Massachusetts  and  other  free  states  to  asccrtam 
vtat  belpvvould  be  forthcoming,  as  there  would    be  plenty  o 
I  me  for  1  im  to  go  and  come  before  the  adjourned  session  would 
«•  and  as  there  seemed  to  be  some  danger  of  the  volum- 
nous  evidence  taken  by  the  committee  of  investigation  being 
estroyed  bv  a  mob,  bis  visit  to  the  east  was  to  be  u  ilized  for 
b     onveya;iee  of  the  depositions  and  other  valuable  documents 
to\?^^hi  gton.     The  doctor  and  bis  wife  went  down  the  Missour 
reV^  fui-as  Lexington,  but  at  that  point  he  was  taken  from  lA.e 
s te    nbo at  on  some  Missourian  .ritof  nee.eat^  and  cletained  w.th^ 
TZr  nrctcnse  of  ri-'ht  until  an  indictment  could  be  issued 
::  il^im    many  dl3°s  later,  and  be  was  then  brought  back 
Sa  r^iisTt  o'from  Gov.  Shannon.     Happily  the  documents 
Trtrded  by  the  committee  were  in  Mrs.  Kobinson's  custody, 
^^„^  them  to  their  destination.     After  his  return  to 


K.i.\>>AS  Coxru<'rs  —  Kvi:.\Ts  or  /^V)(>'. 


323 


ppearaiicos, 
,s  "  nat>iral 
to  Franklin 
ig  been  tliO 
3d  a  project 
of  the  state 
leading  froo 
)ills  against 

I  petit  jury 
lilty.     High 
;ourt ;  there 
der  tlirougli 
islavcry  men 
10  state  gov- 
s,  ultimately 
ve  would  bo 
tliem.      The 
nd  the  state 
:lier   date  to 
!  institutions 
ed  in  making 
apcless  wreck 
)n,  had  been 
1,  to  ascertain 

be  plenty  of 
session  would 
)f  the  volum- 
igation  being 
ic  utilized  for 
ale  documents 

II  the  Missouri 
aken  from  the 
detained  with- 
)uld  be  issued 
brought  back 
the  documents 
ison's  custody, 
r  his  return  to 


the  territory  there  was  so  much  danger  of  the  prisoner  being  mur- 
dered by  the  border  rufTians  that  many  of  the  leading  men  on 
their  side  constituted  themselves  his  bodyguard  in  his  temporary 
prison,  lest  he  should  share  the  fate  which  had  befallen  so  many 
<rood  men  already.     He  remained  in  Leavenworth  until  .lune  1, 
■when  he  was  conveyed  to  Lecompton,  where  for  the  present  we 
will  leave  him  and  sec  how  the  battle  fares  elsewhere.      Kx-Gov. 
IJecder  knew  when  he  had  defied  the  marshal  and  his  warrant, 
that  his  days  could  not  be  long  in  the  land,  imlcss  he  escaped 
from  Kansas  territory  without  delay.     For  a  short  time  he  re- 
mained in  the  neighborhood  of  Lawrence,  and  then  struck  for  the 
Mi-ssouri  river  as  his  best  chance.     All  the  border  towns  were 
guarded,  and  the  steamboat  landings  had  a  numerous  picket  on 
the  watch  for  the  enemy,  far  down  the  river;  but,  disguised  as  an 
Irish  laborer,  with  an  axe,  that  might  prove  serviceable,  ujxin  his 
shoulder,  the  man  they  most  wanted  sauntered  through  their 
ranks,  and  had  the  satisfaction  to  learn  that  he  was  an  object  of 
solicitude  to  many  hundreds.     Taking  a  deck  passage^  by  steam- 
boat, Mr.  Eeeder  passed  down  the  river  in  safety  to  St.  Charles, 
forty- five  miles  above  St.  Louis,  and,  disembarking  there,  he  had 
no  difficulty  in  crossing  the  country  to  Illinois,  well  pleased  for  a 
time  to  be  out  of  Kansas,  anil   more  resolved  than  ever  to  fight 
the  common  enemy.     While  Mr.  Reeder  was  in   Kansas  City 
waiting  for  a  steamer,  the  editor  of  the  "  Herald  of  Freedom," 
■who  had  been  absent  from  the  territory  for  some  time,  retimed 
to  that  pohit  on  his  way  to  his  home  in  Lawrence.     He  joined 
Mr.  Jenkins  here,  who  had  been  .he  ex-governor's  escort,  and  the 
pair  set  out  for  home  on  horseback.     They  were  arrested  and 
held  in  custody  for  many  days,  being  conveyed  to  Westport  as     . 
prisoners.     Their  wives  having  learned  what  had  become  of  them, 
proceeded  to  Westport,  Mo.,  to  share  their  captivity,  and  it  has 
been  shrewdly  guessed  that  but  for  the  affectionate  zeal  with 
■which  their  better  halves  watched  over  them,  the  captives  would 
have  fared  much  worse  in  duress.     There  were  times  when  the 
violence  of  the  so  called  guards  could  with  difficulty  be  restrained 
from  murder ;  but  some  rudiments  of  gentler  training  seemed  to 
hold  them  back  from  the  committal  of  their  worst  deeds  with 
women  as  spectator?.  , 


<i^iiMM  iiinr6Kirft*fi»a»* 


if 


f 


i 


iMi 


324  Tirii.i:'s  HismitY  of  Kaxsas. 

The  inaict.ncni  f,.r  treason  against  the  loaders  of  tl.o  Free  State 
puny  sol  forth,  as  tho  fnulingof  tho  grand  jury  of  Doughts  county 
that   Andrew    II.    Hocder,   Charlos   Kobinson,   .lan.es   11.  Lane, 
Goorgo  W.  Brown,  (ieorgo  W.    Deit/Jor,  George  W  .  Sn.ith,  Sam- 
uel N.  Wood,  Gains  Jenkins,  late  of  the  oounty  of  iK.ugla.,  had 
intended  "  to  levy  war  against  the  Unitcnl  Stales  with  a  great  niul- 
tilude  of  persons,"  with  nu.eh  i.ther  sueh   matter  too  piteously 
stupid  for  reprinting,  but  at  the  tiu.e  a  most  malicious  and  not  by 
any   means  stupid  production;    the  treason    being  of    course  a 
quality  that  the  accusers  i.  lliesc  instances  could  and  did  subse- 
(luentiy  supply  until  the  market  was  glutted.     Ibu'ing  disposed 
by  arrest  and  dispersal  of  the  leading  men  from  whom  a  wise  and 
vi-orous  defense  of  Lawrence  might  have  been  dreaded,  and  bav- 
in" arrayed  on  their  side  em,ugh  of  the  Ignited  States  troops  to 
,nve  a  siiow  of  authority  from  the  general  government,  for  al 
Their  subsequent  proceedings,  while  as  we  have  seen  the  command 
tinder  Col.  Sumner  had  been  declined  lest  his  inllucnce  and  au- 
thority should  have  restrained  the  vicious  purposes  of  the  assail- 
ants of  the  Free  State  party,  the  Missourian  faction  now  began  to 
march  upon  Lawrence  with  fell  intent.     The  failure  to  arrest  Mr. 
AVood  had  been  availed  of  to  bring  the  new  levies  from  the  south 
into  Kansas,  and  of  course   the  sliot  that  wounded  the  shenii 
served  every  purpose  that  the  proslavery  party  desired.     Much  as 
they  ai>preciated  the  services  of  that  oir,c.al,  they  would  have 
been  willing  that  he  should  have  been   mortally  wounded  rather 
than  that  they  should  lose   so  excellent  an  excu.<c  for  seeking 
their   revenge  on    Lawrence.     "The    total    destruction    of    the 
Union"  was  said  to  be  a  small  price  to  be  paid  lor ''levelling 
Lawrence,"  and  judging  from  the  subsequent  action  of  the  men 
that  made  that  statement,  their  description  of  their  own  feelings 
UKiy  be  implicitly  believed.     The  border  motto  was  to  be     War 
to  ihe  knife  and'no  quarter,"  an  excellent  show  of  courage  on  the 
•    part  of   men  who  had  just  succeeded  in  disabling  the  eilectives 
among  their  opponents  by  a  cowardlike  use  of  sham  legislation 
Gov.  Shannon  was  freely  blamed  for  having  invoked  the  aid  of 
United  States  troops  when  men  so  brave  as  the  Kickapoo  Hangers 
^ere  ready  for  militia  duty  and  to  settle  all  difficulties  with  abo- 
litionists.     The  United  States  marshal  suddenly  became  an  au- 


K.IXSAS   COXFLICTS  —  EVEXTS   OF  iS.l^;, 


o-2o 


Free  Stf\to 

;la3  county 

n.  Lane, 

ihitli,  Siini- 
)ugla: ,  IkuI 

great  niul- 
■)  piteously 
and  not  by 
[    course  a 

did  subse- 
ig  dis])osed 

a  wise  and 
d,  and  liav- 
:.s  troops  to 
;3nt,  for  all 
,e  command 
nee  and  au- 
f  the  assail- 
)w  began  to 
)  arrest  Mr. 
m  the  south 

the  slierii? 
1.  Itluch  as 
,vould  have 
inded  rather 

for  seeking 
.ion  of  tlie 
r  "  levelling 

of  the  men 
own  feelings 
to  be  "  War 
urage  on  the 
,he  effectives 
1  legislation. 
2d  the  aid  of 
ipoo  llangers 
ies  with  abo- 
came  an  au- 


thority on  all  afTairs  pertaining  to  the  territory,  and  seeing  that  so 
much  success  came  from  proclamations,  he  tried  Iiid  skill  in  the 
same  dircctio-i,  and  sent  the  document  freely  through  the  border 
counties  of  ^fissouri,  calling  upon  "  law  abiding  citizens  of  the 
territory  "  to  muster  at  Lecompton  in  numbers  suflicient  to  en- 
force the  laws.  Tiie  marshal  knew  where  the  citizens  that  he 
wanted  could  be  found,  hence  it  was  only  accident  that  the  pco- 
jile  of  Lawrence  became  aware  of  the  incendiary  manifesto.  Tliat 
document  was  daced  May  li,  1850.  On  the  same  day  the  men  of 
Lawrence  alarmed  by  the  frequency  of  the  '^  'Sedations  of  the 
southerners  and  the  hostile  array  that  was  surrounding  the  city 
on  every  side,  addressed  the  governor  pursuant  to  a  resolution 
adopted  by  a  public  meeting  on  the  evening  previous,  informing 
him  that  it  was  believed  that  guerrilla  parties  had  been  formed  in 
]Vtissouri  to  destroy  their  town  and  its  people,  and  praying  for 
protection  by  the  United  States  t-oops  under  his  orders.  The 
answer  displaj'cd  in  the  boldest  characters  the  border  rulTian  in- 
spiration which  now-  controlled  ^fr.  Shannon.  The  force  of  which 
the  citizens  complained  was  only  tlie  largely  constituted  posse  of 
the  United  States  marshal  and  of  the  sherifl,  and  he  would  not  in- 
terfere with  those  officers.  As  long  as  Lawrence  remained  armed 
and  organized,  he  left  the  town  to  the  consequences  ;  as  though 
there  had  not  been  special  provit?ion  in  the  United  States  consti- 
tution that  every  citizen  might  possess  arms  without  in  any  de- 
gree sacrificing  his  claim  to  all  the  protection  of  the  constittued 
authorities.  This  answer  was  dated  May  12th,  and  the  following 
day  the  marshal's  proclamation  was  reviewed  by  the  citizens  in  a 
terse  and  vigorous  way,  such  as  the  untruthful  document  de- 
served. The  absence  of  the  men  who  in  the  former  trouble  had 
assumed  the  direction  of  affairs  was  now  severely  felt,  and  an- 
archy was  perceptible  where  hitherto  the  greatest  unanimity  had 
always  prevailed.  The  old  committee  of  safety  had  been  broken 
up,  but  a  few  of  the  members  remained,  and  they,  seeing  that  they 
must  fight  against  United  States  forces,  if  they  moved  at  all, 
counseled  submission. 

Gen.  Pomeroy,  who  had  been  absent  in  the  east  for  sometime,  re- 
turned just  as  a  new  committee  of  safety  bad  been  elected,  and  the 
new  body  coincided  with  their  predecessors  in  the  conclusion  that 


liftMn'llriiL>7i»iit:'Ji  ^.  ■iWiTiiTjrigp-oi: 


II 


:)2t{ 


TUTTLtj'a  lllSTOUY  OF  KaSSAS. 


m. 


iIk;  ivspoiisibility  of  the  siliiiition  iitUicliod  to  the  goncnil  gov- 
urmiifiil,  and  cuiisdiii  iilly  llioir  policy  must  bo  noiirosistaiicc,  1ft 
tlie  coiisofiucncfs  bu  wlialcver  tliuy  might.     A  cDiulitiim  of  things 
HO  Kiianicfui  coiilil  not  coiitimic,  and  it  re.inircl  no  small  amount 
of  constancy  to  recommend  submission,  but  placed  as  the  cti/.en.s 
were,  there  was  no  other  course  open,  without  seeming  to  incur  the 
guilt,  and  certainly  incurring   the  odium  of  rebellion.     The   peo- 
ple demurrc-l  with  much  spirit,  but  that  line  of  conduct  was  car- 
ried out.     There  were  many  proposals  by  way  of  modilication, 
but   the   time    wore  on    and    noii resistance    remained    the  only 
cour.se  open   to  the  community.     The  sturdy  lighting   men,  who 
could  not  remain  in  the  town  while  such  dishonoring  conditions 
were  being  adopted,  left  Lawrence,  and  were  ready,  should  any 
change  of  policy  sui)ervene,  to  come  to  the  rescue  with  such  force 
as  they  could  ccMiimand.     The  companion  from  other  towns  which 
were  already   marching   to  the   rescue  were  warned    to  return 
whence  they  came,  but  the   Wakarusa  company  would   not  be 
warned  back,  and  they  stood  ready  for  action  all  the  time.     The 
U.    S.    Marshal's   proclamation    reached  the  "law    abiding  citi- 
zens" for  whom  it  was  intended,  and   they  came  by  hundreds 
like  comorants  scenting  carrion,  to  Hock  round   the  standard  at 
Lecompton.     The  Platte  county  rillcmen,  under  their  distinguish- 
ed commander.s,  the  chivalry  of  the  south,  recruited  from  almost 
every  jail  in  the  union,  CUevaliers  d'  Indudrieivom  their  birth,  and 
not  a  few  good  men  who  were  now  to  see  for  the  first  time,  the 
type  of  humanity  with   which  they  were  brigailed,  came  to  the 
call  of  the  representative  of  constituted  authority,  to  compel  the 
defenseless  people  to  submit  to  terms  which  no  conqueror  in   his 
senses  would  offer  to  sane  men.     In  a  few  days  the  morals  of 
Buford's  contingent  seemed  to  have  pervaded    the  whole  host; 
nothing'was  safe  from  pilfering  fingers,  and  while  the  common  sol- 
dier stole  without  disguise,  the  more  gentlemanly  t)fficer  "  pressed 
into  the  service  "  all  that  he  coveted  of  his  neighbor's  goods,  but 
in  the  end  it  made  little  difference  whether   property  was  re- 
quisitioned or  merely  robbed.     The  assistant  sergeant-at-arms  of 
the  investigating  committee  was  some  time  a  prisoner  among  the 
legions,  bu°  was  at  length  allowed  a  pass  by  way  of  compliment 


to  congress. 


Muskets,   provisions  of    all  kinds,  and  men  were 


lOMai* 


"■■■!-l"..'i.l.'!"!.l.l'l'-' 


Ka.ssas  Coxrijcrs ~ En:.\Ts  of  I^'iti 


lucral  gi>v- 
^istaiicL',  lot 
111  of  tliillgrt 
nil  aiiiuuut 
llio  o'lizeiirt 
lo  incur  llio 
TIh!  pel)- 
icl  was  car- 
Anlilicalioii, 
1  tlio  only 
;  men,  who 
conditions 

slioulil  any 
1  such  force 
owns  which 
to  returu 
ulJ   not  bo 

time.  Tho 
ibiding  cili- 
ly  hundreds 
standard  at 
distinguish- 
from  almost 
!ir  birth,  and 
•st  time,  the 
;ame  to  the 

compel  the 
ueror  in  his 
3  morals  of 
whole  host ; 
common  sol- 
;cr  "  pressed 
s  goods,  but 
erty  was  re- 
nt-at-arms  of 
•  among  the 

compliment 
d  men  were 


seized,  and  when  citi/cns  declined  to  stand  upon  the  first  onler, 
they  were  rained  upon  i._,  bullets.  A  delegation  to  the  I'.  S. 
Z^larshal  asked  for  terms  that  would  allow  of  that  <.Hicia!  enter- 
ing the  town  unaccompanieil  by  the  regimenls  with  which  John 
FalstafT  would  not  liavo  inarched  through  Coventry,  and  that 
grandiloipient  ..(Ticial  gave  as  his  ultnnatum  that  every  man 
ji'j-.'iinst  whom  there  was  a  warrant  .should  be  surrenden^d,  that 
all  munitions  of  war  should  be  given  up,  and  that  the  citizens 
should  [>ledgo  them.selves  to  obey  the  territorial  enactments  in 
every  respect.  The  conditions  were  the  occasion  of  a  letter  from 
tho  citizens,  denying  idl  charges  of  disloyalty,  but  calling  atten- 
tion to  the  proclamation  circulated  on  the  other  side  of  the  bor- 
der, and  delinitely  a.sking  what  was  sought  by  such  an  armed 
force  as  the  inar.shal  had  gathered  together.  The  citizens  appeal- 
ed to  the  constituted  authorities  of  the  union  to  defend  them 
again.st  such  hostile  designs  as  were  freely  spoken  of  by  the 
pn.sar.  cuiaUiUiix,  and  ouce  announced  their  willingness  to  render 
all  proper  aid  in  any  legal  proccs.s.  The  reply  of  tho  marshal 
could  hardly  have  been  more  pompous  in  its  tone  had  the  Czar  of 
all  the  Kussias  been  the  writer.  The  fact  of  ^[r.  lieeeler's  escape 
figured  as  a  charge  against  Lawrence.  The  coiKpieror  by  antici- 
pation taunted  his  suppliants  as  one  holding  the  power  of  life  and 
death  would  not  have  done,  and  the  whole  communication  was  a 
finished  specimen  of  insolent  efifrontery.  Tho  (;itizens  wrote 
again,  calling  the  marshal's  attention  to  the  depredations  commit- 
ted by  the  posse  ostensibly  called  together  to  enforce  the  laws, 
but  IK)  answer  was  vouch.safcd  to  that  letter ;  it  was  indeed  unan- 
swerable. The  citizens  strove  to  move  the  governor  to  some 
action  which  would  caU  United  States  troops  to  the  front, 
instead  of  the  ruffian  horde,  but  that  gentleman  was  implacable. 
Their  envoys  sent  to  him  were  detained  and  subjected  to  number- 
less indignities.  An  ofier  was  made  that  if  Col.  Sumner  would 
encamp  with  his  force  in  the  vicinity,  the  citizens  would  surren- 
der all  their  arms  into  his  keei)ing,  to  be  returned  after  the  mar- 
Bhal  should  have  made  his  arrests. 

The  congressional  committee  was  appealed  to,  but  they  were  of 
course  powerless  in  such  a  case ;  they  could  only  note  the  facts 
for  future  action.     Col.  Sumner  was  personally  kind  and  just,  but 


*^?i 


wmissBmm 


838 


TiTit.E's  llisnuiY  or  Kassas. 


Lis  liaml;  were  tied  unless  the  proper  autliority  called  for  his  in- 
terf.Teiiee.     The  olTer  to  snrrendor  tlieir  arms  ^>/V)  trm.  to  Col. 
Sumner  was  at  one  time  listened  to,  but  when   the  deleg.ition, 
nfter  being  for  some  time  held  as  piisoners,  returned,  the  eitv.enn 
were  told  that  their  arms  must  bo  given  up  to  the  marslrd  or  to 
the  ^'overnor,  or  else  the  nlterr     ivo  was  war.     Miii'(h-r  was  now 
in  order.     A  young  man  earrying  provision  to  his  mother's  house 
was  shot  without  one   syllable  of  provoeation,  by  the  marshal's 
•'  law  abiding  eitizens  ;  "  some  boys,  going  to  the  spot  where  tho 
young  man  was  killed,  were  fired    upon  and  one  of  their  num- 
ber murdered,  and  still  in  .spite  of  an  indignation  whiuh  almost 
defied  coiiirol,  the  i)oliey  of   nonresistance  was   maintained;  and 
every  modiliealion  that  pointed  toward  a  demonstration  in  foren 
was  re.solutely  voted  down.     There  was  no   hoi)e   fo.-  Lawrenec 
wive  in   the  intervention  of  United  States  troops,   but  the  eom- 
mandant,  Col.  Sumner,  eould  not  depart  from  the  striet  rol>-  (J 
duty,  which  left  him  under  e.\isting  eireumstanees  no  discretion- 
ary jjower  whatever.     The  faet  that  murders  were  being  <n)mniit- 
ted  was  matter  for  the  civil  government  to  consider,  and  his  jKwi- 
tion  did  not  entitle  him  to  interfere  uidess  the  governor  sent  him 
a  recpiisition.     The  eily  was  doomed  to  destruction,  and  the  press 
were  already  moving  to  aeccMuplish  their  end.     The  morning  of 
Afay  21,  iSoti,  was  the  time  named  to  commence  the  work  of  det*- 
olation,  and  before  daylight  the  enemy  was  in  the  .saddle,  making 
the  final  dispositions  for  the  advance.     The  sweet  morsel  of  re- 
venge so  long  anticipated  seemed  almost  too  delicious  to  be  real- 
ized, now  that  tho  hour  was  at  hand,  and  the  assailants  eauK^  on 
toward   the  .sleeping  town  like  men  dreading  an  ambu.scade  at 
every  ste]),  or  fearing  that  a  mine  would  be  sprung  beneath  then- 
feet,  to  send  them  nearer  to  heaven  than  their  deeds  deserved. 
The  .same  month  and  the  .same  year  .saw  Cliarle.-,  Sumner  pros- 
trated by  a  blow  as  cruel,  in  the  j)re3ence  of  the  supreme  power 
in  the  United  States,  and  in  both  ca.ses  the  stroke  recoiled  upon 
the  party  which  infli(;ted  it  with  a  vengeance  which  reminded  men 
in  after  years  that  the  sins  of  mankind,  in  tho  abstract  as  in  the 
concrete,  arc  sure  to  find  them  out.     Preston  Brooks  committed 
what  was  denounced  in  congress  •'  as  a  brutal,   murderous  and 
cowardly  assault,"  and  at  that  moment  the  air  was  filled  with  ru- 


K.issis  ('i>Mi.irrs — /'.'r/A'/w  "/'  h'lH. 


;i-j(» 


I'll  for  liis  iii- 
/'///.  to  Col. 
I'  (li'k'g.itioii, 
I,  the  t'itv.t'rirt 
lai'sli"!  or  to 
■(ler  was  now 
ollicr's  Ikmi.sr 
lio  inarslial's 
lot  wlicre  llio 
C  tlaMr  iiuiu- 
k^Iiiuli  almost 
itaiiiod  ;  ainl 
ilioii  ill  forco 
ti.'  Lawreiico 
lut  llic  {'oin- 
slric't  }vlit  (if 
lo  (liscrctioii- 
L'iiig  coinniit- 
aiicl  his  j)osi- 
iior  sent  liiiu 
lud  the  press 
inoriuii!'  of 
work  of  (losv 
Idle,  inakinq 
[lorsol  of  re- 
us to  be  rcal- 
iiits  caiiif^  on 
nbuscade  at 
(cncath  tlieir 
Is  deserved, 
lumner  pros- 
>reme  power 
;coiled  upon 
minded  men 
)t  as  in  the 
i  committed 
•derous  and 
led  with  ru- 


mors of  a  coin  paiiion  crime  against  a  community:  tlie  leader  of 
the  partv,  .^lei.lifii  A.  I)<Mi^'las,  staiidiiiL,'  sponsor  for  both  otTenses, 
beeausr  of  an  ambition  which  blinded  him  to  the  misfeasances  of 
his  supporters.  The  men  who  led  in  these  olTenscs  lire  known 
but  by  their  (,'rime.<»,  and  the  f,'reater  man  who  became  tlieir  ai)ol- 
fx'ist  failed  in  the  very  crisis  of  his  fate,  be-'  inse  of  the  faithless- 
ness  of  th(!  party  for  which  he  had  sacrificed  his  duty  to  (iod  and 
the  race.  The  rullians  and  their  leaders  would  not  be  absent  at 
such  II  time,  when  the  policy  of  weakness  had  been  foree<l  upon 
their  enemies.  The  southern  forces  were  content  to  ligure  in  many 
Hueh  triumphant  scenes,  if  southern  rights  could  be  secured  by 
the  wrongs  inilictcd  upon  Kansa.s.  There  was  little  danger  and 
no  glory  in  such  coiupicsts  over  men  whose  hands  were  almost 
literally  tied  behiml  them,  ami  ov(>r  women  who  could  weep  but 
dared  not  tight,  because  they  would  have  endangered  the  ultimato 
success  of  a  cause  which  they  esteemed  more  dearly  than  their 
own  immunity  from  sutrering.  It  was  the  jiresidents  vii'tory 
they  knew,  although  the  glo.nting  smile  of  triumph  sat  upon  a 
thousand  meaner  faces,  as  though  their  jirowess  had  maile  them 
con(pieiors.  When  the  sun  arose,  Mt.  Oread  was  in  the  hands  of 
the  foe  and  their  Hag  floated  over  the  city,  and  in  suecicssion  the 
several  positions  from  which,  in  a  military  sense,  their  weapons 
would  en.ible  them  to  command  the  city  were  occupied,  the  troops 
all  the  time  playing  at  danger  as  though  tliere  was  cause  for  fear 
from  the  silent  inhabitants.  Messengers  and  scouts  sent  into  the 
city  reported  that  perfect  order  prevailed,  and  an  ofTicer  with  ten 
men  rode  into  the  place,  summoned  the  principal  men  to  act  as 
his  posse,  and  proceeded  to  make  arrests.  That  work  being  ac- 
complished, the  force  was  handed  over  to  sheriff  Jones,  and  that 
functionary  assumed  the  command  with  a  characteristic  oration. 
The  committee  of  public  safety  had  subscribed  a  most  pitiful  decla- 
ration while  the  marshal's  pos.se  was  at  work  in  the  city,  promising 
in  a  manner  reprehensibly  abject,  to  obey  the  territorial  enact- 
ments, and  asking  for  safety  under  the  flag  of  the  union,  but  even 
that  terrible  humiliation  was  not  enough ;  the  sherifl  rode  into 
town  in  the  afternoon  and  demanded  at  the  head  of  an  armed 
troop  that  all  the  weapons  in  Lawrence  should  be  surrendered, 
allowintr'ten  minutes  for  the  completion  of  the  work  of  disarma- 


iv.h> 


Trrri. !:'■•<  IIisiouy  "/••  Kas'sas. 


irinit  aiiil  .stucUiiig  tlio  rilk-s  in  tho  strecU,  to  savo  the  place  frotn 
beiii^'  (•aiiiKniiuIi'.l.  At  lliiit  point  a  stiunl  was  partially  iiuule, 
the  caiiiion  cliuulil  ho  kuitcikIoiciI  for  tho  .sako  oC  poaco,  but  tho 
woapoiis  tliat  woro  privato  proporty  .nhouhl  bo  hoKl  l)y  their  own- 
ers. Tho  ooiiditioiirt  thus  iiisisti'd  upon  woro  aooepttul,  ami  tho 
p;roat  guns  wero  uiioarthoil  from  thoir  iiiiliiig  placcjs.  Sonio  ritloa 
wore  also  haiidoil  ovor  among  tho  tropliios  of  the  viotor.s. 

Thoro  was  a  faint  hope  that  tho  oml  of  tho  aboiuinablo  outrage 
had  boon  roaohod,  but  no  such  idea  prevailed  in  tho  oamp  of  tlio 
Missouriuns  and  Houtherners.  The  great  comniandor,  Uen.  Atiihi- 
Bon,  luountcd  the  breech  of  a  gun  and  made  an  inllanu.\alory 
ppcooh  to  tho  Kiokapoo  Rangers,  deolaring  hinisolf  oua  of  tlioir 
iiunibor,  glorying  in  tho  victory  before  thoui,  which  ho  in  jiart 
uccounted  for,  uniutentionully,  by  saying  that  "the  abolitionists 
did  not  dare  lire  a  gun,"  and  then  after  recognizing  tho  fact  of 
tho  peace  which,  S(>  far  as  the  citi/.ons  woro  implicated,  reigned  in 
Lawronoo,  he  wont  on  to  delino  the  several  acts  of  wanton  ruin 
which  were  to  perpetuate  their  revenge.  Printing  pres.ses  wero 
to  be  destroyed ;  the  Free  State  Hotel  was  to  bo  dctnolishcd,  and 
they  were  to  act  as  southern  gentlemen  ;  but  if  they  found  a 
woman  cs-irrying  the  arii  s  of  a  soldici',  they  must  tramj)lc  her  un- 
der thoir  feet  Tlie  horrible  profanity  of  the  siioech  may  well  be 
left  to  the  imagination,  as  it  would  soil  tho  i)ago  of  hi.story.  Non- 
resi.stanco  being  rigidly  adhered  to  by  the  citi/ens,  tho  murderous 
instincts  of  their  enemies  were  held  in  chock,  but  the  city  could 
be  dismantled.  Tho  final  orders  were  given  by  Mr.  Jones,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  i»rograinmc  laid  down,  and  the  terrible  army 
with  baimers  marched  on  under  the  several  flags  which  formed 
the  rallying  point  of  each  section  ;  a  motley  crew  of  thieves  and 
ruffians,  who  could  scarcely  keep  their  hands  out  of  each  others' 
pockets  as  they  marched,  followed  a  piece  of  bunting  which  pro- 
claimed tho  supremacy  of  tho  white  race,  while  another  contin- 
gent more  consistently  ranged  themselves  behind  a  crouching  tiger, 
and  Southern  Eights,  as  usual,  flaunted  over  the  throng  of  wrong- 
doers. The  grand  jury,  when  indicting  men,  had  indicted  build- 
ings also,  and  as  the  men,  wherever  found,  had  been  imprisoned 
without  tho  idle  form  of  a  trial,  so  tho  odifiees  were  now  to  bo  de- 
stroyed.    The  Free  State  Hotel,  the  Kansas  Free  State  News- 


place  from 
iiilly  nuulo, 
CO,  but  llio 
■  their  own- 
ed, niul  tlio 
Soino  rillod 
ins. 

bio  outrago 
limp  of  the 
Gen.  At(!lii- 
ll!uni.\!ili)ry 
no  of  their 
ho  in  jiart 
ibolitionists 
the  fact  of 
,  rei;.^nnil  in 
,';uiton  ruin 
tresses  wore 
)lisliocl,  and 
3y  found  a 
iplc  her  un- 
any  well  be 
ory.  Non- 
!  murderous 
3  city  could 
'ones,  in  ac- 
rriblo  army 
lich  formed 
thieves  and 
Dach  others' 
which  pro- 
ther  con  tin- 
aching  tiger, 
ig  of  wrong- 
.icted  build- 
imprisoned 
jw  to  be  de- 
state  News- 


7v.i.v.v.i.'H'  (DsiLirjs  —  t-U-i:.\Ts  OF  /s.v;. 


881 


pnpcr  onice,  and  the  lb  raid  of  Kroedonj  wore  visited  in  sucecs- 
nion.     Tiie  presses  and  typo  were  broken  and  d«'slroyed,  and  part 
of  the  material  carried  to  the  river  until  the  rullians  grew  tired  u( 
drowning  iron  and  had;  the  bookrt  and   pai-er  m  Mnr\<  were  torn 
and  burned,  and  the  Herald  of  Freedom  olUee  repeatedly  hot  on 
lire.     (Jannon,  planted  in  front  ni  tlie  hotel,  baltert-d  its  walls  for 
Home  time,  without  producing  any  pereoptiblo  ruin,  so  pow.ler 
was  employed  to  blast  the  nliliee,  and  when  that  charm  failed,  tho 
assailants  had  recourse  to  ineendiarisui,  in  which  they  were  natur- 
ally better  .skilled.     The  hotel  was  soon  enveloped  in  llames,  wlueii 
mounted  to  tho  sky  in  mockery  of  eternal  ju.'ice,  while  tho  fac- 
tors of  desolation  rejoiced  a  ju.I  in  the  ruin  w'dch  they  and  the 
proident  had  wrought.     \V)'.on  tho  building  was  on  fire  beyond 
lu.pi;  .,f  ri'scue,  tho  sherifl  dismissed  his  po.sse  in  pursuit  of  indi- 
dividual  gratilicalion,  with  the  anhwuneerucnt  that  the  writs  had 
been   executed,   and   plunder   followe-l    domoli''   ...     'i  he   stores 
containing  clothing  were,  of  course,  greedily  s  "ght,  .some  con- 
tenting themselves  with  adorning  their  bod.e^  and  liUing  their 
pockets;  others,  who  had  been  bette"  wcrneu,  had  wag«  .s  to  en- 
able them  to  steal  in  wholesale  -luai  .icie.    while  much  lI  at  could 
not  bo  conveniently  carried  away  \,us  wrecked  in  pure  malice, 
Before  the   eonciuerors   retired,  they  set  lire  to   Dr.  Uobinson',. 
house,  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Oread,  and   by  its  flames  tho  rear 
guard  was  illumiatcd  as  tho  rulRans  rctarned  to  their  camps  to 
celebrate  their  exploit  in  drunken  o-gie.-.     While  tho  work  of 
piUa^^o  was  going  on,  one  man  gave  chase  to  a  retreating  porson- 
a-e  whom  ho  believed  to  bo  ex-Gov.  Jieoder,  and  the  pursuer 
being  unable  to  keep  his  saddle,  fell  and  broke  his  leg  in  the 
eervrce.     That  was  the  only  man  wounded  in  the  inglori.Mis  sack 
of  Lawrence,  and  one  man  was  killed  by  a  brick  aceidcnlally 
falling  from  the  Free   -v.-.te  Hotel,  which  he  was  assisting  to  de- 
etroyr   Every  kind  ot  ovime  that  long  experience  could  devi.se 
found  favor  among  the  warriors  at  Lecompton,  and  the  proceeds 
of  robbery  were  'vorn  in  tho  camp  with  as  much  pride  as  the 
Indian  finds  ir  iliowing  the  scalps  that  ho  has  taken  ;  but  horse 
Btealing  was  the  strong  suit  among  the  upholders  of  "  law  and 
order,"  the  Chevaliers  d'lnduslrie.  in  whose  companionship  the  U. 
S.  marshal  emulated  the  glory  of  his  leader,  Franklin  Pierce,  the 
slayer  of  liberty  by  proclamation. 


11 


332 


TvTTLi:'s  History  of  Kaxsas. 


I 


to! 


Many  ol  the  gentlemen  from  tlic  south  who  had  supposed  until 
now,  that  they  were  taking  part  in  a  holy  war,  abandoned  the 
enterprise,  when  they  had  seen  how  the  cause  they  believed  in 
"was  ehampioned  at  Lawrence,  but  that  was  not  an  advantage  to 
Kansas,  because  the  worst  elements. were  now  uuchecKcd  by 
even  a  vestige  of  moral  purpose.  The  groceries  around  tlic  camp 
at  Franklin  were  plundered,  and  Gen.  Atchison  passed  through 
Lawrence  in  triumph  at  the  head  of  the  riflemen  who  were  on 
their  return  to  Platte  county.  It  was  not  enough  that  one  city 
had  been  sacked  ;  the  newspapers  across  the  bonier  deprecated  a 
return  home  until  every  free  state  settlement  had  been  leveled 
with  the  ground,  or  until  the  people  now  living  therein  had  been 
driven  out  by  the  proslavery  pai'ty.  There  had  been  a  purpo.so 
declared  long  before,  to  scour  the  tei'ritory  with  mounted  patrols, 
and  prevent  the  fields  from  being  cultivated;  a  work  as  baleful  to 
the  cause  of  freedom  could  be  done  by  destroying  the  harvest,  or 
by  preventing  it  from  being  gathered,  so  there  were  bodies  of 
troops  left  in  the  territory,  in  part  under  the  command  of  Coleman, 
the  Uickory  Point  murderer,  who  had  once  been  nominally  the 
prisoner  of  the  sheriH  and  was  now  his  comrade.  The  company 
that  was  engaged  in  robbing  the  mail  bags,  stopping  wayfarers  on 
the  road,  plundering  wagons,  and  continuing  the  manifold  depre- 
dations which  have  been  before  described,  honored  Gov.  Shannon 
by  assuming  to  be  his  sharpshooters,  and  the  man  who  should 
have  represented  justice  and  the  honor  of  the  United  States  had 
not  one  word  of  censure  for  such  misdeeds.  There  is  a  point 
beyond  which  submission  is  impossible,  and  that  limit  had  been 
passed.  United  States  troops  were  no  longer  in  the  field,  and 
there  was  no  earthly  reason  wh}^  men  should  not  defend  their 
own  propert}'  from  marauders.  So,  many  of  the  men  with  arms 
in  their  hands,  who  had  left  Lawrence  before  the  city  was  sacked, 
united  with  settlers  in  the  open  country  to  form  guerrilla  bands, 
which  soon  passed  from  the  simple  work  of  defense  to  the  equally 
natural  process  of  aggression  upon  the  scoundrels  who  were 
ravaging  the  country.  Reprisals  became  the  order  of  the  day, 
and  it  was  soon  apparent  that  the  free  state  fighting  men  were 
more  than  a  match  for  their  enemies,  but  the  settlements  all  over 
the  territory  suffered  terrible  devastations.    Lecompton,  the  hea^l 


Kaxsas  Cosfuct^  —  Evi.wts  of  1851! 


833 


posed  until 
iidoiicd  the 
believed  in 
Ivaiitage  to 
heeiced  by 
d  tlic  eaiiip 
13d  til  rough 
lio  were  on 
at  one  city 
eprecated  a 
een  leveled 
n  had  been 
.  a  purpose 
ted  patrolrf, 
s  baleful  to 

harvest,  or 
3  bodies  of 
)f  Coleman, 
minally  the 
le  company 
ayfarers  on 
ifold  depre- 
V.  Shannon 
vho  should 

States  had 

is  a  point; 
t  had  been 
;  field,  and 
efend  their 
1  with  arms 
was  sacked, 
rilla  bands, 
the  equally 

who  were 
of  the  day, 
;  men  were 
nts  all  over 
n,  the  hea^l 


quarters  of  ^[r.  Shannon,  was  in  hourly  turmoil  lest  the  free  state 
party  should  demolish  the  dwellings  of  their  enemies,  and  the 
t'overnor.  seeiu''  his  allies  driven   in  confusion  before  the  men 
whom  they  were  about    to  exterminate,  found  tiiat    it  was   hid 
duty  to  call  in  the  aid  of  Col.  Sumner.    Troops  were  statit)ned  at 
Lawrence,  Tojieka  and  Lceompton,   to  keep  the  peace,  and  the 
incompetent  ofhcial  once  more  breathed  securely.     Cai)t.  Walker 
was  one  of  the  ablest  of  the  guerrilla  leaders  ihnt  the  troubled 
times  brought  to  the  front,  and  his  name  was  somewhat  famous 
in    later   days   in    the   command    of  Union    troops   against   the 
southern    rebels.      His  head  was  valued    at   $.")0U  by  the  Mis- 
sourian  faction  then,  but  the  day  came  when  they  would  gladly 
have  purchased  it  at  a  much  higher  valuation,     :^[ally  schemes 
were  clabijrated  to  win    the  reward,   but  somehow  the  captain 
alwavs  knew  the  jilans  of  his  enemies  in  time  to  have  his  troop 
of  friends  around  him,  and  occasionally  the  pursuers  "  caught  a 
Tartar."      Twelve  men  came  to  his  house  at  midnight  on  one 
occasion,  to  surprise  him  in  his  sleep,  and  the  stillness  of  death 
seemed  to  be  only  broken  by  their  own  stealthy  tread  as  they 
rode  up  to  the  defenseless  dwelling.     Revolvers  and  knives  were 
already  in  imagination  flourished  over  the  heart  of   the  slowly 
awakening  prisoner,  when  the  reverie  of  the  capturers  was  dis- 
turbed by  a  volley  of  rifle  shots  directed  at  their  horse.s.     There 
was  a  mad  rush  to  escape,  and  one  of  the  marauders  with  diffi- 
culty extricated  himself  from  his  dead  horse,  but  there  was  no 
bridge  of  gold  for  a  flying  army,  and  two  prisoners  were  secured 
by  a  second  troop  of  defenders  who  had  been  posted  in  anticipation 
of  just  such  a  retrograde  movement.     Death  at  the  nearest  tree 
would  have  been  a  fit  reward  for  such  a  ruffianly  enterprise,  but 
Capt.  Walker  and  his  friends  dismissed  the  penitent  captives  on 
the  following  morning  with  a  caution,  and  were  rewarded  by  the 
rascals  with  a  full  description  of  the  settlers  whom  they  had 
recognized,  so  that  there  were  many  additional  names  added  to 
the  number  already  outlawed  and  constrained  to  fight  for  liberty 
and  life. 

Judge  Wakefield,  who  was  one  of  the  defenders,  and  deserves 
honor  for  the  fact,  having  learned  that  a  writ  had  been  issued  for 
his  arrest,  started  for  the  east  to  procure  reinforcements,  but  he 


334 


TuTTLE's  UlSTOUY  OF  Kassas. 


111 

I 


was  arrested  and  brought  to  Leeornpton,  whore  he  soon  ro,i.'!uncd 
his  liberty.     In  one  instanee,  where  a  party  of  Georgian  horse- 
men liad  assailed  a  house  on  Wasliington  Creek,  the  oceupant  t-nd 
his  friends  fortified  the  positit)n  as  well  as  they  could  and  fought 
like  men.     The  attack  had  been  seen  and  notice  was  given  to  the 
troops  at  Lawrence  by  a  lady  living  in  the  neighborhood.     Four 
dragoons  were  dispatched  to  the  scat  of  war  and  some  of  the  free 
state  ])arty  rode  with  them,  but  the  assailants  retired  when   the 
reinforcements  hove  in  sight,  and  the  party  from  the  city,  riding 
up  to  the  dwelling,  were  fired  upon  by  the  brave  defenders  by 
mistake.     Two  of    the  rescuing  party  were  wounded  and   two 
horses  killed  in  a  twinkling,  and   it  was  not   until  the  next  day 
that  the  misunderstanding  was  explained.     The  times  did  not 
warrant  men-at-arms  in  approaching  a  detached  dwelling  without 
ceremony.     South  Carolina,  the  state  that  reelected  Preston  S. 
Brooks  with  crlct  after  his  assault  on  Mr.  Sumner,  had   now  ob- 
tained complete  control  of    Mr.   Shannon's   conscience,  and  the 
men  from  that  state  could  mold  him  to  any  purpose.     They  flat- 
tered him  as  though  he  had  been  riiillip  the  Great,  and  feasted 
him  like  Sardanapalus,  and,  in  return,  the  more  than  Macedonian 
marched  through  the  territory  at  the  head  of  a  party,  searching 
for  arms  with  a  delirium  of  zeal  that  was  not  always  due  to  mere 
enthusiasm.     The  congressional  committee  adjourned  from  Law- 
rence soon  after  the  Eeeiler  dilUculty,  the  work  in  that  city  being 
ended,  and  subsequently  they  assembed  in   Leavenworth;   but 
they  had  never  been  popular  among  the  Missourians,  as  was  natu- 
ral, considering  the  fight  which  their  friends  in  the  house  of  rep- 
resentatives had  made  against  an  inquiry,  and  they  had  grown  in 
disfavor  with  every  sign  of  vigor  in  pursuit  of  the  truth.     This 
had  been  well  understood  before  the  documents  and  depositions 
collected  by  the  committee  had  been  entrusted  to  Mrs.  Kobinson 
for  conveyance  to  the  east,  and  there  were  now  many  manifesta- 
tions on  the  part  of  the  ruffians,  that  only  a  pretext  was  wanted 
to  embolden  the  mob  to  break  up  the  sessions  of  the  terrible  tri- 
bunal,  destroy  the  accumulated  evidence,  and  take  the  conse- 
quences.    Lawrence  was  sacked  on  May  21st,  and  soon  after- 
wards the  military  force  at  the  fort  was  distributed  over  the  ter- 
ritory by  Mr.  Shannon's  requisitions ;  on  the  26th  of  that  month, 


Kaxsas  Cos'i'r.icrs'—  Evkkts  or  l''^')0. 


335 


on  iTL'uincil 
I'giau  liorsu- 
jcupant  iMid 
ami  fought 
givoii  to  llio 
lood.  Four 
J  of  tlio  free 
:d  whou  the 
city,  riding 
eferidcrri  by 
cd  and  two 
c  next  day 
nes  did  not 
ling  without 
L  Preston  S. 
lad  now  ob- 
rice,  and  the 
They  flat- 
and  feasted 
Macedonian 
ty,  searching 
due  to  mere 
i  from  Law- 

« 

at  city  being 
nworth ;  but 
as  was  natu- 
louse  of  rep- 
ad  grown  in 
truth.  Tliis 
I  depositions 
rs.  Kobinson 
ly  nianifesta- 
t  was  wanted 
e  terrible  tri- 
:e  the  conse- 
1  soon  after- 
over  the  ter- 
that  month, 


the  "law  abiding  citizens"  that  had  sacked  Lawrence  under  the 
cvos  of  the  United  States  marshal  were  asseml)ling  in  Leavenworth 
in  ,  msidcrable  numbers,  and  a  "reign  of  terror"  was  .sough  t  t.i  bo 
established  there.     The  Missourian  committeeman  was  of  course    , 
understood  to  be  on  the  side  of  his  own  state,  but  the  two  others, 
Mcssr.s.    Sherman  and  Howard  were  warned  by  "  Capt.  ITemp'" 
by  a  notice  served  on  them  by  affixing  it  to  the  door  of  their 
room,  that  they  could  no  longer  sit  there  unless  they  changed 
their  "obnoxious  course."     Two  days  later,  the  "Leavenworth 
Herald,"  a  pro-slavery  organ,  gave  publicity  to  the  suggestions  of 
the  Missourian  press,  that  every   free  state  settlement  must  be 
abolished,  and  meetings  were  called  in  which  resolutions  were 
adopted  to  carry  out  that  design.     A  vigilance  committee  was 
nominated,   the  command  entrusted  to  Col.  Warren  D.  Wilkes 
from  South  Carolina,  and  the  names  of  all  the  prominent  free  state 
residents  handed  over  to  that  gentleman,  with  instructions  that 
they  should  be  compelled  to  quit  the  territory.     Mr.  Conway, 
one  of  the  clerks  of  the'  Kansas  investigating  committee,  was  ar- 
rested, among  others,  by  the  zealous  commander,  who  paraded 
the  streets  in°ridiculous  state  at  the  head  of  the  Kickapoos  and  a 
band  of  southerners,  and  arrested  everybody  that  was  named  in 
his  list  and  could  be  found.     The  arrest  of  the  clerk  was  denied, 
but  the  seizure  continued  until  thirty  men  were  in  durance  vile, 
and  at  night  many  of  the  prisoners  were  permitted  to  escape  on 
theirl   parol    engagement  that    ihey  would  finally  abandon  the 
territory.     Thus  the  war  of  extermination  was  waged  against  the 
little  band  in  Kansas,  which  represented   the  advancing  thought 
of  the  age,  and  the  men  in  high  places  were  on  the  side  of  the 
oppressor's,  until  thousands  all  over  the  land  as  they  heard  of  the 
wron<vs  whir>,h  were  being  perpetrated  in   the  name  of  South  ern 
Rights,  cried  out  in  the  agony  of  their  inaction,  "  How  long,  O 
Lo°d,  how  long"  shall  Thy  vengeance  against  the  persecutors  of 
Thy  people  be  stayed? 


330 


TcTTLEa  History  of  Kassas. 


i  Si! 


CIJAPTP]R    XIV. 

TKKJUTOUIAL    JlI.STOltY 

iandinuvil.) 


THE  "JOIIX  BHOAVN"  AVA1{— EVENTS  OF  1830-7. 


Koc'k  Ffinndntidn  — T51iio(l  'Will  Tell  — .Tolm  Drown  —  Mililury  Citrcfr  —  Tic- 
tn)il  SuriTiuler  — Uc'liiiiiMis  Eiilliiisi.isiii  —  NdIiIu  Pro.iiciiy  — Uurrct  Smitli 

—  Aiuoiig  Negroes — Kiuisiis  lloiuu  —  Abolitionist  Zeiil  —  Marciiiiig  On 

—  Anns  and  ]^Ic'ii  —  Oriitoiv  — Airninsl  Slavery —  Harper's  Ferry—  Funds 
Mild  Weni)ons  — Southern  Kansas — l)ccds  ii(>t  Words — Faitli  in  (Jod  — 
lleseued  Slaves  —  Y(ninir  JJrown  —  Saekiiiir  Lawrence  —  Ossiiwaloinic  — 

—  ]5ell  Eviction  —  Starvini;-  Family —  Insolent  Tactics  —  Exterminiition 

—  Fiulitinjr  Men  —  Tlu^  .Mareli  —  Sliihliolelli  —  lu'i)risals  —  I'roslavery 
Victims  —  Heac^tion—  Fresh  Troops  —Dispersal  —  Shannon's  Sliarpshoot- 
crs — After  Drown  —  Caiitain  Pate —  Prisoners  Shackled — Insanity  — 
Eneaminnent  —  Palmyra  —  Driiiru'ed  Preacher —  Ifiotons  I'limderers  — 
Prairie  City  —  Armed  Worshippers  —  '•  Old  I.rowii  " —  lliintini:  .Missoii- 
rians  —  Combined  Forces  —  IJrowii  and  Shore  —  'M  to  50  —  Cross  Fire  — 
Knllians  Itetreal  —  Shooting  Prisoners  —  "White  Flag —  Demanding  I'atu 

—  I'ncondilional  Surrender —  Brown's  Camp  —  JIul'ord's  Company  — 
Leconipton's  Surjirise  —  Failed  to  Connect  —  l{ecovering  Plunder  —  Can. 
non  Recaptured  —  Dull  Creek  —  Aiiiu'oaching  I'almyra  —  (governor's  Or. 
der—  Sumner's  Force  —  Deputy  Marshal  —  llickoiy  I'oint —  Guerrillas 

—  Drown  Caiilured  —  Enlreuclied  Force  — ^\■llite  Feather —  Merciful 
Captors  —  Pate  Ceiisun'd  —  Drowniles  Disperse  —  Wliilfield's  Cnnfji'  — 
r.  S.  Canip  — Punic  Faitli  —  Canlral  Shot— Prisoners  Murdered  —  Ossa- 
■watomio  Sacked  —  ^lajor  Sedgwick  —  Defenseless  —  Huinous  Devasta- 
tion—  Rogues  JIarch  —  War  Prevailing —  ^Missouri  Pirates  — Robbing 
Immigrants  —  I'urloining  Clothes  —  Traitors  Death  —  Hang  Abolitionists 

—  Food  'Wanting — Eastern  Solicitude  —  Congressional  Report  —  Doubts 
Resolved  —  "  Kansas  Aid  "  —  "Mr.  Deecher  —  Duy ing  Tlilles  —  Wabaunsee 
Colony  —  New  York  —  Illinois  —  Wisconsin  —  Free  States  —  Free  Kansas 
Friends  —  Nntional  Committee  —  Stores  Intercepted  —  Arms,  Money  and 
Jlen  —  Boston  Relief —  Proithelic  A rmameut  —  Presidential  Campaign  — 
Furore  —  RuHian  Portraiture  —  Kansas  Refugees  —  (^)ngressional  Art  — 
Southern  Reinforcemonts  —  Lying  and  Relying  —  Taxing  Friends —  More 
Troops  —  State  Legislature  —  Strengthening  To]ieka  —  Road  Inspectors  — 
Popuhir  Convt.'niion —  Leaders  Absent — Robinson's  Deputy — Shannoa 
Commands  —  Disperse  Traitors —  Sumner's  Dragoons  —  Woodson's  Hope 

—  Special  Session  —  Divergent  Views  —  Regular  Session  —  Rumonstruuco 


IIMliHMMJii..-'  -I- . 


■«l!ja(Jftl«Jt.{,:',.l.ia.UrJ.J.4.J»liU  J  !\ 


Tin:  Joiix  J>/;unx  Wai:—  1850-7. 


88T 


«0-7. 

y  Ciirc.T  —  Dc. 

—  Gcrrct  Siiiitli 
-^Marcliins^  On 

Fcny—  Funds 
Kaitli  in  Odd  — 
'Jssiiwaloiiiic  — 

Exti'i'ininiilioii 
Is  —  I'loslavi'iy 
n's  Sliurpshuot- 
il  —  Iiisimity  — 
I  Pliindcri'rs  — 
11 II ti Hi:  .Alissou- 

—  Cross  Fire  — 
L-miiiiding  I'ate 
's  Ciinipany  — 
I'liiiidi'i-  —  Can- 
Oovcriiiir's  Or- 
iit —  (JiU'i'i-illas 
lior —  ^Miicil'iil 
field's  C'li/if/r  — 
irdci'i'd  —  Ossa- 
iiuHis  Dcvasta- 
Ues — IJohbing 
igAbolitiiJiiists 
I'port— Doiiliis 
s  —  Wabaunsee 

—  Free  Kansas 
nis,  Money  and 
al  Campaign  — 
ressional  Art  — 
'""rionds —  More 
id  Inspector!?  — 
uty  —  Sliannoii 
"oodson's  Hope 
•  Kemonstruuco 


—  Woodson  A;  Company  —  Terrilorial  Siall— (iovernmeiil  by  I'loilanui- 
tion  — I'eojde's  Meeting — Marslial's  Hliinder  —  Oliligiiig  Uystanders^ 
FoiirlJi  of  July— Hail  Columl)ia  — Day  we  Celebrate  —  The  Deelaraliou 

—  Calling  Uidl  — Sumner's  Speeeli — Must  Disperse  —  Painful  Duly- 
Obeying  Orders  —  Murshal's  Brag  —  J)ispersed. 

While  iho  governor  and  the  committee  of  safety  were  arrang- 
ing the  details  of  tlie  lirst  paeilleation,  John  Brown  and  hi.s  four 
ijons  were  among  tlie  defenders  oi  Lawrence,  and  they  were  so 
resolute  against  concession  of  any  kind  to  the  enemy,  that  it  was 
necessary  for  Dr.  liobinson  to  assure  the  coui'ageous  crowd  that 
no  copditions  committing  tliem  to  obey  the  territorial  enactmenta 
were  included  in  the  treaty  before  Mr,  Shaimon  and  the  representa- 
tives of  the  free  state  party  could  go  to  the  Wakarusa  camj). 
The  old  man  and  his  sons  were  "rock  rooted"  in  the  best  sense. 
Their  ancestor  was  one  Peter  Jirown,  a  sturdy  pilgrim  that  landed 
on  Plymouth  lloek  from  the  ^layflowcr  on  that  day  in  December, 
1620, 

"  In  the  Old  Colony  days  in  Plymouth,  the  land  of  the  Pilgrims," 

concerning  which  Longfellow  has  sung  in  matchless  numbers  in 
"The  Courtship  of  Miles  Standish. "  Peter  signifies  a  rock,  and 
of  such  materials  the  Brown  family  were  compacted.  There  was 
a  regular  succession  from  that  Peter  to  represent  the  family  in 
every  trial  through  which  the  colony  of  New  England  passed 
from  Dee.  22,  1620,  until  the  revolution  of  1776,  when  one  of  the 
noble  stock  died  in  the  service,  captain  of  a  train  band  near 
New  York  City.  Twenty-four  years  after  that  event,  the  grand- 
son of  the  revolutionary  sire,  John  Brown,  who  was  to  die  for  his 
courage  displayed  at  Harper's  Ferry  and  elsewhere,  was  born  May 
9,  1800,  at  Torrington,  Conn.  Blood  will  tell,  and  the  child  had 
come  of  good  stock  on  both  sides.  His  mother's  father  was  one 
of  the  men  of  '76.  Soon  after  Ohio  had  been  admitted  to  the 
Union,  the  father  of  John  Brown  moved  his  little  family  into 
that  state,  where  he  settled  in  1805,  and  during  the  Indian-Brit- 
ish war  of  1813,  Owen  Brown  was  engaged  in  procuring  supplies 
for  our  army.  The  boy  John  accompanied  his  father  on  his  ex- 
peditions, so  that  he  was  not  without  insight  as  to  military  mat- 
but  the  conduct  of  Gov.  Hull,  at  Detroit,  in  lamely  submit- 
22 


g3g  TUTTLK's  IflSTOIiV  OFK.iySAf!. 

thv'  to  the  cnonncs  of    the  Union,  gave  a  special  tincture  of  dis- 
f,ust   for  cowardice  to  tl.e  wliole  o[  his    afterlife.     Had  he  re 
inainrdin  Connecticut  he  would  have  hecn  well  educated;    mt 
the  removal  to  Ohio,  a  state  only  three  years  admitted  to  tl>o 
T^nion,  when  he  was  live  years  old,  rol.bed  him  of  nmny  school 
udvantuges.     Tlnve  years  after  leaving   Torrington  his  mother 
.lied,  and  that  deprived  him  ef  <•  :  best  teacher  that  elnldnood 
knows,  just  at  an  age  when  training  was  most  important  m    ho 
formation  of  character.     The  boy's  fondness  for  his  mother  be- 
came  one  of  the  dearest  memories  in  his  career ;  and  she  was,  there 
can  be  no  doubt,  an  admirable  woman.     Religious  enthusiasm 
was  the  substratum  of  the  character  thus  being  formed  by  toil  and 
privation,  and  it  continucl  to  manifest  itself  in  every  crisis  of  his 
life      Tie  had  learned  the  trade  of  a  tanner,  but  his  design  was  to 
enter  the  church ;    and  but  for  his  eyes  failing  him  while  he  was 
preparing  for  college,  it  is  tolerably  certain  that  he  woald  have 
been  an  eftective  Congregational  preacher.      Resuming  his  old 
avocation  and   becoming  a  farmer,  he  was  twice  married,  and 
twenty  children  were  the  noble  progeny  that  were  m  part  left 
when  two  of  his  sons  with  himself  were  sacrificed  for  their  zeal 
on  behalf  of  the  slaves  in  Virginia,  in  Charlestown,  Dec.  2,  18o9. 
Business   vicissitudes   in    1849    left  him   penniless;   but  Gerret 
Smith,  to  whom  the  abolitionist  proclivities  of  the  veteran  wei^ 
known,  gave  him  a  piece  of  land  in  New  York  state,  m  the  Adx- 
rondak  mountains,  where  he  made  his  home  for  some  time,     i  he 
settlement  in  which  Brown  then  lived  consisted  in  part  of  negroes 
befriended  by  Mr.  Smith,  and  his  family  made  the.r  home  there 
to  the  end      When  John  Brown  was  executed,  his  remains  were 
buried  in  the  graveyard  there.     The  wool  trade,  in  winch  he 
acvain  embarked  in  1851,  took  him  to  Ohio,  and  he  remained  there 
for  about  four  years;  but,  in  the  year  1855,  when  reports  came 
back  from  the  early  settlers  in  Kansas  that  they  were  being  tyran- 
nized over  and  insulted  by  the  border  ruffians,  the  old  man,  now 
rapidly  approaching  sixty  years  of  c>ge,  and  having  little  more 
than  tour  years  of  his  career  to  run,  turned  his  attention  towards 
the  territory      His  four  elder  sons  were  among  the  earliest  emi- 
grants, arriving  in  Kansas  in  the  spring  of  1855,  when  the  Pawnee 
legislature  was  chosen  by  Missourians.     When  the  young  men 


Tit/:  .foils  /?/i"ir.v  W'.ti;—  h^)6-7. 


;i;^!) 


urc  of  clis- 
liul  lie  re- 
lated; Init 
:,tod  to  tho 
luny  school 
Ills  motlicr 
,  cliildliood 
-tiint  ill  the 
mother  be- 
0  was,  there 
enthusiasm 
by  toil  and 
crisis  of  his 
csign  was  to 
?hile  he  was 
wojkl  have 
ling  his  old 
narriod,   and 
in  part  left 
or  their  zeal 
Dec.  2,  1859. 
;   but  Gcrret 
veteran  were 
i,  in  the  Adl- 
,e  time.     The 
art  of  negroes 
V  home  there 
remains  were 
in  which  he 
emaincd  there 
reports  came 
e  being  tyran- 
old  man,  now 
UK  little  more 
mtion  towards 
e  earliest  emi- 
en  the  Pawnee 
le  young  men 


saw  that  thcMv  must  be  fighting  in  the  territory,  ihcy  wrote  homo 
to  their  fatlicr  to  send  them  arms;  and  he,  scenting  danger,  car- 
ried tlie  weapons,  together  witli  his  own  harness,  to  the  scene  of 
tlic  confUct.  Tims  it  hapi)ened  that  he  was  in  Lawrence  with  his 
young  men  when  the  treaty  was  made.  Kansas  was  to  be  his 
iiome  for  the  future,  because  he  could  sec  that  for  some  years  to 
come  the  warmest  corner  in  the  in-oslavery  battle  would  be  made 
in  that  location.  He  was  "  marching  on  "  to  the  great  purpose  of 
his  life,  the  war  against  slavery  any  where  and  at  any  cost.  He 
was  no  holiday  parade  man,  but  a  veteran  always  ready  for  the 

battle, 

lie  went  cast  in  ISofi,  to  detail  what  he  had  seen  in  Kansas, 
and  his  sons  accompanied  him,  his  object  being  to  make  the  peo- 
ple understand  how  terrible  the  struggle  must  become.  Tie  was 
requested  to  detail  his  experiences  before  the  legislature  in  the 
old  Bay  state,  and  he  addressed  that  body  in  a  vigorous  oration 
early  in  January,  1857.  IIari)er"s  Ferry  was  already  in  his 
mind's  eye,  and  the  weapons  were  ordered  at  this  time  which 
were  eventually  used  in  that  adventure.  Every  movement  of  his 
life  was  now  dominated  by  his  desire  to  consummate  abolition. 
At  the  antislavcry  conference  held  in  Canada,  he  was  the  master 
s]iirit,  but  when  it  became  more  evident  than  ever  that  help  was 
rcfpiired  in  the  territory,  he  used  all  the  influence  that  he  pos- 
sessed to  secure  a  troop  of  men  sufFicient  to  strengthen  the  set- 
tlers against  southern  aggression.  Without  funds  and  weapons, 
it  was  "lot  possible  to  fight  the  battle  successfully,  and  so  large  a 
proportion  of  the  munitions  of  war  sent  from  the  east  had  been 
seized  in  transit  by  the  enemy,  that  continued  appeals  had  to  be 
urged  upon  the  friends  in  the  free  states.  May,  1857,  saw  him 
once  more  in  Ossawatomic,  prepared  by  doughty  deeds,  as  well 
as  by  spoken  words,  to  testify  his  faith  in  the  Lord  of  Hosts, 
who  was  to  him  essentially  the  God  of  Battles,  by  whose  fiat  sla- 
very must  be  ended.  It  was  from  this  point  that  he  set  out  in 
1859,  upon  the  enterprise  which  has  left  his  name  imperishably 
•written  upon  the  page  of  history  for  his  faith  sake,  and  he  car- 
ried with  him  there  a  number  of  slaves  that  had  been  rescued 
from  their  masters  in  Missouri.  But  wc  have  to  deal  with  the 
John  Brown  war  in  Kansas,  and  we  must  not  wander  too  far 


yio 


Tittle's  Ilisnmy  of  Ka.ssas. 


alioiidoC  our  thoiiio ;  besuk's  wliicli,  llio  con.-luding  year  of  liis 
career  lias  bocii  tliu  llienie  of  .so  niany,  and  such  glorious  utter- 
ances by  till!  vvorkl'rt  groat  tliiiikera,  that  there  is  no  ueea  to  tres- 
pass upon   tluit   territory.     We  are  in   Kansa.s,  and  the  city  of 
Lawrence  is  at  the   point  of  being  sacked.       Among    the  men 
mareliing  to  the  re.-^eue  of  the  threatened  city,  we  find  Capt.  John 
Bruwn,  Jr.,son  of  the  okl  man,  now  absent  in  the  east.     Sixty 
men  inarched  with  him,  but  the  policy  of  weakness  prevailed, 
and  they,  with  many  others,  were  turned  back  from  what  might 
otherwise    have    been  a   sanguinary    eneounler.     The   city    was 
sacke.l,  the  men  were  disbanded,  and  things  were  once  again  fall- 
ing into  old  grooves,  when   the   i)ro,slavery  faction  became  pos- 
sessed of  the  idea,  as  wc  have  seen  at  Leavenworth,  tfiat  every  free 
settler  must  be  driven  out.     Ossawatomie  was  one  of  the    places 
chosen  for  the  exhibition  of  that  line  of  policy,  and    one  of  the 
settlers  named  Hell,  who  had  come  from  ^[issouri  to  settle  among 
proHavery  men,  was  especially  ofTensivc  ;  not  for  anything  done 
by  him,  but  because  he,  having  lived  in  Missouri,  had  yet  the 
indiscretion  to  avow  free  state  opinions.     He  was  compelled  to 
leave  the  house  he  had   been  occu])ying,  in  sjMte  oi  the  sick- 
ness of  his  wife,  and  when  he  had  gone  to  a  distance  to  procure 
food  for  his  homeless  and  starving  family,  he  was  sei/.ed  and  held 
a  prisoner  by  the  insolent  foe,  regardless  of  the  i)eeuliar  circum- 
stances of  suffering,  which  were  intensified  by  every  hour  of  his 
absence.       In  addition  to  this  instance  of  wanton   cruelty,   the 
Missourian  settlers  about  O.ssawatomie  availed  themselves  of  the 
absence  of  the  free  soil  fighting  men,  to  visit  and   insult  their 
wives  and  ftimilies,  giving  them  orders  to  quit  the  territory  on 
pain  of  death.     There  may  have  been  no  deliberate  intention 
back  of  all  these  threats,  but  there  is  abundant  reason  to  be 
found  in  the  tactics  of  the  party  elsewhere  for  the  assumption, 
that  every  free  settler  would  have  been  compelled  to  vacate  his 
lot,  if  he  could  not  defend  it  by  his  own  right  arm.     This  con- 
dition of  things  remained  when  "  Old  John   Brown "  returned 
from  the  east,  and  it  did  not  tend  toward  softening  his  feelings 
against  the  proslavery  party. 

The  belief  was  common  that  the  whole  settlement,  and  the 
Browns  more  particularly,  would  be  destroyed  by  an  act  of  sim- 


I 


TiiK  JoJis  B HOW'S  II '.(//—  ts^n-7. 


841 


your  of  his 
)rious  uttor- 
ic'Cil  to  trcs- 

the  city  of 
vr   tlic  men 

Ciipt.  John 
■list.  Sixty 
4  pi'ovuiloil, 
wliut  niigiit 
10  city  was 
:e  again  fall- 
bocanie  pos- 
at  every  free 
f  tlic  places 
,  one  of  the 
settle  among 
lything  done 

had  yet  the 
jonipcUed  to 
of  the  sick- 
le to  procure 
/ied  and  held 
jliar  circum- 
I  hour  of  his 

cruelty,  the 
iselves  of  the 

insult  their 
3  territory  on 
ate  intention 
reason  to  be 
3  assumption, 
to  vftcate  his 
n.  This  con- 
irn"  returned 
;  his  feelings 

lent,  and  the 
an  act  of  sim- 


ultaneous nsfassination,  and  tliere  were  very  few   that  wished  to 
f^it   (!alinly    down    and  wait    for  the  consummation.     A  council 
of  war  was  held,  and  "  Old  John  ^'advocated   war  on  the  iii.-tant. 
Tlio  majority  inclined  to  bide  the  course  of  events,  waiting  f.>r  re- 
inforcements and  watching  the  enemy  rlo.'Cly,  but  a  small  minority 
of  nine,  including  the  leader,  declared  for  the  arbitrament  of  the 
sword.     It  is  not  easy  for  us  to  determine  which   policy  was  the 
best.     The  younger  Browns  were  not  atnong  those  \v'ho  followed 
tlic  more  impetnous  leader,  but  the  men  who  had  chosen  the  more 
eventful  career  were  soon  heard  from.     The  little  army  of  obser- 
vation determined,  upon  mature  consultation,  that  certain  men 
who  were  the  leading  spirits  of  the  proslavcry  section,  and  had 
made  themselves  peculiarly  conspicuous  by  their  evil  deeds  dur- 
ing the  Lawrence  invasion,  should    be  held  responsible  for  tho 
actions  of  their  party,  and  if  any   indication  appeared  that  the 
scheme  of  murder  was  to  be  prosecuted,  they  should  be  destroyed 
insUnikr,  as  a  precautionary  measure.     On  the  24lli  of  ^fay,  1857, 
during  the  absence  of  the  leader  of  the  little  band,  five  men  thus 
marked  down  as  specially  dangenms,  Messrs.  Sherman,  Wilkinson, 
Doyle,  and  two  sons  of  the  latter,  had  committed  outrages  again.st 
the  free  settlers  which  pointed  toward  the  speedy  realization  of 
the  larger  design,  and  the  war  policy  determined  upon  in  council 
was    executed'^  the    oll'enders  were    brought  from    their  several 
dwellings  and  killed.     The  event  was  one  of  the  shocking  inci- 
dents of°a  warlike  time,  and  it  is  not  easy  to  determine  where  the 
blame  primarily  belonged.     When  Napoleon  returned  from  his 
ill-starred  invasion  of  Russia  after  Mo.^cow  had  been  burned,  and 
when  his  army  was  nearly  destroyed,  he  complained  to  his  minis- 
ter of  police  that  some  one  had  said  the  "  assault  upon  the  Czar 
was  a    crime."    "Sire,"  replied    Fouch6,    "It  is  worse  than  a 
crime ;  it  is  a  blunder."     Fouchc  was  wise  after  the  event.    Apart 
from  the  criminality  of  this  cold  blooded  line  of  conduct,  it  was 
a  blunder,  because  it  cooled  the  ardor  of  their  own  best  friends, 
and  in  a  corresponding  degree  it  infused  greater  rage  into  the  hearts 
of  the  dominant  faction.     But  there  never  yet  was  a  quarrel  be- 
tween two  sections  in  a  community  where  all   the  right  was  on 
one  side,  and  all  the  wrong  on  the  other.     Tho  constitution  of 
humanity  forbids  any  such  phenomena,  and  the  war  in  Kansas 


\ 


'M'2 


Ti  n'i.i:'s  llifiTouY  OF  K\ssAs. 


was  of  :i  kind  I'spiviiilly  c'llouIiiU'il  to  carry  extromo  iin'ii  on  liolli 
Hidos  to  tlioir  worst  (U'(M Is,     It  is  liowovcr  only  f;iir  to  tlioinvrticip- 
ants  ill  tlioso  cxcoiitiona  to  say  tliiit  oKl  Ciipt.  lirowii,  who  was  iib- 
Hciit  !it  the  tiinc,  fully  iiidors.Ml  the  action  o[  hiscotninand  wliiMi  he 
roturiHMl,  and  it  is  |)rol):il)lo  that  In;  km'W  mon'  than  will  uvor  ho 
told  as  to  the  provoi'afion  whii.'h    Ik- licld   to  bo  suflicient.     Tho 
Ixji-diT  nowspaiHTs  teoiiu'd  witli    inllainmatory  a|)i)oals  onoo  more, 
there  was  a  perocptihlo  roai-tioii  within  the  territory  itself  against 
abolitionists,  and  the  governor  was  itnportiined  to  supply  every 
proslavery  man  with  weapons,  while  many  wanti'd  all  the  United 
States  troops  tliat  were  proeurable  preeipitated  at  onee  upon  the 
olTeiiding  (iistriet.     Olliccrs  were  dispatehed   with   siiiall  detach- 
ments to  Ossawatomie  and  to  Pottawattamie  (Jroek,  to  ascertain 
the  facts  as  far  as  possible,  and  to  disperse  armed  bodies  of  in'Mi, 
should  any  be  found  to  have  giithered.     C'apt.  lirown  with  eighty 
men  was  found  by  one  of  the  olheers,  and  he,  upon  being  ordered 
to  disperse  his  force,  did  liomage  to  tlio  IT.  S.  uniform  by  com- 
manding liis  fr'or.ds  to  repair  to  their  homes.     The  lieutenant 
in  command  reported  all  quiet   in    consccpienee  of  that  act  of 
obedience,  but  there  were  parties  not  to  be  so  easily  contented. 
After  the  sacking  of  Lawrence,  one  Capt.  Pate,  a  Virginian  an 
editor  and  newspaper  correspondent,  remained  iu  the  territory  m 
command   of  a  troop  of  freiibooters,  who   assumed   tho  name  of 
"  Shannon's  Sharpshooters,"  and  were  for  some  time  a  terror  to 
peaceful  travelers.     The  report.s  sent  to  the  press  by  the  gallant 
commander  were  a.s  wonderful  as  the  exploits  of  Pam/o-s  himself, 
but  in  reality  his  command  were  more  dangerous  to  henroosts 
than  to  free  state  settlers  when  armed  for  defense,     ^[r.  Pate  had 
stayed  in  Kansas  contrary  to  orders,  after  the  sheriil's  posse  bad 
been   dismissed,  because    his    command   would    cease  when  he 
crossed  the  border,  and  he  hated  to  realisje  ^'Olhello'a  occupation 
gone,"  with  "  all  the  pomp  and  circumstance  of  war."     The  cor- 
respondent would  be  a  freebooter  rather  than  relapse  into  private 
citizenship,  so  he  remained  ready  to  carry  out  any  designs  that 
might  be  suggested  against  the  other  side.     The  hoped  for  chance 
had  come,  he  would  capture  Brown,  and  before  anybody  could 
suggest  a  doubt  as  to  the  success  of  a  proposition  so  feasible,  the 
dashino'  ofTicer  was  at  Ossawatomie,  and  had  failed  to  find  the 


i' 


L_. 


MMH 


Tin:  Joiis  /.*/.'/ II. V  ir.i/;.  — /sV/-?. 


'M^ 


iii'u  <)i>  l)oth 
ilu'lKirticii)- 
vv'ni)  was  iil)- 

Itvl   wluMl   llO 

will  i!Vi'r  1)0 
icietit.  The 
^  Diico  more, 
it.sflf  ii<.raiiist 
luiiply  every 
II  the  riiitcd 
)(■((  upon  the 
mall  ilctacli- 

ti)  ascertain 
xlics  (i[  iniMi, 
1  with  eighty 
eing  ordered 
)rm  by  com- 
ic lieutenant 

that  act  of 
ly  contented. 
Virginian,  an 
c  tcrrilcii-y  m 
the  name  of 
lie  a  terror  to 
y  tlie  gallant 
'■(i/lrs  liimaelf, 
to  henroosts 
Mr.  Pate  had 
I's  posse  bad 
ase  when  he 
s  occupation 
r."  Thecor- 
B  into  private 
'  designs  that 
ed  for  chance 
lybody  could 
)  feasible,  the 
1  to  find  the 


man  of  whom  he  was  in  search.     The  old   mini  \vn.<»  absent,  but 
ho  found  two  of  liis  sons,  made  pri.sontrs  of  ihcm.  put  them  in 
irons,  burned  houses,  arrested  any   per.«.n  that  objected  to  hi.s 
homo  being  set  on   lire,  and  generally  deported   him,«?elf  like  ii 
brave  commaLUci   of  irregulars,  who  wants  to  create  sensational 
incidcnl.s,  when   there   is  no  armed    force  to  comjiel  respect  for 
property  and  life.     The  .b)hn    Un.wn  war  had  commenced  in  so- 
ber eariie.st,  and  May  olst  found  ^^everal  O.-^sawatomie  settlers  be- 
ing driven,  iKUulcuficd   and   iroiied,  from  camp  to  camp,  on  their 
way  to  liccompli'ii.     Two  of  the  captives  were  John  IJrowii,  .Ir., 
a  memberof  the  Topcka  legi.-^lature,  and  Ja.son,  his  brother.     T.ut 
little  time  ehqised  before  the  old   man  was  made  aware  thai  \ua 
eons  were  in  the  hands  of  tlie  en'.-my  ami  that  he  had  been  in- 
quired for.     Perhaj>s  it  may  have  been  politeness,  or  atTection,  or 
u  mixture  of  both  feelings,  bvit  he  eertaiidy  became  more  anxious* 
fur  an  interview  than  Capt.  Talc  himself.     The  freebnotcrdouhled 
and  turned  like  a  hunted  hare,  trying  to  recover  its  form,  but  the 
prisoners  could  not  move  <piile  as  rapidly  as  he  desired,  and  they 
Bullered  accordingly.     Eventually  the  captives  were  handed  over 
to  Lieut.  Wood  and  a  detachment  of  dragoons,  and  conveyed  to 
their  destination,  at  Lecoinpton,  wIkmicc  they  were  transferred  to 
Leaven  worth,   where  young  John  lirown  became  insane.     The 
town  of  Palmyra  was  the  next  point  of  attack  for  Capt,  Pate;  it 
was  just  as  dcf«>nsclcss  as  Ossawatomie,  and  entirely  taken  by- 
surprise.     The  troop  came  upon  the  iilace  by  night,  enjoyed  tho 
privilege  of  plunder,  took  several   prisoners,  and  among  the  rest 
an  old  and  unoll'ending  Bai)tist  preacher,  whom  they  bound,  and 
then  compelled  to  swallow  a  quantity  of  whisky  which,  except 
for  such  malicious  purposes,  they  would  not  have  spared  from 
their  own  throats.     Having  finished  their  Saturday  night's  work 
at  Palmyra  on  Sunday  morning,  they  went  next  to  Piairic  City, 
about  fourteen  miles  from  Lawrence,  a  small  village  of  about  five 
hundred  inhabitants  now,  but  tlien  with  little  more  than  a  tithe 
of  that  number.     Tiieir  success  in  the  smaller  village  of  Palmyra 
had  given  them  confidence  for  laxger  exploits,  and  the  villagers 
at  church  were  astonished  by  the  sounds  of  an  armed  force  in  the 
streets.     It  was  a  time  when  prudent    men  went  armed,  even  to 
church,  and  unfortunately  for  the  assuilants  the  villagers  did  not 


S44 


Trrn.i's  Hi'Hi'r  ur  I'AS'^.tff. 


know  tliiit  tlio  troop  wa.s  invincil)lc,  ho  tli'y  .«tillic'l  out  from  tlu'ir 
place  of  worship,  iiiailo  Kotiic  few  i>ri!«onors  ami  drove  tlio  balaiico 
of  tlic  fri'dxiotors  away  in  ^Mvat  disor-lcr.  Tlir  pursuer  f)t  I'ato 
vas  now  close  ujioii  liis  track,  ami  on  Momlay  iiiorniiig  new.s  was 
ol)taiticil  as  to  the  wliercnboiit.s  of  tlio  cncampinoiit  of  the  pro- 
slavery  I  lien. 

Jolin  l^rown  had  formed  an  alliaueo  with  Capt.  Shore  f)f  tho 
Prairie  City  Company,  and  between  them  the  two  commanders 
could  Urin^,'  twenty-six  men  into  tlio  field,  when  they  ascertaine<l 
^vllerc  the  "spoil  eneuinlicnul  foe"  was  postc<l.  The  enemy  num- 
liored  llfty,  and  b(;ing  on  the  defensive,  could  use  their  wagons  as 
n  fortification,  so  lliat  the  odtls  were  largely  in  their  favor.  The 
alarm  was  soon  given  tiiat  the  attack  was  imminent,  and  the  free- 
booters were  drawn  up  behind  tlieir  line  of  defense.  The  force 
of  the  assailants  had  been  divided,  and  the  warrior  journalist  was 
vinder  h  cross  fire  for  which  he  was  onlircly  unprepared.  Five 
ininiilL..  if  sharp  firing  dislodged  the  freebooters  from  their  wagon 
fortress,  but  the  prisoners  were  left  in  a  tent  exposed  to  the  fusil- 
lade of  their  friends.  One  of  the  Missourians  concluded  that  it 
devolved  upon  him  to  shoot  the  prisoners,  who  were  lying  flat 
upon  the  ground,  so  that  the  bullets  of  the  attacking  party  whis- 
tled above  them,  doing  no  harm.  Already  a  (lag  of  truce  had 
been  sent  to  the  assiiilants,  asking  for  quarter,  but  pending  the 
result  of  that  ai)pecl  it  would  be  perfectly  safe  to  murder  their 
own  captives,  who,  being  umler  fire,  might  bo  supposed  to  be 
killed  by  their  comrades  on  tho  hill.  Dr.  Graham,  who  had  been 
eei/.ed  at  Palmyra  during  the  eamissado  on  Saturday  night,  was 
to  have  boon  tho  first  dispatched,  but  he  made  his  escape  and  ran 
to  join  Brown's  party,  regardless  of  a  few  musket  shots,  one  of 
■which  struck  him  in  the  hip.  That  made  the  murder  of  the  rest 
too  risky,  when  a  surrender  on  any  comlitions  was  to  be  preferred 
to  instant  death,  and  puni.shmcnt  for  such  a  crime  would  certainly 
follow.  The  firing  lasted  just  three  hours,  when  the  Missourian 
force  at  Black  Jack  sent  to  pray  for  quarter  from  a  force  just  half 
as  large  as  their  own,  but  free  settlers  have  or  should  have  always 
a  marked  advantage  over  freebooters.  John  Brown  respected  the 
■white  flag  so  far  as  to  allow  safety  to  the  bearer,  but  he  would 
not  treat  with  any  man  except  Pate,  and  that  worthy  being  noti- 


c 


Till.  .I"ii\  Ili.DWS  W'.ti;—  l>'>i'>-7. 


345 


.  frmn  tlicir 
tlio  lialinicn 
lUT  of  I'ato 
^  news  wns 
of  the  pro- 

'lioic  nf  till! 
nimuiUliUM'S 

asoortaiiKMl 
nctiiy  imiii- 
r  wngoiiH  as 
avor.  Tlio 
lul  the  froc- 
Thc  force 
irnalist  wii* 
ircd.  Five 
their  wa^'oii 
to  the  fusil- 
ulod  that  it 
•0  lying  flat 

party  wliis- 
t  truce  had 
pending  the 
lurdor  their 
|)osed  to  be 
lo  had  been 
/  night,  was 
ape  and  ran 
hots,  one  of 
r  of  the  rest 
be  preferred 
,ld  certainly 

MissoLirian 
ree  just  half 
liave  always 
,'sj)ected  the 
dt  he  would 

being  noti- 


fied of  til."  fact,  cp.rdily  nnswercd  tlie  dctimnd   in  por^«on.     A 
graphic  c..lunui  for  the  "'Missouri  Ilopublican  "  mi-ht  have  been 
written  bv  its  correspondent  as  tolas  own  appearance  in  that  fate- 
ful hour,  but  the  powers  of  deseriptio!i,  which  revelled  in  hen 
rooHt  vietorics.  failed  in  the  Insk  of  describing  an  i^ntMninious  do- 
feat  of  liflv  valiunt  troopers  by  twenty-six  of  the  cohmists.    The 
surrender  was  iineoiiditioiial,  and  ('apt.  Ib-own  with  a  detachment 
of  live  men  proceeded  lo  tlie  camp  on   Hlack  Jack  to  receive  sub- 
mission, anil  more  prisoners  than  all  his  party  could  have  guarded 
but  for  reiiiforeements  wiiich  now  began  to  arrive  from  fiawrenec, 
Franklin  and  elsewhere.     The  ralmyra  plunder  and  prisoners, 
aiiil  all  the  camp  eipiipagcof  the  plunderers  fell  into  the  hands  of 
their  masters      A    fortitied  camp   was  established  in  the  woods 
back  of  Trairie  City,  on  Middle  Ottawa  Creek,  and  John  lirown 
with  his  command  was  rea.ly  for  all  comers.     The  forces  of  the 
enemy  were  moving  this  way,  and  so  were  troops  of  supporters. 
Franklin  was  of  course  near  at   hand,  little  more  than  ten  mile.q 
distant,  and  Maj.  Ibiford  with  his  company  remained  there  ready 
for  emergencies,  and  guarding  the  spoils  obtained  from  Lawrence. 
When  the  mountain  would  not  go  to  Mahomet,  the  pi'opiiet  made 
a  merit  of  necessity  by  going  to  the  mountain,  so  when  Ibiford  did 
not  se(!k  his  enemy,  the  free  state  men  went  in  search  of  him. 
A  few  parties  from  Lawrence  planned  the  attack  on  his  force,  but 
the  Wakarusa  contingent  failed  to  connect,  and  the  free  state  men 
blundered  into  the  fight,  each  section  figliting  its  own  battle  with 
an  undivided  force  fully  prepared  for  the  assault.     The  result  in 
spite  of  all  disadvantages  was  in  favor  of  the  settlers,  the  small- 
ness  of  whose  numbers  could  not  be  ascertained  in  the  darkness, 
and  before  morning   Ruford's  men  had  abandoned  their  guard 
house  with  all  their  munitions  and  stores.     The  spoils  of  the  vic- 
tors embraced  the  cannon  surrendered  at  Lawrence,  and  more  of 
the  goods  which  were  stolen  during  the  sack  of  that  city  than  the 
free  state  companies  could  carry  away,  before  the  United  States 
troops  would  V)e  upon  them  from  Lawrence,  only  four  miles  off. 
Bull  Creek  was  the  camping  ground  of  a  force  organized  under 
Gen.  Whitfield,  who  failing  to  secure  a  seat  in  congress  was  glad 
to  obtain  a  jiost.     Palmyra  was  selected  by  him  as  a  good  point 
for  operations  with  a  force  of  three  hundred  men,  including  many 


346 


Tutti.e's  JfisTonr  of  Kaxsas. 


notables  from  over  tlic  bonier,  because  from  his  position  there  he 
could  menace  his  opponents  with  much  damage.  Coleman,  the 
murderer,  was  one  of  his  council,  and  could  give  information  as 
to  the  men  who  served  in  the  opposing  ranks,  and  the  best  way 
to  distress  them. 

The  pro-slavery  men  were  uniformly  worsted  in  every  enc  oun- 
tcr,  and  it  was  time  for  their  patron  to  come  to  the  rescue,  so  Gov. 
Shannon  issued  a  jiroclamation  commanding  a  truce.  All  armed 
bands  were  to  di.sper.se,  and  Col.  Sumner  v;ith  his  dragoons  was 
comm  issioncd  to  cai  IT  out  the  order.  Arrests  were  to  be  made 
fit  the  same  time,  and  the  d(!puty  marshal  accompanied  the  United 
States  forces  fur  that  puri)ose.  The  proclamation  prevented  some 
of  the  free  state  men  rallying  witli  their  comrades  at  Hickory 
Point,  but  a  formidable  company  of  more  than  one  hundred  as- 
sembled there  to  watch  Gen.  Whitlield,  and  to  intervene  effect- 
ively if  his  three  hundred  border  rufUans  should  a.ssail  Palmyra. 
The  two  camps  were  about  one  mile  apart.  All  the  guerrilla 
leaders  on  the  free  st.;te  side  were  in  the  neighborhood,  and  their 
united  forces  made  about  two  hundred  o])posed  to  abt)ut  five 
hundred  Missourians  and  their  allies.  On  the  5th  of  June,  1856, 
Col.  Sumner  arrived  near  Palmyra  and  commenced  his  labors  in 
breaking  up  the  panoply  of  war.  The  free  state  men  dispersed 
at  the  first  order,  because  nothing  would  induce  them  to  come 
into  hostile  contact  with  the  forces  of  the  Union.  Capt.  Shore 
was  the  first  officer  to  disband  his  troops.  Brown  having  com- 
municated with  the  colonel,  seeking  an  interview,  was  encouraged 
to  come  out  of  his  strong  entrenchment  in  the  woods  and  made  a 
prisoner;  but  he  was  not  dismayed  by  that  circumstance,  having 
well  grounded  faith  in  the  commandant.  When  he  led  the 
United  States  troops  to  his  camp,  they  found  twenty  seven  prison- 
ers guarded  by  fifteen  settlers,  in  a  position  all  but  impregnable. 
The  deputy  marshal  was  the  same  personage  that  had  once  taken 
ex-Governor  Eeeder  under  a  writ  and  allowed  that  gentleman  to 
escape  from  a  discreet  regard  for  his  own  personal  safety;  he  had 
come  now  with  Col.  Sumn-c^-  under  the  pretense  that  he  must 
make  arrests,  but  iiis  conscience  was  mastered  by  a  sense  of  the 
possibilities,  and  he  declared  that  he  had  no  writs  for  the  men 
around  him,  and  John  Brown  and  all  his  men  were  at  liberty  to 


The  Joirx  Huows  W.m—lSoG-l. 


Sll 


tion  there  he 
Uoleman,  the 
iforrnation  as 
,he  best;  way 

'ery  enc  oun- 
5cue,  so  Gov. 
All  armed 
rairoons  was 
to  be  made 
d  the  United 
ivented  some 
at  Hickory 
hundred  as- 
rvene  effect- 
lil  Palmyra, 
the  guerrilla 
id,  and  their 
)  abt)ut  five 
June,  1856, 
;U3  labors  in 
en  dispersed 
em  to  come 
Capt.  Shore 
having  com- 
i  encouraged 
and  made  a 
ance,  having 
he  led  the 
leven  prison- 
mpregnable. 
i  once  taken 
gentleman  to 
:ety ;  he  had 
lat  he  must 
sense  of  the 
for  the  men 
It  liberty  to 


retur-i  homo.     Tlic  freebooter  Capt.  Pate  was  set  at  liberty  with 
his  gang,  but  Col.  SumMcr  reprimanded  the  worthy  wuimander 
for  his  misdeeds.     Capt.  Prown  represented   that  he  and  his  men 
were  only  acting  in  concert  to  save  their  homes  and  properties 
from  the  Wliitlield  party  close  at  hand,  but,  upon   the  .listinct 
promise  that  the  enemy  should  be  dispersed  immediately,  he  and 
his  friends  went  on  their  various  ways  to  resume  the  industries  of 
peace.     The  other  camp  was  visited  in  good  faith,  and,  upon  an 
express  encnu"jinent  entered  into  by  the  congressional  delegate  of 
the  MissouV-ian  faction,  that  there  should  be  no  further  hostilities 
on  his    part,    tlie   colonel    commandant   went   into     camp   near 
Prairie  City  for  one  night,  and  then  returned  to  the  fort.     Gen. 
Whitfield  was  a  man   of  his  word,  as  it  is  believed   that  many 
prisoners  were  murdered  by  his  force  on  the  following  day,  and 
certainly  a  young  free-state  settler  named  Cantral  was  shot  as  a 
traitor  to  Missouri,  because  he  had  formerly  resided  in  that  state, 
and  had  since  borne  arms  against  .slavery.     The  facts  were  wit- 
nessed by  the  free  state  prisoner  Bell,  whose  case  has  before  been 
mentioned,  who  was  also  an  old   Missourian  resident,  and  had 
been  captured  when  conveying  food  to  his  sick  wife  and  home- 
less family.     Col.  Sumner  would  have  rescued  Cantral,  but  that 
he  had  faith  in  the  promises  of  Mr.  Whitfield,  and  perhaps  that 
gentleman  may  have  been  overruled  by  comrades  with  less  honor 
than  himself.     The  invaders  availed  themselves  of  the  absence 
of  Coj.  Sumner  to  divide  their  forces  instead  of  dispersing,  and 
Ossawatomie  was  menaced   with  an  attack.     The  commandant 
was  certain  there  would  be  no  hostile  act,  but,  in  the  event  of 
such  an  outrage  being  attempted,  Maj.  Sedgwick  with  a  sufficient 
force  was  left  in  the  locality  ;  thus  it  happened  that  Ossawatomie 
was  a  second  time  defenseless  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and, 
after  the  departure  of  the  major,  the  village  was  sacked,  houses 
were  burned,  and  the  ruffians  retreated  precipitately  with  all  the 
spoil  they  could  carry  away.     During  the  whole  summer  sueh  ex- 
ploits were  the  order  of  the  day,  all  the  horrors  of  civil  war 
prevailing  in  Kansas  in  addition   to  the  outrages  incidental  to 
invasion,  and  the  assailing  force  had  only  to  cross  the  border  or 
to  come  under  the  protection  of  United  States  troops,  commanded 
by   the   Centurion   Shannon,  to  be  personally  safe  from  repri- 


348 


TrTTLKS  IllSTUliY  OF  K.tss.is. 


I 


sals.  The  rule  of  ^[r.  Shannon  meant  ruin  for  the  territory. 
There  was  no  house  safe  from  inidni<rht  robbers  and  asssassins, 
wlio  made  partisanship  their  pretense  for  carrying  on  their  dep- 
redations, and  found  safely  in  the  governor's  protection,  un- 
less they  were  suspected  of  free  state  proclivities.  Men  were 
sliot  down  and  robbed  on  the  highway,  women  were  overpower- 
ed and  outraged  in  houses,  woodmen  procuring  fuel  for  their 
families  were  hanged  on  the  branches  of  trees  which  they  would 
have  felled,  homes  were  attacked  and  set  on  fire  in  the  night, 
eo  that  women  rud  children  were  left  without  clothing,  shel- 
ter or  food  in  the  ojien  prairies,  harvests  were  destroyed  in 
the  field,  burned  in  the  granai'ies  or  left  to  perish  upon  the 
ground,  so  that  food  became  scarce  in  the  last  degree  all  over  the 
territory,  and  supplies  sent  from  afar  to  succor  the  starving  were 
talccn  by  the  pirates  on  the  ^lissouri,  or  thrown  overboard  into 
the  river.  No  men  could  enter  upon  an  undertaking,  however 
iegilimate  with  a  reasonable  expectation  of  reward,  and  all  the 
time  new^  arrivals  were  reporting  that  they  had  been  robbed  on 
their  way  to  the  territory,  deprived  of  money,  weapons,  clothing 
and  food,  and  forbidden  to  proceed  into  the  accursed  land  under 
the  penalty  of  death.  The  evils  of  civil  war  ravaged  the  coun- 
try, and  nil  the  time  the  forces  of  tlie  union  were  compelled  to 
serve  on  the  side  of  the  oppressors.  The  blockade  of  the  Mis- 
souri was  more  complete  than  ever,  and  although  the  fact  had 
■been  publi.sbed  far  and  wide,  Franklin  Pierce  had  not  even  a 
proclamation  that  could  be  hurled  at  the  ofl^enders.  The  press 
of  the  Missourian  party  knew  so  well  that  there  would  be  no 
action  on  the  part  of  the  chief  executive,  that  a  project  was  dis- 
cussed in  cold  blood  for  hanging  abolitionists  trying  to  enter 
Kansas  i  y  the  river  highway,  in  order  that  the  spectacle  of  a  few 
boat  loads,  meeting  the  fate  of  traitors,  should  dSter  others  from 
attempts  of  the  kind.  The  spring  of  1857  found  famine  prevail- 
ing all  over  Kansas,  except  among  the  Missourians,  and  accord- 
ing to  all  appearances  the  state  of  siege  was  going  to  be  continued 
as  long  as  the  beleaguermenc  of  Leydcn,  where  for  one  year  the 
Netherlanders  resisted  Spain,  and  fo;  seven  weeks  the  defenders 
were  without  bread  before  the  Prince  of  Orange  could  come  to  their 
rescue.     There  was  no  lack  of  solicitude  on  the  part  of  all  classes 


w- 


The  Jons  Bu(>»s  ir.i'.'  — 7^50-7. 


349 


ic  territory, 
(1  ass?assins, 
1  their  dep- 
tectioii,  \in- 
Men  were 
overpowcr- 
cl  for  their 
they  would 
n  the  night, 
thing,  shel- 
lestroyed  in 
;h  upon  the 
:  all  over  the 
tarving  were 
irboard  into 
ng,  however 
and  all  the 
1  robbed  on 
)ns,  clothing 
[  land  under 
3d  the  coun- 
ompelled  to 
of  the  Mis- 
he  fact  had 
1  not  even  a 
.  The  press 
i^ould  be  no 
ject  was  dis- 
ng  to  enter 
acle  of  a  few 
others  from 
nine  prevail- 
and  accord- 
be  continued 
one  year  the 
he  defenders 
nome  to  their 
of  all  classes 


except  the  duly  constituted  authorities,  but  food,  clotlnng,  arms 
and  reinforcements  were  all  contraband  of  war  upon  the  Missouri, 
and  there  was  no  force  available  to  compel  justice,      i  he  tree 
states  were  being  aroused  to  a  pitch  of  bitterness  never  before 
realized,  lecturers  were  traversing  the  country  from  city  to  city, 
bearing  aloft  the  symbols  of  distress,  and  in  no  tame  or  msuE- 
n,.ient\vay,  describing  the  woes  which  must  be  relieved.     Some  of 
the  men  so  engaged  had  fought  for  the  side  for  which  they  were 
pleading,  and  money  was  readily  procured  to  send  aid  to  the  suf- 
ferer.   'The  incompetency  and  favoritism  of  Mr.  Shannon  were 
insisted  upon  in  the  press,  on  the  platform  and  in  congressional 
circles,  but  that  procured  no  redress,  because  it  only  tended  to 
convince  Mr.  Pierce  and  the  senate  with  whom  the  appointing 
power  rested,  that  they  had  given  to  their  friends,  the  proslavery 
faction,  a  valuable  ally,     The  congressional  report  had  become 
public  property  in  August,  1856,  and  during  the  whole  winter  the 
Lass  of  evidence  which  accompanied  the  fmding  of  the  committee 
of  investigation  had  been  served  up  by  the  press,  as  well  as  com- 
mented upon  in   lecture  halls,  resolving  the  doubt  of  the  com- 
munity.    It  was  idle  for  the  other  side  to  say  that  the  evidence 
was  not  worthy  of  credence,  for  the  committee  had  published  .he 
depositions  of  well  known  democrats  as  well  as  of  whigs  and  free 
soilers,  and  many  of  the  witnesses  were  men  for  whose  verac,  y  hun- 
dreds on  everv  side  were  ready  to  swear.     It  became  the  fashion 
^vith  one  section  of  the  people,  and  the  passion  with  another,  to  form 
"  Kansas  Aid  Societies,"  and  meetings  under  such  auspices  were 
attended  by  hundreds  of  thousands.     Some  went  because  they 
had  relatives  engaged  in  the  struggle  from  whom  they  had  not 
heard   for  months,   in  consequence  of   the  destruction  of  mails. 
Many  more,  because  they  were  interested  in  the  principle  for 
which  the  emigrants  were  fighting,  and  not  n  few  who  sought 
only  to  gratify  an  idle  curiosity,  or  to  float  with  the  stream  be- 
came fired  by  the  recital  of  the  occasion,  until  they  would  have 
foucrht  Satan  himself,  to  assist  the  oppressed.     In  such  cases  as 
well  as  in  that  desribed  by  Goldsmith,  the  orator  realized  that, 
"  Truth  from  liis  lips  prevailed  with  double  sway. 
And  fools,  who  came  to  scoff,  remained  to  pray." 
Henry  Ward  Beeoher  was  one  of  the  men  whose  voices  were 


■^MMMIM^MMa 


I 


i"' 


&5() 


Tvrn.ifs  llismur  of  Kaxsas. 


being  beard  on  tlic  question,  and  liis  oratory  thrilled  his  hearers 
everywhere;  he  was  a  man  entircily  in  earnest,  and  he  eould  an- 
swer [or  a  daily  increasing  congregation  in  Brooklyn,  as  well  as 
for  many  hundreds  of  thousands  to  whom  his  name  was  a  house- 
hold word.  At  one  meeting  in  New  Haven,  Conn.,  where  he  lec- 
tured, contributions  were  collected  instantly  to  purchase  fifty 
rifles  of  the  best  descrijition,  and  Tlymouth  church  stood  pledged 
for  half  as  many  more,  irrespective  of  what  individual  members 
might  give,  for  the  outfit  of  the  Wabaunsee  colony,  now  flourish- 
ing as  one  of  the  most  prosperous  communities  in  Kansas.  Wis- 
consin was  represented  in  the  movement  by  a  great  meeting  in 
the  city  of  ^[ilwaukee,  in  which  a  quantity  of  arms  was  given  and 
$3,000  in  money,  besides  which  every  county  in  the  state  was  or- 
ganized to  jiroeure  assistance.  Companies  were  being  raised  and 
drilled  to  marcli  into  the  debatable  land,  and  determine  the  whole 
diflienlty  by  skillfully  propelled  lead.  Chicago,  as  usual,  stood 
for  Illinois,  and  when  it  was  reported  that  some  emigrants  from 
that  state  had  been  robbed,  ill  used  and  turned  back  by  the  Mis- 
sourians,  there  was  a  meeting  held  in  the  great  metropoli.s,  which 
witliin  one  hour  contril)utcd  $20,000  to  remove  obstructions  from 
the  Jkfissouri  River.  Other  parts  of  the  state  were  equally  ou  the 
qui  vice,  and  there  was  to  be  no  dearth  of  treasure  for  carrying  on 
the  war  which  the  south  had  wantonly  provoked.  When  the 
free  states  held  their  conference  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  Illinois  was 
represented  by  three  delegates,  the  other  free  states  having  one 
each,  and  a  society  w;  organized  which  eollceted  and  distributed 
money  to  the  amount  of  $120,000,  besides  sending  other  material 
aid  which  w;,^  contributed  by  members  and  friends  all  over  the 
free  states.  1  o  meetings  ol  the  Directorate  continued  until  Jan- 
nary,  1857.  Iriends  of  free  Kansas  were  becoming  a  consider- 
able body,  and  in  spite  of  all  that  could  be  do:^  j  in  the  way  of 
intercepting  aid,  ^Missouri  had  done  more  to  mcrease  the  impetus 
of  public  opinion  against  the  system  of  slavery,  than  all  the  abo- 
lition presses  that  had  been  at  work  since  Benezet  published  his 
book  on  the  subject  in  this  country  in  1762.  Massachusetts  had 
a  society  of  its  own  whic'u  (  olleeted  f  n-  similar  purposes  nearly 
$100,000  in  money,  besides  arms,  clothing  and  food  in  consider- 
able quantities.     This  association,  or  rather  two  societies  in  sue- 


I 


nWiiWWtfWI.'WHItiW 


Till-:  Jons  Ihtows  W.ui—  1>^''0'7. 


obi 


\  his  hearers 
10  coulil  aii- 
1,  as  well  us 
,vas  a  house- 
vhero  he  lec- 
irchase  fifty 
;oocl  pknlgcd 
lal  members 
low  flourish- 
iiisas.  Wis- 
meetiiig  in 
as  given  and 
state  was  or- 
g  raised  and 
no  the  wliolo 
usual,  stood 
igrants  from 
by  the  Mis- 
)polia,  which 
uctions  from 
ually  oil  the 
•  carrying  on 
When  the 
Illinois  was 
having  one 
3  distributed 
;her  material 
1  all  over  the 
;d  until  Jan- 
a  consider- 
n  the  way  of 
the  impetus 
allthe  abo- 
ublished  his 
:;husetts  had 
30ses  nearly 
in  consider- 
ieties  in  suc- 


rcpsion,  worked  in  the  old  Bay  State  from  the  early  part  of  18o6 
until  nearly  the  end  of  1858,  and  rendered  good  service  all  the 
time,  .sending  at  first  only  contributions  to  the  commissariat  of  the 
free  settlers,  but  at  length  contributing  arms  and  ammunition. 
Two  hundred  rifles  which  were  sent  by  the  society,  through  s.)mo 
misunderstanding,  remainc'  m  Towa  until  1850,  when  John  Bnnvn 
carried  them  along  to  Harper's  Ferry,  and  they  fell  with  h.m  into 
the  i.ands  of  the  I'hillistines.     While  all  this  excitement  was  pre- 
vailin-,  the  presedential  campaign  was  in  full  blast,  and  m  many 
tr,Nvns   usually  quiet,    the   bonfires  were  piled    to   mountainous 
heights  to  receive  the  efTigics  of  the  more  noted  leaders  of  the 
bonier  party,  after  they  had  been  paraded   round   the  neighbor- 
hood by  torchli-ht  processions.     The  outrages  committed  m  Kan- 
sas were  the  main  stock  from  which  illustrations  were  drawn,  and 
the  proslavery  men  wonW  have  luul  good  grounds  for  complaint, 
us  to  the  manner  in  which  their  faces  and  forms  were  libelled  lu 
the  free  sketches  by  which  ihey  were  presented  to  the  populace. 
There  were  not  a  few  Kansas  refugees  among  the  speakers  in  the 
•n-and  rally  aiid  mass  meetings  of  the  season,  and  the  vivid  de- 
scriptions which  they  could  give  of  personal  dangers,  as  they 
"  Simko  of  most  (Ubiiistrous  chiuices, 

Of  moving  acci  Jenls  by  flooil  ami  rtcld ; 

Of  hair  broadtli  'scapes  i'  tlie  imminent  deadly  breach;^ 

Of  being  taken  bj'  tlio  insolent  foe, 

And  sold  to  slaverj','' 

made  the  territory  and  everything  thereto  pertaining  the  absorb- 
incr  theme  of  conver.sation.  The  picture  which  had  been  exhib- 
ite°l  by  cc.ngressional  art  had  not  been  sufficiently  realistic  to 
present  the  tTutli  as  these  men  rendered  it,  without  incumbrance 
with  the  fovrvis  which  pertain  to  question  and  answer  before  a 
congressional  n  ibunal. 

The  other  side  was  not  without  similar  machinery  throughout 
the  south,  and  in  every  state  where  proslavery  sentiment  pre- 
vailed. Every  act  of  the  free  settlers,  whether  reprehensible  or 
praiseworthy,  came  in  for  appropriate  coloring  to  suit  the  taste  of 
men  who  were  opposed  to  a^.olition.  IMissourian  settlers  were 
being  murdered  in  their  beds,  they  were  falling  victims  to  whole- 
sale "incendiarism,  they  were  the  majority  in  the  territory,  but 


352 


T utile's  HisrouY  or  Kaxsas. 


their  jiHt  Iruvs  were  disre.iranlctl  by  :i  tyniimieiil  fiietinii,  and  tlie 
Kouth  was  a.sked  wiielher  gentlemen  desirous  to  ui)liold  tiio  cus- 
toms of  tiieir  forefathers  sliould  be  overridden  by  '•  ineehanio 
slaves  with  greasy  aprons,  rules  and  hanmiers,"  who  were  riot  lit 
to  come  "betwixt  the  wind  and  their  nobility."  Thev  were 
pleciinir  their  last  president,  and  yet  they  were  obliged  to  eontent 
themselves  with  a  man  who  could  not  be  relied  upon  to  favor  the 
extension  of  slave  territory,  while  the  friends  of  Millard  Fillmore 
and  John  C.  Fremont  were  able  to  command  122  electoral  votes 
against  the  17-1  which  elected  the  president  in  185t);  a  strange 
contrast  with  the  vote  in  ISCO,  when  Abraham  Lincoln  received 
180,  and  Stephen  A.  Douglas  only  12  ;  the  remainder  being 
divided  between  Bell,  f',)r  whom  31)  were  recorded,  and  Breckin- 
ridge, who  obtained  72  iroin  the  pro.slavery  men,  because  Mr. 
Douglas  would  go  no  farther  ihau  squatter  sovereignty  for  their 
purposes. 

Lying  in  and  relying  on  the  south,  the  proslavery  men  taxed 
their  friends  freely  to  supply  them  with  arms  and  treasure,  and 
companies  of  men  were  arriving  continuou.sly,  subject  to  none  of 
thr  drawbacks  which  decimated  or  destroyed  the  aid  sent  to  the 
other  side.  An  anxious  time  was  now  approaching,  as  the  free 
state  legislature  was  appointed  Lo  convene  al  To])eka,  July  -1, 
1856,  for  the  adjourned  session,  and  it  was  anticipated  that  the 
IStis.sourian  faction,  with  Mr.  Shannon  as  the  mouthpiece,  would 
strain  every  nerve  to  prevent  the  as.sembly.  A  mass  convention 
of  citizens  in  the  temporary  capital  was  called  for  July  3,  the 
intention  being-  that  a  body  of  men  should  be  in  that  way  pre- 
pared to  defend  the  legislature  against  rufTian  aggression,  but 
there  were  so  many  road  inspectors  and  guerrilla  parties  on  every 
line  of  communication,  that  hundreds  were  afraid  to  leave  their 
families  unprotected  by  their  absence.  Some  men  could  see  no 
advantage  likely  to  be  gained  in  the  then  aspect  of  affairs  from  a 
ineeting  of  the  legislative  body,  and  they  would  not  take  part  in 
the  movement ;  some  could  not  be  notified  of  the  intention  be- 
cause nea.ly  all  the  free  state  presses  in  the  territory  had  been 
destroyed;  still,  with  all  these  disadvantages  to  mditate  against 
the  demonstration,  there  were  about  a  thousand  men  in  Topeka 
on  the  3d  of  July,  and  fully  half  of  these  bore  arms,  so  that  there 


wi»iwwJii>iJ'iiiw*wj'Mi  ■jm«i»Wii»ji  -mKfmjmt'" 


The  Jons  Biuns's  WAn  —  lS56-7. 


353 


oil,  and  tlie 
)1(1  tiu!  cus- 

'•  ineclianio 
wore  not  fit 

Tlu\v  were 
I  to  content 
to  favor  the 
ird  Fillmore 
;ctoral  votes 

;  u  strange 
[)ln  received 
indcr  being 
lid  IJreckin- 
jeeause  Mr. 
iitv  for  their 

r  men  taxed 
reasure,  and 
t  to  none  ol 

sent  to  tlic 
',  as  the  free 
elca,  July  -i, 
ted  that  the 
piece,  would 
i  convention 
July  3,  the 
hat  way  pre- 
jression,  but 
;ies  on  every 

leave  their 
iould  see  no 
.ffairs  from  a 
take  part  in 
ntention  be- 
ry  had  been 
itate  against 
n  in  Topeka 
so  that  there 


were  enough  to  have  made  a  suflicient  defense  if  only  the  border 
men  and  their  natural  allies  came  to  the  assault.  The  convention 
men  came  in  in  considerable  numbers  the  day  l^'fore,  but  all  the 
leading  minds  had  been  scattered  or  were  held  in  bondage.  It 
was  thought  advisable  that  an  e.xtra  session  of  the  legislature 
hliould  be  convened,  and,  in  the  absence  of  Gov.  Robinson,  his 
deputy,  John  Curtis,  called  that  body  together  on  the  3d  of  July 
to  consider  and  order  as  to  the  best  course  to  be  pursued.  The 
territorial  governor  had  gone  to  St.  Louis,  having  left  orders  for 
the  dispersal  of  the  legislature  with  Col.  Sumner,  and  his  instruc- 
tions were  imperative ;  consequently  the  dragoons  were  ready  to 
act  on  the  Fourth.  Mr.  Woodson,  the  supple  secretary,  hoped 
that  there  would  now  be  a  collision  between  the  settlers  and  the 
military ;  but  the  meeting  on  the  day  before  in  an  extra  session 
was  not  contemplated.  The  members  on  that  day  might  have 
adjourned  over  the  ith,  but  there  were  many  diflering  views,  and 
many  urged  a  battle  rather  than  forego  the  secular  session,  but  to 
the  great  majority  it  was  evident  that  the  game  was  not  worth 
the  candle. 

Before  this  time.  Col.  Sumner  had  been  consulted  by  a  com- 
mittee, to  ascertatn  whether  there  might  not  be  some  arrange- 
ment, but  the  answer  of  that  officer,  given  in  writing,  was  cour- 
teous, but  precise ;  he  hoped  they  would  not  drive  him  to  ex- 
tremities, but  it  they  did,  he  must  still  disperse  them,  and  do  his 
duty.  Mr.  Woodson,  once  more  governor  ex  officio,  had  taken  up 
his  quarters  in  the  cainp,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  fourth  of 
July,  that  personage,  with  Judge  Elmore,  the  XJ.  S.  marshal,  and 
some  others  by  way  of  stafl  officials,  came  into  Topeka,  and  with 
much  ceremony  attended  tlie  popular  convention,  where  they 
were  accommodated  with  seats  upon  the  platform  allotted  to 
speakers,  much  to  the  astonishment  of  all  concerned.  The  mar- 
shal was  called  upon  to  speak,  and  he  modestly  deferred  to  the 
judge,  who  thereupon  read  to  the  crowd  a  long  winded  proclama- 
tion of  his  own,  indorsing  that  issued  by  President  Pierce,  and 
in  furtherance  of  the  system  of  government  by  proclamations, 
wound  up  with  an  announcement  by  Col.  Sumner,  that  he  must 
enforce  the  order  against  the  assembly  of  the  legislature.  Some 
of  the  bystanders  could  see  the  absurd  blunder  that  was  being 
24 


I- 


8M 


TVTTf.K'ti  JflSTOltY  OF  KaSSAS. 


macle,  but  tl.ev  did  net  interfere  until  the  U.  S.  marshal  an,    Ins 
8,iuaa  were  le:iving,  when  some  one  tokl  him  that  he  had  been 
^v-asting  his  sweetness  upon  the  convention,  while  ho  thought  l.o 
had  been  fulminating  his  thunder  in  the  legislature.     At  mgU 
noon  on  the  day  we  celebrate,  Col.  Sun.ner  entered  Toneka,  h>. 
band  playing  "Hail  Columbia,"  and  his  troops  being  stat.one.l 
with  military  precisi.>n.     The  day  was  being  honored  by  a  par- 
tial review  of  voluntoers,  which  in   the  prosenco  of  border  rul- 
fians  might  have  proved  a  more  practical  illustration  of  the  art  o£ 
soldiering.     Col.  Sumner,  having  adopted  every  precaution  to  sc- 
cure  the  execution  of  his  orders,  if  necessity  should  arise,  enterea 
the   assembly    chamber  and    was  accommodated   with   a  seat. 
Those  who  were  to  be  molested  by  him  in  the  exercise  of  an  un- 
doubted right  knew  that  his  own  manly  instincts  would  no 
have  tended  in.such  a  tyrannical  direction.     When  the  roll  had 
been  called  by  the  clerk,  the  colonel  rose  and  said  :  "  Gentlemen  : 
I  am  called  upon  this  day  to  perform  the  most  painfu    duty  of 
mv  whole  life.     Under  authority  of  the  president  s  proclamation, 
I   am   here   to   disperse   this   legislature,    and   therefore   inform 
YOU  that  you  can  not  meet.     I  therefore  order  you  to  disperse 
God  knows  that  I  have  no  party  feeling  in  this  matter,  and  will 
hold  none  so  long  as  I  occupy  my  present  position  in  Kansas     i 
have  just  returned  from  the  borders,  where  I  have  been  sending 
home  companies  of  Missourians,  and  now  I  am  ordered  here  to 
disperse  you.     Such  are  my  orders,  and  you  must  disperse,     i 
now  command  you  to  disperse.     I  repeat  that  this  is  the  most 
painful  duty  of  my  whole  life."     The  members  remained  until 
C  had  as'certai/ed  that  force  would  be  used  .f  necessary  ta 
carry  out  the  orders  of  the  executive,  and  the  house  then  dis- 
per/ed     In  the  senate  the  colonel  was  equally  courteous  but 
just  as  decisive,  and  in  answering  a  question  from  one  of    he 
hodv  he  said  •  "  My  orders  are,  that  you  must  not  be  permitted 
I  I;  t;  business.-'     The  pompous  marshal  who  had  already 
distinguished  himself  enough  for  one  day,  was  de-ous  to  indor 
the  views  of  the  commandant,  but  no  person  appeared  to  notice 
hin^'and  the  senate,  at  the  suggestion  of  Col.  Allen,  after  a  few 
tords  from  the  members,  concluded  that  no  session  could  be 


held.     During 


the  whole  procedure.  Col.  Sumner  impressed  tae 


HUUMJiM.UiHPIIiilMJill'*  MIII'IMi 


jmmoak.  hhjlww  jMiwtg*j"iH^t^m**aw 


The  Jniis  linows  Wah  —  IS^G-I. 


866 


■shal  and  liis 
iic  liiul  boon 
J  tliouglit  \w 
re.     At  uigU 
Toj-icka,  hid 
ing  statioiietl 
red  by  a  par- 
£  border  ruf- 
i  ot  the  art  o£ 
caution  to  sc- 
arise,  entered 
with    a   seat. 
;ise  of  an  lin- 
ts would  not 
1  the  roll  had 
"  Geiitlerncii :. 
fiinful  duty  of 
proclatnatioii, 
ireforc   infona 
u  to  disperse, 
atter,  and  will 
in  Kansas.     I 
e  been  sending 
rdered  here  to 
ist  disperse.     I 
lis  is  the  most 
remained  until 
if  necessary  to 
ouse  then  dis- 
courteous, but 
■om  one  of  the 
>t  be  permitted 
ho  had  already 
irous  to  indorse 
eared  to  notice 
len,  after  a  few 
;ssion  could  be 
•  impressed  the 


men  against  whom  he  was  compelled  to  act,  with  a  high  .scn.sc  of 
his  appreciation  of  the  unconstitutional  .duly  which  had  devolved 
upon  him. 


CHAPTER   XV. 


TEUKITOHIAL    HISTOUY 
(cunMnued.) 

THE  JOHN  BUOWN  WAU- EVENTS  OF  1850-57. 

Sumner  BuiK-rseJcd -  Major  Gcnerarn  Record -Gon.  P.  F.  Smith -Lane's 
Army -Guerrilla    Movements— llnlHiins    Fortifying -Fort  Ossawulo- 
mio- Washington  Creek -Ma.j.  IIoyt-Treailwell's  Treason  -  Franklia 
Captured  -  Fort    Saunders  -  Col.    Titus  -  Near    Lecompton  -  Herald 
Type-Capt.  8hombrc-To  Lawrence- Maj.  Hedgwick  -  Disturbing 
'      Clark  -  Sliannon  at  Lawrence  -  Second  Treaty  —  Solemn  Oath  -  Uuf- 
flanism  -  Abolition  Scalps  -  Lovely  Woman  -  Shannon  Resigns  -  Gov- 
ernor's Status  — Wood8.m  rfrftru-ws  — Embodying  Militia— Proslavery 
Terrors  —  War    Bulletins  —  "  To    Arms  "  —  Insurrection  —  Newspaper 
Praise- Exterminate -Norllieru  Emigrants  — Lane's  Record  — Uieh- 
ardsou- K  "jbing    Quakers  —  Mlssourian    Rout— Anderson,   Cliue    & 
Shore  — In  Time  — Camp  Plunder —  Casualties  — Old  John  Brown  — 
Reverend    Murderer  —  Reed's    Command  —  Ossawatomie  —  Defense  — 
Destructive  Fire  —  Cannonade  —  Infantry  Charge  —  Town  Demolished  — 
'     Proslavery  Brown  —  Promiscuous  Stealing  —  Wesport,  Ho !  —  Prisoners 
Murdered— Revenging  Black  Jack  — Merciless  Evictions  — The  Com- 
mander -  Murderer  Executed  -  Gen.  Lane  -  Singular  Record  -  Incon- 
sistent Order  — Reed's    Escape  —  Douglas  County —  Pursuing    Lane  — 
Col  Cook  —  Level  Topeka  —  Loyal  Disobedience  —  Topeka  Protected  — 
Lecomptoa    Attacked  -  Rescue    Prisoners  -  Col.    Harvey  -  Where's 
Lane?- Slough    Creek  —  Surrender  —  Abandoned    Plunder  —  Foolish 
Mercy  —  Capitol    Hill  —  Disbanded    Militia  —  Prisoners    Liberated  — 
Leavenworth  Horrors- Death's  Harvest- Regulators- William  Phil- 
lips— Polar  Star-  Capt.  Emory  -  No  Refuge  —  Anarchy  -  Murder  — 
Mystery  —  Growing  Worse  —  Around  Lawrcp'^e  —  The  Defenders  —  Gen- 
eral  License  —  State  Ottenders  —  Bail  Bonds  -  Nolle  Pros.—  Robinsons's 
Trial  —  Looking  Ahead. 

Some  of  the  popular  party  supposed  that  Col.  Sumner  had 
been  needlessly  harsh  in  his  conduct  toward  the  free  state  party ; 


mtmmm 


■^gi^iva  i^-».-M-  -  -    -^    ^-  -  •  ■',-'■■,  -n-  ■r^.M^m 


^ii*dewss-*v(wrs)^«#MP"' 


350  Tvttlk's  HisTviiY  of  Kashas. 

but  oouia  llK.y  l.avu  lo.>kca  into  the  motives  of  th.t  oiV.cor  and, 
above  ull,<.>uia  tlu,.y  Iwvvc  u.xlerstood  the  ,u;cs.u..e  vvL.ch  was 
bruu.-l.t  to  bour  upo"  hi-.'  "»  the  dischurgo  of  In.  dui.y,  undo,  the 
vl.nli;utwutchfulnLotthe.o.oUu-y<.fvvHr,ldrersonDav.vvlw.^B 

l,j;,t  fully  infur.nod  u,s  to  his  nioven.enis,  us  «cen  from  a  south- 
en.er-s  standpoint  by  Gen.  Atchison,  the.r  judKn.cnts  would  have 

been   uu>eh  chunged.     His  subse.,uent  -"-'•' ^^;"''"«  ^^''"^u 
ro.o  to  the  rank  of  n.ajor  general,  lighting  the  battles  of  the  «  no 
on  many  a  bitterly  contested    held,  showed  that  Ins  syn.pa  b.es 
..ere  on  the  side  against  which  the  duties  of  his  position  m  W 
.as  eon.pelled   him  to  act,  because  the  chief  executive  o     t  e 
United  States  had  assumed  the  role  of  a  partisan;  bu    h  s    ^ 
uu.val  from  the  command  at  Fort  Leavenworth  in  the  latter  pait 
of  July,  185G,  left  no  room  for  doubt  that  his  manly  and  non- 
partisan  coui.;,  in  the  discharge  of  a  peculiarly  trying  duty,  had 
'  V  n  the  Missourian  faction  much  cause  of  oiTense.     They  wanted 
tuch  an  ollicer  as  would  carry  out  the  policy  of  repression  agams 
.ee  soilers,  and  they  found  m  him  one  who  wou  d  ««  3-^  - 
as  the  position  demanded,  and  where  justice  could  not  be  st.  ictly 
observ  d,  tempering  even  law  with  courtesy  and  consideration, 
anie  condition^f  things  which  might  have  supervened  in  Kansa 
during  the  time  that  Mr.  Shannon  was  governor,  had  Col.  Sumnei 
be  n  a  man  after  the  heart  of  Atchison  and  his  confreres,  requn-es 
'o Tucidation.     The  leading  men  of  the  ^-  f  te  Ijar ty  ^h., 
came  most  into  contact  with  the  commandant,  did  not  fad  to  len- 
r him  justice  as  to  his  desires,  and  as  to  the  discrimination  with 
thich  he  sought  always  to  give  sound  advice  and  the  prote^- 
of  abstinence  from  action  to  the  struggling  settlement.     Disci 
lie       ed  him  as  it  must  rule  military  men  worthy  of  the  name 
e'ry where;  but  his  heart  was  in  the  right  place,  and  for  tha 
e    o     be    ell  under  the  ban  of  the  power  behmd  the  throne  a 
W.lin.non.     Uis  death  seven  years  later,  m  1863,  was  a  loss  of 
J.::;'moment  to  the  union  cause.     1^-dent  Pierce  .jowe^njuig 

.ear  the  end  of  his  ^.  in  ^  sentGe.     -^^  R^f^ 
outrank  and  supersede  Ool.  bumnei,  auu  111  tu      &, 

Xsourians  found  an  ol!icer  whose  sympathies  were  entirely  wUh 

Jhe  piolavery  men,  although  his  failing  health  did  not  allow  hnn 

0  re'^ain  long  iu  the  position,  nor  while  he  coutmued  therem,  to 


— -''*;-'ar«?H3EFV*St^  ■ 


^^ 


ofiicor,  and, 
■0  wliich  was 
ly,  uiiilor  the 
Davis,  always 
I'oin  a  Hoalh- 
s  would  liavo 
iiig  whiuli  liu 
s  of  tlic  union 
is  syinpalliic's 
<itioii  in  Kan- 
jutive  of   the 
i;  but  his  ru- 
thc  latter  part 
inly  and  non- 
ing  duty,  had 

They  wanted 
ression  against 

go  just  so  lar 
not  be  strietly 

eonsideration. 
!ned  in  Kansas 
ul  Col.  Sumner 
ifrcros,  requires 
bate  i>arty,  who 

not  fail  to  ren- 
ri  mi  nation  with 

the  protection 
.ements.  Disei- 
hy  of  the  name 
je.  and  for  that 
id  the  throne  at 
)3,  was  a  loss  of 
rce,  now  coming 
ufer  F.  Smith  to 
;  gentleman  the 
ere  entirely  with 
id  not  allow  him 
inued  therein,  to 


Tjh:  Jons  liiKnrx  ir.iw— Xn.30-7. 


857 


render  my  very  brilliant  service  to  his  nccompliciH.  Horn  ia 
IVMUisylvauin,  Ih;  had  passed  a  Iari?o  portion  of  his  lift-  in  Lotiisi- 
una,  and  had  become  entirely  subject  to  the  views  of  life  and  the 
prejudices  as  to  color,  by  which  ho  had  been  for  so  many  yeiirs 
surrounded.  The  storming  of  Monterey  had  proved  liini,  long 
before,  a  brave  and  capable  odicer;  but,  happily,  the  chaii-iing 
circumstances  of  the  time  were  of  such  a  characlcr  as  to  deprive 
him  of  active  occasions  to  display  his  zeal  against  free  settlement 
in  the  territory. 

The  complete  blockade  of  the  Missouri,  long  since  described, 
had  rendered  it  indispensable  that  a  new  road  should  bo  found 
unless  a  naval  or  mililnrv  force  could  be  brought  into  o|)eratioii 
against  the  jiirates,  an''        the  beginning  of  August,  18o(),  a  force 
began  to  arrive  in  u,     lorritory  through  Iowa  and   Nebraska, 
Gen.   Lane,    who  had  long  before  gone  to  the  northern    states 
on  a  mission  to  jirocure  reinforcements,  had  arranged  the  plan 
of  operations,  and  the  .settlers  and  lighting  men,  some  of  them 
accompanied  by  their  families,  were  known  as  Lane's  northern 
army.     The  general  was  the  first  to  come  by  that  route  in  this 
movement,  although    many  had    reached   the   territory  through 
Council  Bluffs  and  the  site  where  Omaha  now  llourishes,  before 
that  date.     The  action  which  preceded  the  resignation  of  Gov. 
Shannon  had  given  to  Col.  Sumner  the  opportunity  to  disperse 
the  guerrilla  parties  in  the  territory,  and  most  of  the  free  state 
men  had  gone  to  their  homes  content  with  the  promise  of  security 
which   his  action  oflcred ;    but  the  southern  allies  of   Missouri 
having  no  homes   to  which  they  could    retire,   and    not  being 
encouraged  to  return  to  Missouri,  had  for  a  time  scattered  far  and 
wide  in  comparatively  harmelss  disarray,  but  during  the  latter 
part  of  July,  and  more  especially  after  Col.  Sumner  had  been 
relieved  from  duty,  they  once  more  became  dangerous,  assembling 
in  the  Indian   reservations,  and  in  places  remote  from  settled 
habitation,  where  they  established  fortifications,  and  were  soon 
prominent  as  robbers.      In  the  places  where  the  armed  bands 
found  shelter,  they  put  up  fortifications,  and  unarmed  or  solitary 
travelers   passing   near  such   places  were   frequently  molested. 
The  mails  were    often   interrupted   and   plundered,  crops  were 
destroyed,  robberies  of  all   kinds  abounded,   incendiarism  was 


V 


yw 


TI'TTLK's  UlSTOUY  OF  KANSAS. 


common,  ami  it  bciciuuc  noi-cssiiry  !il).)iiL  the  ciM  of  .Inly  to  imiko 
uii  fNaiuplo  of  a  fort  iioar  Ossawaloiniu.      Some  troo  state  lueii 
loiiil.u.cil  for  the  work,  and  on  tho  morning  of  August  oth,  tlio 
Georgian  raiderrt  Hceing  a  woiw  fato  before  tlietn,   unle«.s  they 
moved  oxpeditiously,   abatidoii.Hl    all    the  spoil    that  had    been 
uceiiinuialed,    nul  lied  for   tlu-ir  livis.     The  Htroii-hold,  v'neh 
might  have  been  lii;hl  for  some  lime  by  courageous  men,  w;it.  fti 
unee  destroyed.    Tho  foreo  whieh  had  retreated  from  Ossawatonn.* 
joined  another  body  on  Waslnngton  Creek,  and   precisely  similar 
outrages  were  reiloubled  at  a  point  whieh  brought  their  railius  of 
operaUons  oidv  a  few  tniles  fn)m  Lawrenee.     If  Col.  Sumner  had 
been  in  eommand,  it  is  probable  that  he  wouhl  huvr  earried  out 
his  former  instruetions,  or  yet,  more  jjrobably,  tho  reivatation  that 
he  "bore  would  have  relieved   him  of  any  such  nc'eshity  ;    but 
under  the  n  ■st  condition  of  all'airs  the  military  were  not  a\  ■llal'le 
to  repress   outrages   against    the   settlers.      The   forlilicatiMh   on 
Washington  Creek  was  called  Fort  Saunders,  ,uid  the  citizen..  ■>£ 
Lawrence  sent  an  envoy  to  the  enemy  on  the  11th  of  the  montii, 
to  procure  a  cessation  of  robberies  and  brutalities  by  peaceable 
means.     Major  Iloyt,  a  man  held  in  high  esteem  by  his  fellow 
cil  zens,  was  chosen  for  the  visit,  and   he  was  well  received  by 
(?.ol.  Treadwell,  the  ottioer  in  command  of  tho  rullians,  but  on  his 
•way  homo  after  the  interview,  he  was  waylaid  and  inurdered,  hia 
body  being  shot  through  in  all  directions.     Such  an  abominable 
outrage  fully  justified  tho  reas.sombling  of  guerrilla  baiuls,  and  the 
headiiuarters  at  Franklin,  where  the  Wakarusa  camp  once  stood, 
and  where  the  proslavery  party  still  maintained  a  formidable 
show,  was  tlie  lirst  point  attacked.     The  position,  only  four  miles 
from  Lawrence,  could  not  be  left  untouched  if  war  was  to  be  the 
order  of  the  day.     The  forces  were  found  strongly  fortiiied,  and  the 
demand  for  a  surrender  was  answered  by  whistling  bullets,  and 
•■  the  light  lasted  about  three  hours,  when  the  defenders,  fearful  of 
being  burned  out  of  their  nest,  surrendered  their  arms,  ammu- 
nition, plunder  and  cannon,  being  only  too  glad  to  escape  with 
their  lives.      The  force  so  escaping   retired   to  Fort  Saunders, 
where  a  strong  body  was  now  assembled,  and  on  the  15th,  three 
days  after  the"  murder  of  Maj.  I).  S.  Iloyt,  Col.  Treadwell,  with 
all   his  command,  a  medley  of  Georgians  and   border  ruffians, 


eK»>»»«»«|MBW*«SS»M«»P!«<K«<*'''»> 


r 


( .luly  to  niuko 
(roo  Hluto  men 
.ugust  otli,  tlie 
n,  iuilt'«.s  they 
lliiit  lisul  Inn-n 
)iigli()Ul,  ^''iic'li 
ua  inoii,  w;i;  ;  ' 
n\  Orisuwuloinc, 
ii'ooii^oly  similiir 
,  llu'ir  nulius  ot 
1)1.  Siuiuicr  liiul 
11I.VV  ciirrieil  out 
ropatatioii  tliiit 

nc'csfiily ;  but 
ro  not  a\  'il;iblu 
fortilicuti  Hi    oil 

tlic  citizens  of 
li  of  the  month, 
js  by  pciiceable 
11  by  liiri  fellow 
ell  received  by 
liuns,  but  on  his 
d  UiurUered,  his 
1  iin  iiboiniiiuble 
a  bands,  and  the 
;anip  once  stood, 
3d  a  formidable 
,  only  four  miles 
'ar  was  to  be  the 
fortified,  and  the 
ling  bullets,  and 
endcrs,  fearful  of 
eir  arms,  aminu- 
d  to  escape  with 
)  Fort  Saunders, 
n  the  15th,  three 
,  Treadwell,  with 

border  rufKans, 


' 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


£ 


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O 


^*^        lie  M^ 


O     ^A 


sr  .% .  m. 


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11.25  111  1.4   11.6 


V 


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HiotDgraphic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


:7SS»SS»S«*?a!^S^«|!*3 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Hisl-'tricai  IVIIcroreproductlons  /  Instltut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


The  John  Buows  War  — 1'^'>(>-7. 


359 


stampeded  from  Fort  Saiuider.s  on  the  approach  of  Gon.  Lane  and 
Col.  Grover.  Once  more  an  immense  spoil  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  free  state  men,  and  many  who  had  been  robbed  recovered 
their  projxirty.  Many  articles  were  recognized  as  luwing  been 
taken  during  the  sack  of  Lawrence.  Only  one  stronghold  re- 
mained south  of  the  Kansas  liiver,  and  that  was  a  fortified  residence 
near  Lecompton,  occupied  by  Col.  Titus,  a  well  known  desperado, 
who  was  always  surrounded  by  proslavery  bands.  This  place 
had  long  been  the  territorial  capital,  and  many  fears  had  been 
entertained  as  to  the  possibility  of  an  assault  from  free  settlers, 
which  were  intensified,  when  on  the  morning  of  August  16,  1856, 
the  guns  of  the  assailants  of  the  Titus  fortilication  were  heard.  The 
well  planned  attack  was  a  complete  success,  after  only  about  half 
an  hour's  fighting.  A  cannon  planted  in  front  of  the  building  was 
loaded  with  shot  made  from  the  type  of  the  "  Herald  of  Free- 
dom," which  the  ruffians  had  destroyed  in  Lawrence,  and  the 
reissue  was  more  forcible  than  any  leaded  article  that  had  ever 
issued  from  editorial  hands.  There  were  five  prisoners  held  in 
the  house ;  of  course  they  were  released,  and  for  one  of  that  num- 
ber, the  rescuing  party  were  only  just  in  time,  as  he  was  to  have 
been  shot  that  morning.  Titus,  the  leader,  made  a  piteous  appeal 
for  his  own  life  to  be  spared,  and  his  appeal  was  granted  much 
to  his  surprise.  Capt.  Walker,  whose  name  is  familiar  to  our 
readers,  was  one  of  the  attacking  party  commanding  one  division, 
while  Col.  Grover  led  the  other.  There  were  killed  and  wounded 
on  both  sides,  Capt.  Shombre,  from  Indiana,  being  the  most 
notable  loss  among  the  settlers.  The  prisoners  and  spoil  were 
carried  off  to  Lawrence,  and  that  city  was  once  more  the  center 
of  attraction. 

While  the  assault  was  being  made  on  the  Titus  stronghold,  the 
Lecompton  citizens  were  in  a  terrible  state  of  trepidation,  as  they 
naturally  expected  that  their  habitations  would  next  be  ransacked, 
but  they  were  doomed  to  disappointment.  The  United  States 
camp  was  only  two  miles  from  the  city  under  the  command  of 
Major  Sedgwick,  whose  removal  from  Ossawatomie  was  the 
means  of  that  town  being  demolished  by  ruffians  and  he  found 
his  quarters  overrun  by  people  seeking  shelter  from  the  onslaught 
which  was  dreaded.     The  troops  were  set  in  motion  to  find  Gov. 


860 


Tuttle's  IfisToity  of  K.wsas. 


Shannon  and  to  ascertain  wlictlicr  that  gentleman  liad  any  orders 
to  give  in  the  emergency,  but  tliere  were  no  instructions,  and  tlic 
whole  of  tlie  territorial  ofTicers  had  fled.  ^faj.  Clark,  the  surveyor 
general,  who  was  accredited,  perhaps  wrongfully,  with  having 
shot  the  free  settler  Barber,  who  was  murdered  by  the  patrol,  was 
Bpecially  an  object  of  solicitude  to  Mv.  Shannon,  v.'ho  was 
amiably  fearful  that  the  assault  was  disturbing  Clark.  Maj. 
Sedgwick  was  not  likely  to  attempt  interference  on  his  own  ac- 
count, as  he  belonged  to  the  Sumner  school  of  oflacers,  and  stood 
high  in  deserved  respect  among  the  free  soil  men.  The  governor 
visited  Lawrence  again  the  next  day  accompanied  by  Maj.  Sedg- 
wick and  some  other  officers,  and  while  there,  a  sec(Aid  treaty  was 
made  with  the  settlers,  under  which  Titus  and  his  band  were  sur- 
rendered by  the  city  in  consideration  of  an  engagement  that  five 
free  state  men  taken  prisoners  since  the  attack  on  Franklin  shoulil 
be  set  at  liberty,  and  that  no  further  arrests  should  bo  made  un- 
der the  territorial  enactmtiits  ;  besides  which  the  howitzer  taken 
from  the  city  at  the  time  of  the  sack  of  Lawrence  should  be  re- 
turned to  its  original  possessors.  To  all  the  conditions  of  this 
treaty  the  governor  bound  himself  by  a  solemn  oath,  and  during 
the  brief  remainder  of  his  days  in  the  territory,  it  is  evident  that 
he  tried  to  keep  his  word.  He  was  no  longer  the  obedient  tool 
of  the  proslavery  faction,  and  they  for  some  time  had  been  hop- 
ing that  in  the  event  of  his  resignation  or  removal.  Secretary 
"Woodson,  their  unscrupulous  abettor,  would  procure  the  nomina- 
tion, Euflianism  was  rampant  as  ever,  and  hardly  a  day  elapsed 
without  some  outrage  being  perpetrated,  and  Leavenworth  was 
now  the  head-quarters  of  the  gang,  the  presence  of  United  States 
troops  under  the  nevr  commander,  affording  no  protection  to  the 
minority.  A  ruffian  made  a  wager  on  the  19th  of  August  in  the 
town  of  Leavenworth,  that  he  would  take  an  abolition  scalp  with- 
in two  hours,  and  he  won  his  bet,  having  shot  an  unoffending 
young  man  named  Hops,  for  that  purpose  ;  nor  did  the  murder- 
ous frolic  end  there,  as  one  the  bystanders  having  expressed  his 
horror  at  such  an  inhuman  assault  was  himself  immediately  shot 
dead.  The  village  of  Bloomington  was  the  scene  of  a  horrible 
event.  A  young  lady  was  seized  in  her  own  house  by  four 
Bcoundrels,  and  conveyed  to  a  distance  of  more  than  a  mile,  where,. 


Tni:  Joiix  BnowN  War—ISoG-?. 


361 


ad  any  orders 
lions,  anil  the 
:,  llic  surveyor 
with  having 
lie  patrol,  was 
on,  who  waa 
Clark.  Maj. 
1  his  own  ac- 
lers,  and  stood 
Tlic  governor 
by  Maj.  Sedg- 
hxd  treaty  was 
)and  were  sur- 
inent  that  five 
•anlvlin  should 
.  bo  made  un- 
lowitzer  taken 
should  be  re- 
iitions  of  this 
li,  and  during 
is  evident  that 
obedient  tool 
lad  been  hop- 
ival,  Seeretary 
re  thenomina- 
a  day  elapsed 
venworth  was 
United  States 
otection  to  the 
August  in  the 
ion  scalp  with- 
n  unoffending 
d  the  murder- 
expressed  his 
nediately  shot 
of  a  horrible 
louse  by  four 
a  mile,  where, 


being  gagged  and  bound,  her  tongue  drawn  from  her  mouth  and 
tied  with  a  cord,  the  last  indignity  was  innicted  upon  her  in  spite 
of  her  mute  intreaties  for  merey.  Thus  day  followed  day  in  the 
territory,  and  there  was  no  redress  save  in  recourse  to  arms  which 
permitted  scounderlisrn  to  assume  the  guise  of  eillier  party  to 
carry  en  their  career  of  spoliation.  Mr.  Shannon  resigned  his 
ofhce  August  21,  1850,  and  must  have  been,  there  can  be  no 
doubt,  pretty  well  informed  as  to  the  intrigues  for  his  dismissal,  as 
the  dispatch,  which  would  have  removed  him,  if  he  had  not  re- 
signed, camd  to  Lecompton  on  the  same  day.  He  was  never 
strong  enough  for  the  position,  yet  he  had  too  much  conscience 
to  become  the  tool  of  Atchison  and  his  party  unless  the  force  of 
ruffians  around  him  was  sufficiently  powerful  to  overcome  every 
scruple.  Doubtless  he  was  in  his  heart  a  proslavery  man,  and 
his  first  impulse  undoubtedly  pointed  to  an  alliance  with  that 
party,  but  the  dose  wliich  was  tendered  for  his  acceptance  was  on 
several  occasions  too  much  for  him  to  swallow,  and  before  leav- 
ing the  territory  there  were  doubts  whether  his  own  life  would 
be°safe  from  his  boisterous  allies  in  the  "  Law  and  Order"  associ- 
ation over  which  he  presided  in  Leavenworth.  When  he  came, 
Mr.  Woodson  was  wanted,  and  tliat  official  was  now  more  than 
ever  in  demand.  The  secretary  was  governor  pro  tern.,  whoevei 
might  obtain  the  permanent  appointment,  and  there  was  no  time 
to  be  lost.  Mr.  Shannon  had  disbanded  the  militia  at  a  time 
when  the  Missourian  faction  hoped  that  they  were  marching  to 
certain,  because  undisputed,  victory  under  the  oegisot  the  United 
States  flag  and  it  now  devolved  upon  the  secretary  to  bring  the 
so  called  Kansas  militia  again  together  from  the  border  counties 
of  Missouri.  At  that  point  Mr.  Shannon  had  refused  to  move  and 
the  secretary  was  a  man  to  be  relied  upon  for  any  work  demand- 
ed by  the  party.  Mr.  Eeeder  being  removed  because  he  would 
not  sanction  Shawnee  legislation,  Mr.  Woodson  signalized  his 
temporary  accession  to  office  by  signing  all  the  bills.  Now, 
also,  when  Mr.  Shannon  had  resigned  rather  than  call  out  the 
forces  that  Missouri  hungered  and  thirsted  to  send  into  the  terri- 
tory, this  man  was  again  ready  for  the  emergency.  He  found  the 
proslavery  men  demoralized  by  fear,  actually  flying  with  their 
families  before  the  demon  they  had  aroused,  and  he  did  all  that 


ggg  TuTTLE^   lllSTOllY  01'    K.IKSAS. 

lav  in  Im  power  to  give  tl.e.u  fresh  courage.  War  bulletins, 
clLfly  nSlc  for  their  sensational  untruthfulness,  had  been 
a^^i:  j::hen  t,.  robber  strongholds  were  broken  uj,  bu  tho 
governor  stood  in  the  way  of  an  efi'eet.ve  reply  \^^^^l 
Lin.  "  To  arms  "  as  the  seared  leaders  repeatedly  d  d,  so  lo,     a. 

in^n  across  the  border  knew  that  they  .ou  d  l>av.Uo    ght 
their  own  battles  with  the  free  settlers,  unaided  by  the  mdita, 
I'd  in  the  then  mood  of  the  governor,  that  -s  the.  pro^^^^^^^^ 
With  the  removal  of  Mr.  Shannon  secured  should  ^"^  ^^^  J'^   •; 
sin,  other  arrangements  were  possible  and  expre.se.  w-'O    en 

fr^  vd.  the  border  counties,  once  nu>re  carrying  appeals  togeter 
wkh  Secret-  inforn.ation  that  the  forces  arriving  wouldbe  mustered 

in  as  territorial  militia.  ,  .         - 

Wa  y  Woodson  can.e  into  his  kingdom  on  the  even.ng  of 
Au         "4^^^       on  the  25th  of  the  same  month  the  terr.tory 
t"°      c     ned  in  a  state  of  insurrection,  the  militu  bemg  called 
r     iTthe  same  proclamation.     The  border  press  overwhelmed 
the  supple  secretary  with  laudation.     He  was  more  than  a     Dan- 
Si  come  t   uagm/nt ;"  he  wa.  a  Draco,  prepared  to  ^ecu  e      a 
most  odious  laws  in  the  blood  of  his  subjects,  and  but  for  the 
Sn  s    o      he  later  Athenian  philosopher,  they   would  have 
"orn   1  at  he  was  Solon  also.     E.xtermination  was  now  to  be  ear- 
Td  intotstant  practice  before  an  inconvenient  successor  m.ght 
riecl  into  insui     p       ...         .i^a  the  call  far  and  wide,  with 
arr  ve,  and  western  Missouu  caiiitu   li 

r  ^„^,.a  "To  arms'"     "To  the  rescue!       IheieNNas 

ZZt:i  tZer  to  be^ ulted,  nor  a  weak,  changeling  of  a 
^ovemc  r  who  might  fail  them  in  the  very  pnich  of  the  game^ 
There  w^s  only  one  source  of  disquietude.     The  army  of  the  north 
IrJTjfnto  the  territory  via  Nebraska,  and  it  was  necessary 
To  let"  alorce  to  intercept  them  without  delay  before  they  coukl 
1:1:  identified  with  the  settlers.     They  w-  ed  by  a  man  wo 
had  .iven  the  proslavery  party  some  cause  to  dread  ^^"^-Col. 
Lane -a  native  of  Lawrenceburg,  Indiana;  a  man  now  foity^ 
two  years  of  age;  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  his  native  state,  m 
mo    enlisted  a    a  private  in  a  volunteer  corps  in  Ind.ana,  in 
fsfe';  r    fto  beeome'colonel  and  commanded  a  brigade  at  Buena 
^tta  when  Gen.  Zachary  Taylor  "  dechned  to  accede  o  the  ^e^ 
quest"  of    Santa  Anna  to  surrender  his  force  of  o,200  to 


Tin:  Joiix  linons  W Mt  —  lSr>0-7 . 


3(i3 


rar  bulletins, 
398,  had  becu 
n  up,  but  tlio 
t  was  useless 
litl,  so  long  a3 
have  to  figbt 
the  military, 
heir  prospect, 
lie  fail  to  re- 
uses were  sent 
ipeals  together 
Id  be  mustered 

the  evening  of 
11  the  territory 
ia  being  called 
i5  overwhelmed 
3  than  a  "  Pan- 
to execute  the 
ind  but  for  the 
y   would  have 
5  now  to  be  car- 
juccessor  might 
and  wide,  with 
> !"     There  was 
'hangeling  of  a 
jh  of  the  game, 
■my  of  the  north 
it  was  necessary 
3fore  they  could 
d  by  a  man  who 
ead  him  —  Col. 
nan  now  forty- 
3  native  state,  in 
?  in  Indiana,  in 
brigade  at  Buena 
iccede  to  the  re- 
ef 5,200  to  the 


20,000  of  the  enemy  ;  and  when  ho  followed  up  1-  -f^'-^  ^^ ^ 
Complete  repulse  of  tl>e  enen.y.  Cul.  Lane  had  -.se-pu-  t^^ 
seen  son>e  s  rviee  before  coming  to  Kansas,  and  he  was  a  n>an  of 
^.l^lbted  courage,  although  essentially  irregular.  In  h.  naUv. 
state  he  had  serve.l  as  lieutenant  governor,  and  was  m  congress 
X.  the  Ransas-Ncbraslca  bill  passed  h>  1«54.  Beu.g  n^>et.d 
for  high  treason  after  the  defense  of  Lawrence  from  th  i  ..t  a 
lault  he  had  gone  cast  and  north  to  the  free  states  and  had  be  n 
linly  instrumental  in  bringing  the  reinforcements  of  winch  ho 

■w.is  to  assume  command.  .     , 

Tie  day  before  Gov.  Shannon  resigned.  Gen  Richardson  had 
sent  hin>  a  dispatch  announcing  the  approach  of  "  Lane  s  army 
::  that  he  had  called  out  the  militia  of  ^^^  ^^^^^^ ^;;^^^ 
invasion      Mr.  Woodson  wrote,  approving  the  nieasuie,  and  at 
ZZ.  time  ordered  Gen.  CoHey  to  take  the  field  wit .  the  un- 
itla  of  the  southern  Kansas  district.     In  addition  to  the  mov^- 
nients   of    the   acting   governor,   the    Atchison    newspaper,    the 
..Squatter  Sovereign,"  ungrammatically  shneked  its  demand   o 
additional  forces  to  wreak  a  "  tenfold  retaliation  "  upon  the   lee 
settlers,  with  the  watchword,  "extermination,  total  and  complete 
This  was  to  be  the  last  time  of  asking,  as  no  man  would  be  lef 
alive  to  give  further  trouble  to  the  invaders  after  this  movemen 
had  been  completed.     Gen.  Atchison,  always  ready  for  an  effoit 
or  the  kind,  was  one  of  the  first  to  respond  to  the  call,  and  he 
b  ought  with  him  a  force  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  men      Tl.^ 
was  a  Quaker  mission  on  the  Shawnee  Reservation  and  the  mst 
exploit  of  the  Missouri-Kansas  militia  was  a  descen    upcjn  the 
harmless  noneombatants,  who  were  robbed  and  brutally  dl  used. 
So  prompt  had  the  response  been,  that  although  the  Proclama- 
tion that  called  out  the  militia  only  bore  date  August  2oth,  on 
that  very  day  a  force  of  Missourians  encamped  neai- Ossawato- 
mie  one  hundred  and  fifty  strong.     As  we  have  already  seen,  thi 
promptitude  was  not  extraordinary,  seeing  that  prior  notices  had 
been  given  for  the  Missourians  to  be  in  readiness  to  cross  the  bor- 
der as  soon  as  the  publication  should  be  made,  and  before  the 
free  state  men  would  be  able  to  get  ready  to  receive  them  with  a 
warm  welcome.     The  new  comers  were  quick,  but  they  were  not 
quick  enough,  as  three  companies,  consisting  of  118  men,  under 


^i; 


i 


'''<*, 


m 


864 


TvTTI.es  lllSTOllY  OF  KaSSAS. 


the  cornnianil  of  Captains  Clivc,  An.lerson  aTi.l  Shore,  encamped 
in  the  uoi^liborhood  of  the  invaders  the  same  night,  and  by  noon 
on  the  'illUi  the  camp  of  the  Missouviatia  had  fallen  into  the  pos- 
session of  the  free  state  force  after  a  total  rout  of  tlie  niin.-ns. 
The  attack  at  that  moment  saved  the  life  of  a  free  state  man  who 
was  to  have  been  hanged  before  dinner,  but  he  escaped  and  was 
able  to  participate  in  the  repast  which  the  invaders  abandoned, 
with  much  other  valuable  property,  in    their  hasty  movement 
back  toward  the  soil  of  Missouri.     One  of  the  free  state  men  was 
wounded  in  the  assault,  Lieut.  Clivc,  who  afterwards  died  of  his 
injuries.     There  were  many  prisoners  taken,  but  on  the  followmg 
day  they  were  liberated  ujion  their  parole  engagement  never  to 
serve  against  the  settlers  again.     Old  John  Brown  was  the  com- 
mander of  this  valiant  force  of  defenders,  although  he  was  not 
present  at  the  assault  in  person.     It  was  not  anticipated  that  an 
action  so  decisive  would  be  fought  before  a  larger  force  had  been 
massed,  or  the  veteran  would  not  have  missed  the  opportunity  to 
be  present.     Three  days  later  a  band  of  iOO  Missourians  in  part 
commanded  by  the  Kev.  Martin  White,  started  from  Bull  Creek 
for  Ossawatomie  with  the  intention  to  reach  that  place  about  mid- 
night, but  they  did  not  reach  the  point  of  attack  until  the  morn- 
ing of  the  30th  of  August,  when  the  clerical   warrior  signalized 
his  command  by  slaughtering  two  young  men  who  were  found  at 
their  work  in  the  fields.     One  of  the  young  men  was  Win.  Gar- 
rison, the  other  Frederick  Brown,  son  of  old  John  Brown.     The 
defenders  of  Ossawatomie  were  speedily  on  the  alert,  but  they 
numbered  only  forty  in  all,  and  their  assailants  four  hundred, 
with  cannon,  and  otherwise  well  appointed.     The  old  man  whose 
eon  had  just  been  murdered,  was  in  command,  assisted  by  Capts. 
UpdegrafI  and  Clive.     After  an  obstinate  fight  the  little  band, 
having  inflicted  great  losses  on  the  assailants,  were  obliged  to 

Tf*ti  rp 

Capt.  Eeed,  the  officer  in  command  of  the  Missourians,  had 
subjected  the  defenders  to  a  cannonade  for  some  time  before  they 
gave  ground.  Seveial  prisoners  were  taken  and  some  of  the  de- 
fenders were  killed  before  the  invaders  became  masters  of  Ossa- 
watomie, which  they  this  time  completely  demolished.  The  vil- 
lage had  been  originally  founded  by  a  pro-slavery  man  named 


■•fe; 


The  Joiix  Bnows  ]yAii  — 1>^^0-7. 


nr.5 


re,  encamped 
and  by  nuou 
into  the  poa- 
the  ruirii'ns, 
ate  man  wlio 
i])od  and  was 
3  abandoned, 
,y  movement 
tate  men  was 
,B  died  of  his 
the  following 
nent  never  to 
was  the  coin- 
h  he  was  not 
ipated  that  an 
;)rco  had  been 
)pportunity  to 
urians  in  part 
tn  Bull  Creek 
ice  about  mid* 
itil  the  morn- 
ior  signalized 
were  found  at 
ivas  Win.  Gar- 
Brown.     The 
ilert,  but  they 
four  hundred, 
)ld  man  whose 
sted  by  Capts. 
he  little  band, 
sre  obliged  to 

issourians,  had 
me  before  they 
3me  of  the  de- 
asters  of  Ossa- 
;hed.  The  vil- 
ry  man  named 


Brown,  who  was  the  principal  loser  by  the  vengeance  of  the 
party  with  which   he  was  identified.     lOvery  building  and  sto.;c 
was  plundered  and  then  set  on  lire,  so  that,  after  the  foe   retired, 
only  four  cottages  remained  in  Ossawatomie,  and  they  owed  their 
eontinuance  to  no  favor  on  the  part  of  the  enemy.     Stealing  was 
evidently  one  of  the  accomplishments  of  the  M.ssounan- Kansas 
militia,  and  when  they  made  war  upon  a  settlement  they  took 
wagons  along  to  secure  the  booty.     As  soon  as  enough  had  been 
secured  upon  whirh  to  realize  a  return,  the  cry  was  heard  W  est- 
port  llo!  and  it  was  necessary  to  dispose  of  prisoners  who  vvere 
of  the  wrong  color  to  be  sold.     Two  of  the  prisoners  were  Mis- 
eourians  and  free  settlers  who  had  been  participants  on  the  as- 
sault at  Black  Jack  creek,  when  the  journalist  captain  and  his 
troops  had  surrendered,  and  for  that  high  crime  and  m.sdemeanoi-^ 
they  were  led  out  in  cold  blood  and  shot     Others,  who  had  not 
added  being  Missourians  to  the  crime  of  being  in  favor  of  a    ree 
state,  were  only  conveyed  as  prisoners  to  Kansas  City,  where  they 
were  put  on  board  a  steamer,  and  ordered  never  again  on  pain  of 
death,  to  set  foot  in  the  territory.     The  murderer  o    Irederiek 
Brown  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Lecompton  legislature,  and, 
while  there,  the  Itev.  Martin  White  described  in  glowing  terni.s 
the  service  he  had  rendered  to  the  state  by  his  cowardly  deed  o 
slaughter,  being  rewarded  with  many  plaudits  for  his  heroism  ;  bu 
Mr  White  never  boasted  again  of  his  misdeeds.     At  the  end  of 
the  session  he  started  on  his  way  home,  but  was  not  seen  again 
for  some  days,  when  he  was  found  stretched  on  the  prairie,  with 
one  ball  through  his  heart.     His  boast  had  reached  one  man  that 
could  not  allow  a  double  mun^     to  go  unpunished,  and  who  had 
removed  the  only  shadow  of  d.cut  as  to  his  guilty    Who  was 
the  avenger?     It  is  written,  "whoso  sheddeth  mans  blood,  by 
man  shall  his  blood  be  shed." 

The  father  of  Frederick  Brown  was  last  seen  after  the  unavail- 
ing defense  of  Ossawatomie,  when,  unattended,  but  fully  armed, 
he  had  struck  off  from  the  settlement  looking  very  like  a  person 
that  no  one  man  would  wish  to  encounter;  but,  inasmuch  as  no- 
body heard  from  him,  it  was  naturally  supposed  that  he  was 
dead  A  week  later,  when  Lawrence  was  once  more  surrounded 
by  armed  rufHans,  bent  upon  completing  the  work  of  destruc- 


Sfirt  Tvttlf's  IIisroiiY  or  Kassas. 

ti„„  u,c.,  ».,.„  only  .ou,.  |u,„.,roa  ^'-^:z!::;::::z 

rculyto  .ell  Lis  lile  .>h  ■''■■»''yf .'"%'" '"l^uerea  earn,,  Mi»t 
,,er,i,  tl,e  .,1.1  e.„n,namle,-  .t,,»le  ,u.o  t  -  l'  "^  ^^^^  „„;„,„, 
L  quiclj  as  l.e  Lad  left  Ossawatom.c,  a  «^    y       -  j^,. 

J.,l,n  Brov,n  was  requested  to  assume  tl.e  .Ineelion 

"IL  we  Lave  le,t  t„e  assailants  o.  O»watonaie  .eUeati,,.  .i* 
0,ein.l-dernae.but„i,^thev,.a«ea     .<«^^^^ 
raovoiiients  in  puisuit.     C..1.  Lane,  ''"""•'"  ,„  i„i„cept 

,.eeo,ds,se.ontwill,  afor.«of  tl,,-..  '"""'re,  ,  Uetd  was  L 
the   encny,  and.  lmvi,.g  ,n(..rn,atK.n    tl  a     C^  «=  ,„  ^,,„ 

eam,,ed  o„  Hull  Creek,  Lis  t..rees  rr<««'»'';'™  f^ ,  „  ^,„^,|3 
•     f   1  i>.ittloirround  but  for  some  reason,  .just  wni.li 

r^ir:  r::l:t:;-^»'  ordere.,  a  retrograde  u,—^  u;"^ 

„„a,,y  er.ea„n.e.l  ej^i;.  »"«  ^J^^  :°Z  Jrltl^^o  ilis- 

rr;:it"r:: ifo.— .ya.re^^ 

uaecinal  to  tl.e  encounter  before  *«">.  ""f  -•,^;';  "^.t^^i,; 
in  deelining  to  light  tl.e  enemy  .bat  ^f-  "^  ,^,,„,:A.e 
«re  in  good  eondition,  ^''■''f ':;:;;''t;:::  fbla^ed'aen. 
„nes  witbout  food.  Some  ot  '  "  J'^  J  days  in  eonneetion 
Lane,  and  often  .luote.  t  ns  '""^''"V "  j '^  „„  ^vi.lonee  that  ee- 
„itb  bis  unhappy  death  by  Ins  own  han  ^as  an  e  ^ 

knowledge  ol  tbe  taets  w.  ^^^^^     ^^^  ^,j„„^ 

'°  t  ;reT:r:uee    -erl-rnm    beyond  doubt,  but  dur- 
would  have  uccn  u  ^u^-v.  .lisnositions  for  a 

i,„  the  night  Keed  ^^^Z^tl^^^eL  assault  was 
foreed  mareb,  and  ^f''?  *    "'"  ""^^  J  ^estport  Gen.  Lane, 

^•■2er  r;::::::  t,;;  scene  o.  P-^rthitmt  uTS 
i:tt=eTeiu::!rS::s^-ti-»-- 


i 


fortiricalions 
ery  uiim  was 
linews  would 
ed  cinupiust 
non  consent, 
n  of  llic  iU>- 

troating  v/itU 
sc,  tlieio  wcro 
■ivl  ill  Kansa^^ 
I   to  intercept 
Heed  was  en- 
c-quick  to  tlie 
when  a  battle 
lovement,  and 
ssibly,  be  pru- 
tlian  t\ie  Mis- 
3(1  march,  were 
le  acted  wisely 
le  Missourians 
ed  twenty-five 
13  blamed  Gen. 
3  in  connection 
kfidence  that  ec- 
no  man  with  a 
ise  in  declining 
k.     The  attack 
doubt,  but  dur- 
ispositions  for  a 
!  an  assault  was 
port  Gen.  Lane, 
im,  returned  to 
bom  murmuring 
chance  of  grap- 
antages. 

!tivity,  and  every 
the  semblance  of 
nade  on  the  most 


Tin:  Jons  llunws  ir.i/.'— ^'■'''-7- 


307 


t^  ::r  'L :;; ;« M .  I™';:  ;i„k«  »..■-.  t^.., ..,  ;,„.. 

county  WLrcjusiu^iiio  r,,;,,,,!  St..ted  dra^ooiiH.     Lano 

„.„.  „.,w  to  be  -i;"X' ;;~  ,  ;   'j   '    ;       „.,itc,t  mud,  .lacrl.y 

S  :;  W  1.1  in  .vem.  ».>y»,  ».ul  ...c  .o-co  t„at  l.ul  ^^ 

^  •.,^f  p.,i>t    liced  were  nuulc  extiemciy 

evel  To  'ka  so  that  not  a  breastwork  should  rcn.a.n  to  protect 
t  rife  d  of  the  state  capital,  should  an  attack  at  any  time  be 
n  d  It  t  .0  colonel  had  the  loyalty  to  disobey  the  order  uiul 
Zt^  compliance  with  the  req^stof  f-"^^"  ^^  ^1 
The  design  was  well  considered,  beyond  doubt,  but  the  c  usa 
^Ic.  w^s  overwhelming,  iust  at  the  ^^-:^^^^ 
seemed  to  favor  an  aggressive  purpose  ^^^^J^^Zo 
inhabitants,  the  leaders  of  whom  were  to  have  been  kept  m  do  e 

;::!  iT»;:;  1  :u  "u  Nr*' te  .,0 .  „avo  i,ce„  ...„ 

„ ty  L  saL  force,  and  all  t>,e,e  ''--"l-';-'-'-;- 
.1  waited  by  the  gentlemanly  inatmcta  o!  Col.  Cook.     He  nu 
t  Itw    B«  undfr  the  eomn>and  of  Gen.  Lane,  an..,ou»  to  (all 
1  *c  eTemy  at  Bull  Creek,  were  made  up  in  part  of  the  1.. 
ka  eompany,  most  of  «hom  were  young  men;  an.    on    he 
Ltnl  °  atto,  that  aborted  aetion,  they  wer-e  roused  from  tho 
r„™"°a„d  dejection  of  di^ppointment  by  a  message  telhng  them 
d,at  heir  homes  were  even  about  to  be  assaile.1.    There  wns  no 
o  g     any  room  for  dojeetion  in  their  full  hearts  whde  then-  roof 
tre's  were  possibly  being  desecrated  by  the  mvader  and  rapu  ly 
as  hey  had  marched  the  day  before  to  the  assault,  they  were  s.,11 
IrrLrce  in  their  anxiety  to  be  on  time  for  the  defense,    lat.guc 
tod  no  longer  a  meaning  (or  them ;   the  weaned  smews  beean,o 
vigorous  once  more,  their  muscles  ready  for  the  ray,  and  as  they 
Zde  over  the  intervening  ground,  it  seemed  as  though  ,n>pa„c„ce 
rgh    almost  lend  them  wings  that  they  m.ght  the  sooner  co.oe 


1 


308 


Ti'iTi.f's  Jlisrouy  of  Kashas. 


in  contact  with  their  foe.     Tlio  ruin  which  thoy  saw  biin^'  workod 
in  Leconipton,  as  they  inarched   past,  only  nuuh;  tlicm  nii)ro  ami 
inoro  anxious  for  tlio  safety  of  tlieir  ilear  ones  at  honie,  ami  they 
had  s(;aicely  cars  for  tlie  story  uC  iho  wrongs  which  were  being 
inflicted  upon  tlieir  niMglihors,  whoso  delegations  sent  to  ask  for 
justice  were  successively  imprisoned.     The  urgency  of  the  needs 
of  t)thers  was  for  the  time  swallowed   u[)  in  the  eager  solieilude 
with  which  they  looked  towards  their  «^wn  hearths;  but  when  at 
length  arrived  near  their  destination,  thoy  learned  that  Topekii 
was  not  in  danger,  not  oven  tho  gladness  of  relief  could  cheer 
thcin  further.     Physical  fatigue,  which  had  in  vain  appealed  to 
their  mastering  einotion.s,  so  completely  po.ssessed  them  now  that 
nund)ers  sank  exhausted  on  the  prairie  rt)a(l,  and  slept  there,  all 
unconscious  until  tho  sun  shone  down  upon  them  next  day  to 
invigorato  them  for  fresh  labors.     The  power  that  an  overwrought 
mind  has  over  physical  action  in  a  chapter  in  human  history,  and 
but  seldom  has  there  been  a  more  complete  exemplilication  of  tho 
phenomena  than  in   that   march  from    Bull   Creek    to  Topcka. 
Meantime  the  olTonsos  of  the  proslavery  party  at  Leeompton  were 
calling  for  vengeance,  and  it  was  determined  by  the  free  state 
men  that  it  was  time  to  carry  rescue  to  their  brethren.     The  men 
who  had  been  taken  prisoners,  unconscious  of  wrong  doing,  must 
be  at  any  cost  set  free,  and  tho  headquarters  of  the  enemy  might 
be  perhaps  improved  in  some  respects  by  the  polite  attentions  of 
free  soil  men.     The  attack  upon  Leeompton  was  determined  upon 
on  the  third  of  September,  and  the  forces  were  at  once  set  in  .mo- 
tion.    Col.   Harvey,   commanding  one  section,   marched  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Kansas  river,  and  was  in  position  immediately 
north  of  the  town,  ready  to  bear  his  part  in  the  concerted  assault 
early  next  morning.     Gen.  Lane,  witli  the  other  section  of  the 
attacking  party,  started  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Kansas  river  at 
the  same  time,  and  should  have  been  in  position  at  the  same 
hour,  but  for  some  reason  that  has  never  been  explained,  that 
ofiicer  saw  fit  to  delay  his  march  so  that  he  did  r.  '   appear  on 
Capitol  Uill  untd  4  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  the  luurth,  when 
Col.  Harvey,  assuming  that  the  movement  had  been  abandoned, 
had  turned  his  attention  elsewhere. 

Leaving  Gen.  Lane  with  guns  in  position  on  Capitol  Uill,  de- 


jjng  workod 
I  tiiDro  a  1 1(1 

0,  untl  tlicy 
weio  being 

L  It)  ii.slv  for 
jf  tlin  iiuciIh 
r  .stjluMtudo 
but  wlit'ii  at 
hut  Tupt'ka 
could  cliecr 
apiK'aled  to 
;ni  uovv  that 
!pt  tlicro,  all 
next  da}'  to 
overwrought 
history,  and 
;jation  of  tho 
to  Top(.:ka. 
jinpton  were 
le  free  stato 

1.  The  men 
doing,  must 
ncmy  might 
attentions  of 
[•mined  upon 
;;e  set  in  nio- 
jhed  on  the 
immediately 
erted  assault 
ction  of  the 
insas  river  at 
at  the  same 
plained,  that 

'  appear  on 
iuurth,  when 
1  abandoned, 


itol  Uill,  de- 


Tut:  Jons  liitows  Wmi—  tS'Al-'7. 

mnnding  tho  immediate  siirrt'iidcr  of  al!  :he  fri'o  sfato  |iris<inor!* 
in  Lecompton,  without  conditions,  we  will  seek  for  Col.  Harvey, 
lie  was  a  nuin  usually  to  bo  found  whore  duty  was  tho  most  iin- 
porativo,  and  there  was  good  reast)n  for  liis  absenoo  now.  Sit- 
ting idly  on  liirt  post,  waiting  for  Gen  Lane,  was  all  very  well  as 
long  as  tliere  seemed  a  reasonable  probability  that  tho  attaiik  was 
yet  to  be  carried  out,  but  when  that  time  had  passed,  other  work 
must  have  attention.  At  Slough  Creek,  fifteen  miles  from  Le- 
compton,  was  a  camp  of  rullians  that  had  for  some  time  been  an 
eyesore  to  tho  neighborhood,  and  tho  time  favored  oalling  them 
to  an  aonount.  "  Quiok  maroh,"  was  the  order,  and  Slough  Croo'k 
■was  soon  reached ;  the  camp  was  surrounded,  so  that  not  one 
man  escaped,  and  Col.  Harvey  was  in  a  position  to  conunand  u 
Burrcnder.  One  of  tho  party  lired  at  tho  free  soil  men  an  aimless 
shot,  vhieh  only  told  of  the  malice  of  tho  individual,  and  tho 
answer  wasgivcm  in  a  deadly  hail  (jf  rilllc  balls,  which  more  than 
decimated  the  rulTums,  for  the  weapons  used  were  arms  of  precis- 
ion, within  point  blank  range,  and  the  men  who  used  the  rifles 
■were  only  too  well  actiuainted  with  their  powers.  Once,  when 
Napoleon  was  asked  whether,  in  quelling  a  riot,  he  had  lired 
over  the  heads  of  the  malcontents,  he  answered :  "  That  would 
have  been  ill  judged  mercy  ;  it  would  have  cost  more  lives  after- 
wards." So  these  free  state  men  were  very  careful  not  to  fire 
over  the  heads  of  their  enemies,  but  like  wise  soldiers,  they  were 
more  desirous  to  wound  than  to  kill.  The  robbers  did  not  wait 
for  a  second  volley;  they  laid  down  their  arms,  and  the  plunder 
found  in  the  camp  revealed  the  extent  of  their  peculations;  but 
Col.  Ilurvey  was  much  too  merciful  with  such  cattle,  and  allowed 
them  the  privilege  of  going  at  large  to  join  some  other  body  of 
marauders,  content  only  to  have  given  them  a  lesson  in  the  art  of 
war,  and  to  have  procured  their  asseverations  that  they  would 
never  again  bear  arms  against  the  force  that  spared  their  lives. 
Having  dispatched  that  piece  of  work.  Col.  Ilarvcy  was  return- 
ing to  Leeompton,  when  Gen.  Lane  brought  his  battery  into 
position  and  made  his  formal  demand,  preparatory  to  an  attack  in 
force.  The  military  under  command  of  Col.  Cook  were  en- 
camped only  two  miles  from  Leeompton,  and  the  commander  was 
on  the  hill  confronting  Gen.  Lane  before  his  messengers  could 
24 


M«ia*MMW»-' 


gjQ  Tvttle's  Histohy  of  Kansas. 

retuvM.     A  change  had  come  over  the  spirit  of  the  dream ;  the 
militia  which   was  to  have  done  such  wonders  had  been  dis- 
banded, and  the  prisoners  were  ah-cady  released;  there  was  a 
new  power  at  work  in  the  governing  machinery  of  Kansas,  and 
Secretary  Woodson  was  no  longer  able  to  obey  the  dictat.ons  o 
Missouri.     Elsewhere  in  Kansas  horrors  were  being  enacted,  and 
more  particular!  v  in  Leavenworth,  where  the  reign  of  terror  l.ad 
T.ot  yet  been  outlived.     Death  reaped  its  daily  harvest  in  that 
city,   and  we  find   Gov.   Shannon  bearing  testimony  as  to  the 
shameful   proceedings  of  a  gang  of    men   called   regulators,  who, 
maki.K^  tlieir  own  brutal  wills  the  law  of  the  land,  announced  it 
as  their  sovereign  pleasure  that  all  free  state  men   must  choose 
between  death  and  an  immediate  departure  from  the  city  and  ter- 
ritory ;  yet  when  they  attempted  to  leave  they  were  just  as  likely 
as  not  to  be  shot  down  by  other  parties  for  trying  to  escape.     A 
man  named  Emery,  a  mail  agent,  was  the  leader  of  the_  gang. 
Mr  William  Phillips,  the  lawyer  who  was  ordered  long  since  to 
quit  the  territory,  for  having  sworn  an  information  as  to  the  ilie- 
sality  of  the  first  election  to  the  legislature  in  Leavenworth   and 
who  was  taken  to  ^Yeston  to  be  tarred  and  feathered  and  sold  for 
a  slave,  because  he  refused  to  submit  to  the  dictation  of  the  pro- 
slaverv  party,  was  visited  in  his  own  house  by  a  band  of  marau- 
ders and  pierced  by  a  dozen  bullets,  but  he  had  slain  two  of  his 
assailants  before  he  fell.     His  wife  was  an  agonized  rpectator  of 
the  rulTuinly  assault.     There  were  more  than  fifty  residents  in 
Leavenworth  collected  in  one  batch,  and  driven  like  cattle  to  a 
corral,  by  Emory  and  his  band,  on  board  the  Polar  Star  steamer, 
the  captain  being  laid  under  an  embargo  not  to  ..-..     until   fur- 
ther orders.     The   band   of    regulators,   eight  hunared  strong 
paraded  the  streets  all  that  day  and  the  next,  and  on  the  second 
dav  of  September  one  hundred  more  were  added  to  the  cargo  of 
the  Polar  Star  steamer;  men,  women  and  children,  without  any 
provision  for  their  journey,  and  with  an  escort  ready  to  shoot 
them  down,  they  were  forced  away  upon  their  ill  starred  course. 
There  was  no  refuge  for  the  people  of  Leavenworth.     Some,  who 
i'cnorantly  thought  that  under  the  folds  of  the  stars  and  stripes 
they  must  find  protection,  were  warned  to  leave  the  Fort,  and 
driven  back  upon  the  streets  where  murder  reigned  supreme. 


'«„,„. 


The  Joifx  Bnowy  War  — 1856-7. 


871 


.ream ;  the 

been  dis- 
lere  was  a 
ainsas,  and 
ictat.ons  of 
lactcd,  and 

terror  bad 
'est  in  that 
'  as  to  the 
.ators,  who, 
inounced  it 
nust  choosG 
;ity  and  ter- 
ist  as  likely 
escape.     A 
f  tiie  gang, 
ong  since  ta 
I  to  the  ille- 
nwortb,  and 
and  sold  for 
I  of  the  pro- 
d  of  marau- 
n  two  of  his 

rpectator  of 
residents  in 
;e  cattle  to  a 
3tar  steamer, 
,  ,  until  fur- 
dred  strong, 
in  the  second 
I  the  cargo  of 

without  any 
3ady  to  shoot 
;arred  course. 
Some,  who 
■s  and  stripes 
he  Fort,  and 
led  supreme. 


Many  were  lost  sight  of  in  those  days  and  have  never  been  seen 
nor  heard  from  since,  by  sorrowing  and  anxious  relatives,  but 
until  the  graves  render  up  the  dread  mysteries,  none  can  know 
how  many  died  in  that  fearsome  anarchy.  Leavenworth  was 
hell,  with  a  diflerence  in  favor  of  the  infernal  region,  and  the 
fiends  that  were  reveling  in  wickedness  in  the  streets  of  that 
afflicted  city  had  none  of  the  dignity  of  the  father  of  evil.  It 
was  simply  impossible  that  anything  could  be  imagined  worse 
than  that  era  of  abomination.  The  ease  with  which  T-aven- 
worth  could  be  reached  from  the  western  border  of  Missouri,  and 
the  cei-tainty  that  within  that  region  the  faction  were  masters, 
brought  hundreds  to  this  point,  who  would  have  shunned  a  con- 
flict with  equal  forces,  because  in  and  around  Leavenworth  their 
tyrannical  lusts  might  be  indulged  with'  the  license  common  in 
the  country  of  an  enemy,  and  without  danger.  Humanity  for- 
bids that  the  veil  should  be  further  lifted  from  those  horrible 
days  in  Kansas. 

Lawrence  was  to  be  again  visited,  and  this  time  with  an  over- 
whelming force.  The  proclamation  of  Sec.  Woodson  had  that 
city  for  Tts  object  more  than  any  other  in  the  territory,  and  to- 
ward that  point  all  the  forces  bent  themselves,  until  the  city  was 
surrounded.  But  there  were  no  half  hearted  men  in  the  little 
troop  of  defenders  who  had  joined  hands  to  save  the  city  from 
another  desecration.  John  Brown  was  there,  as  we  have  seen,  his 
heart  bleeding  with  personal  wrongs,  but  without  one  pulsation  of 
weakness  as  to  the  enemy.  There  were  fresh  accessions  to  their 
ranks  just  now,  for  the  state  prisoners  held  in  durance  for  four 
months  were  set  free  upon  bail  bonds,  to  come  up  for  trial  when 
called  upon,  as  the  government  was  not  ready  to  proceed  to  trial, 
and  of  all  the  prisoners  so  arraigned  but  one  was  ever  tried,  so 
flimsy  were  the  charges  of  treason  upon  which  they  had  been  held 
so  long.  When  spring  came,  the  accused  men  surrendered  for 
trial,  but  the  prosecuting  attorney  had  entered  his  nolle  prosequi 
in  every  case  save  that  of  Dr.  Kobinson,  who  could  not  be  found 
guilty  of  the  crime  of  usurping  an  office  which  had  no  existence 
under  the  law.  But  this  chapter  has  been  so  full  of  incident,  and 
so  mi;ch  remains  untold,  that  it  is  necessary  to  begin  afresh  with 
the  new  record,  which  the  disbanding  of  the  militia  and  the  re- 


372 


Tvttlk's  History  of  Kaxsas. 


lease  of  the  prisoners  at  Lccompton  tell  us  will  before  long 
change  the  asj)ect  of  Kansas  history,  substituting  for  the  blood 
stained  records  of  faction  the  peaceful  progress  of  a  happy  and 
contented  people. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

TEUKITOUIAL   IIISTOUY. 

icoiiUnueU.) 


END  OF  THE  JOHN  BltOWN  AVAR -GOV.  GEARY'S  RULE- 
EVENTS  OF  1856-7. 

Pierce's    Best -Gov.    Geary- Soldier    Administrator  -  Manly    Record - 
Clianged    Aspects  -  Border    Dismay- Blockade    Relieved  -  Missouri 
Snoclacles  -  "  Kansas  Militia  "-Great  Guns-  Proslavery  Hate-  Caus- 
hvr  Famine-  Lawrence- Woodson's  Allies-  Suppression  -  Secretary  s 
?;;..',  ion -Foraging    Parties -Delay  Geary  -  Tlireatcned   Assissina- 
ti„n  _  Fort  Leavenwortli  -  Emory-  Military    Concurrence  -Lecomp- 
ton     Reviewed -Governor's     Address -Wi.e      Suggc^^ion  -  Disband 
Forces -United    Slates  Troops  - Miss<mri    Milit^  i- Kmsas  F..rce- 
Proslavery     Design  -  Brigadier     General  -  Return     Home -Special 
Agents  -Visiting   Lawrence  -  Fearing   Lane  -  Comrades  -  General's 
Departure  -  Marauders  Attacked  -  Grasshopper  Falls  -Fortihed  -Capt. 
Stephens-Disbanding-Lawrence  Reinlbrcements-lu)rt  Redtieed- 
Cainon'sMouih-Cook'sCumnuiud-Col.  llarvey-AiTests-P.      n^ 
ers'  Fare  -Judge  Cato-  Murder  -  Bail  Refused-  Inhosp,  able  -  Com- 
n  uuler  Titus -Sentences -Geary  Intervenes- Escapes- Better  Days- 
P^tning  Power-Threatening  Lawrence  -  Woodson's  Work-Orders 
Slmned-Sharp  scrutiny- Lawrence  Ready-A.^^^^^^^^ 
Citizens    Armed -Governing    Kansas -Miiitia    Moiae- Jones    D.s- 
c.  uiitS  -  Union  Haters  -  Destruction  -  Farewell    Missouri  -  Justice 
rimsed-Ten-it.,rial    Officials -Laborious    Idleness -Wrongs  Every- 
,,;;_Zeal  Misplaced -Kickapoo   Murder -Executive  Wunesses- 
^  Reward- Murderer    Found-Straw  Bail  -  IWest  -  Executive 
Quarrel  - //.6..S  C7<>r^«.  -  Hegulur  CWs  -  Lecompte  Evades -C^^^^ 
iction- Prisoners   Released  -  Official    Misfeasance- Manly  Effort- 
Marshal's  Devices-Troops  Refused -People  Protected-Industr.al  Ar- 
'  y  !!  True  Settlers  -  Good  Faith  -Why  Interfere  .-North  and  South - 
BHnging  Artillery -Redpath's  Troop  -  Governor's  P«-'-t  -  Dragooa 
Gua. d  -  Peaceable  Citizens  -  Changed  Conditions  -  P*^rplexing  Duty  - 
T^peka  Inspection -Preserving  Peace-Officers  Supported -Warlike 


Gov.  (iEAin's  IiuLi:  —  lSoG-7. 


373 


3[ore  long 
the  blood 
lappy  and 


)  RULE— 


y    Record  — 

1  —  Missouri 
IliUe— Caus- 

—  Secretary's 
jtl  Assissina- 
;e  —  Lecomp- 
111  —  Disband 
isas  Force  — 
lie  —  Si)ecial 
s  —  General's 
rtified— Capt. 
•t  Reduced  — 
;sts  —  Prison- 
table  —  Coin- 
Better  Days— 
'ork— Orders 
ts  Rampant  — 

—  Joues  Di3- 
)uri  — Justice 
'rongs  Evcry- 
;  Witnesses  — 
it  —  Executive 
I'ades  —  Cato'8 
anly  Effort  — 
Industrial  Ar- 
1  and  South  — 
iiit  —  Dragooa 
lexiugDuty  — 
ted— Warlike 


Societies— Otlicr  Side  — Good  Reasons  — Impartial  Endeavor  —  Peace 
Guarantied  —  Comn\orce  Sustained  —  Leavenworth  liuielcd  —  Law 
Rules  —  Tiianksirivin,!,'  —  Jloral  Tone  —  First  Impressions  —  Inevitable 
Results  —  Wooing  Peace  —  Fruitless  Arrests  —  Catu'  iuo  and  Calo. 

PitKSiuENT  PiEitCE  coiild  iiot  li.ive  been  entirely  in  the  hands 
of  the  proslavery  party,  or  else  most  assuredly  he  would  have 
sent  them  one  man  e-\aetly  such  as  they  wanted  to  serve  as  gov- 
ernor, lie  could  be  influenced  to  issue  a  destructive  proclama- 
tion, but  when  it  came  to  appointing  the  chief  territorial  execu- 
tive, he  found  some  democrat  acceptable  to  the  senate,  who  could 
not  be  tortured  into  complete  acquii:.scence  with  their  policy  in 
Kansas.  Tlie  Keeder  experience  we  have  seen,  and  altliough 
there  was  one  blamable  concession  in  the  concession  of  certificates 
of  the  lirst  elections  to  the  legislative  assembly,  he  proved  in  the 
main  an  lionest  and  capable  man.  Tlie  weakness  and  fatuity  of 
Mr.  Shannon  were  painfully  visible,  but  there  were  points  beyond 
•which  he  was  immovable,  although  he  knew  that  his  firmness 
would  cost  him  his  office,  and  might  possibly  endanger  even  his 
life.  The  last  nomination  by  Mr.  Pierce  showed  still  greater  in- 
dependence. Ik[r.  Geary  was  no  nursling  of  fortune,  and  he  had 
no  southern  proclivities,  although  he  was  a  democrat.  To  work 
was  a  disgrace  according  to  the  creed  of  the  south,  and  he  had 
been  a  worker  all  his  lifetime.  Born  in  the  village  of  Mount 
Pleasant,  in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  he  was  early 
thrown  upon  the  world  with  a  widowed  mother  dependent  upon 
his  exertions,  but  his  speedily  attained  proficiency  as  an  engineer, 
gave  him  the  means  to  acquit  himself  well  of  every  obligation. 
In  the  second  regiment  of  his  native  state  he  rose  from  the  ranks, 
and  duriu^-  the  Mexican  War,  in  which  he  participated  from  Vera 
Cruz  to  Mexico,  he  became  colonel  in  active  service,  being  once 
wounded,  and  always  distinguished  by  his  faithfulness  and  cour- 
age. When  the  ca;^ital  city  was  captured,  Gen.  Zachary  Taylor 
gave  him  the  command  of  the  citadel,  and  he  proved  therein  his 
administrative  capacity.  When  San  Francisco  was  passing  through 
some  of  the  earliest  tumults  of  the  gold  fever,  and  when  Mont- 
gomery street  was  not  the  array  of  palatial  buildings  that  is  now- 
seen,  he  was  one  of  the  foremost  men,  not  only  in  organizing  the 
postal  service  of  the  Pacific  coast,'  which  was  specially  his  duty, 


jjj^  Tittle's  History  OF Kaxsas. 

but  in  every  organizing  movement  his  genius  for  administration, 
blenacl  with  military  and  engineering  precision,  being  just  what 
the  city  wanted  to  repress  such  excesses  as  were  at  length  quelled 
by  vioilance  committees.     The  population  of  San  Fra..cnsco  rose 
from  a  few  hundreds  in  18i8,  when  gold  was  lirst  found  m  Colo- 
ma  county,  Cal.,  to  250,000  in  1852,  so  that  it  will  be  seen  that 
there  was  work  for  an  administrator  in  such  a  vast  aggregation  of 
humanity  rapidly  attracted  from  every  quarter  of  the  globe,  includ- 
ing beacii  combers,  gamblers,  and  a  chance  medley  association  of 
all  kinds     Mr.  Geary  was  very  i)opiilar  in  the  city,  and  when  he 
ceased  to  be  one  of 'the  oHicial   staff  of  the  general  government, 
the  citizens  elected  him  ghadly  to  their  highest  ollices,  in  which 
they  recognized  his  eminent  usefdness  as  a  governing  power,  as 
well  as  his  acumen  and  impartiality  as  a  judge.     Four  years  of 
private  life  had,  in  part,  but  as  we  shall  see  not  wholly,  weaned 
him  from  the  haughty  demeanor  of  the  camp  disciplinarian,  but 
that  term  passed  in  Pennsylvania  could  not  assist  to  make  him  a 
southern  tool,  and  his  arrival  in  Kansas  was  opportune.     Later  m 
his  manly  record  he  became  a  general  of  division  in  the  Union 
army,  and  after  the  close  of  the  civil  war  he  was  twice  elected 
governor  of  the  state  in  which  he  was  born  and  reared,     buch 
men  as  he  must  have  faults,  but  they  are  venial,  and  his  coimug 
into  the  territory  at  this  epoch  gave  a  changed  aspect  to  all  tlie 
affairs  of  Kansas.     Kis  appointment  as  governor  by  President 
Pierce  dated  from  July,  although  Mr.  Shannon  did  not  resign 
until  Au<rust,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  his  influence  was 
felt  in  Le°compton  when  the  militia  was  disbanded  and  the  pris- 
oners released  as  Col.  Cook  communicated  to  Gen.  Lane.     Ihat 
he  knew  something  of  the  difficulties  with  which  he  would  have 
to  contend  in  his  new  appointment  is  made  apparent  from  the 
fact  that  on  his  way  to  Kansas  he  paused  at  Jefferson  City,  the 
capital  of  the  neighboring  state,  to  confer  with  the  governor  o 
Missouri,  from  whom  he  procured  a  promise  that  the  pirates  o 
the  Missouri  should  be  compelled  to  raise  the  blockade  of  tnat 
river     He  was  in  that  city  on  the  5th  of  September,  and  imme- 
diately after  that  date  the  Missouri  could  be  traveled  as  securely 
as  any  other  stream  in  the  Union.     It  was  something  that  there 
was  an  earnest  man  of  business  to  govern  the  territory.     The 


Crov.  Geary's  Ecle  — 1856-7. 


o  —  *' 


linistration, 
g  just  what 
gtli  quelled 
Uiicnsco  rose 
iiul  in  Colo- 
)e  seen  tliat 
gregatioii  of 
obe,  includ- 
woeiatioii  of 
irul  when  he 
government, 
;es,  in  which 
iig  power,  as 
'our  years  of 
3lly,  weaned 
linarian,  but 
make  him  a 
le.     Later  m 
n  the  Union 
twice  elected 
jared.     Such 
i  his  coming 
ect  to  all  the 
by  President 
id  not  resign 
influence  was 
and  the  pris- 
Lane.     That 
e  would  have 
rent  from  the 
rson  City,  the 
e  governor  of 
the  pirates  of 
ckade  of  ttiat 
!r,  and  imme- 
id  as  securely 
ing  that  there 
;rritory.     The 


spectacles  which  i  Ji  his  gaze  on  the  steam  route  to  his  destina- 
tion were  not  such  as  to  reassure  a  timid  person,  but  they  must 
have  given  pith  to  the  arm  of  one  able  and  resolved  to  do  hia 
duty. 

At  the  village  of  Glasgow,  seventy-two  miles  from  Jellersoa 
City,  and  two  hundred  from  St.  Louis,  he  witnessed  the  embark- 
ation of  Capt.  Jackson  and  a  company  of  so-called  Kansas  militia, 
■with  a  cannon  for  the  purpose  of  invading  tlie   territory,  over 
■which  he  was  expected  to  rule  with  such  aid.     The  lesson  was 
not  lest  upon  a  man  of  his  stamp.     The  comments  which  he  could 
not  fail  to  hear  on  his  voyage  with  such  companions  left  him  very- 
little  in  the  dark  as  to  the  aspirations  of  jMissouri,  and  as  to  the 
hatred  which  they  bore  to  himself,  by  anticipation,  as  a  person  not 
pledged  to  their  policy,  nor  identified   with  the  institutions  of 
slavery,      lie  was  a  democrat,  but   that  was   not  enough;  Mr, 
Douglas  also  was  a  democrat,  but  he  had  lost  the  nomination  for 
president  in  spite  of  his  eminent  services,  when  Mr.    Buchanan 
■was  chosen  in  the  year  now  passing,  because  there  were  limits 
which  "The  Little  Giant"  would  not  pass  in  serving  the  pro- 
slavery  meo,  and  where  the  line  could  be  so  rigidly  kept  against 
him  and  persevered  in,  as  it  was  so  vindictively  four  years  later, 
how  could  the  moderate  democratic  views  of  Mr.  Geary  support 
him  among  the  worst  specimens  of  the  extreme  section  of  that 
organization  ?     Already  there  were  two  democratic  parties  in  fact, 
and  he,  without  knovN  !ig  it,  was  drifting  toward  the  republican 
party.     It  must  have  interested  him  exceedingly  when  an  address 
put  forward  by  Mr.  Woodson's  allies  showed  him  what  was  the 
ga  :ie  of  the  faction,  and  that  he  was  an  intruder  upon  their  man- 
ipulations.    That  address  said  in  subtance  —  for  it  is  long  and  ia 
a  literary  sense  worthless,  so  it  need  not  be  republished  —  that 
the  proslavery  party  wanted  a  man,  such  as  the  supple  secretary, 
although  they  did  not  name  him,  wedded  to  slavery  by  choice  rather 
than  by  birth,  who  would  do  just  what  they  wanted,  caring  noth- 
ing for  any  wider  horizon  of  public  opinion ;  and  they  contrasted 
with  that  picture  the  unlovely  appointee  himself,  that   President 
Pierce  had  sent  them  in  their  need.     Their  obligations  to  Mr, 
Woodson  were  readily  and  freely  acknowledged,  as  well  they 
mio-ht  be,  but  no  one  could  say  how  soon  be  would  become  pow- 


n«KM«^»«(aK^lNs^' 


m 


876 


TlTTLK's  lllSTOUY  OF  KaXSAS. 


erlcss,  and  tlicrcforc  tlioy  must  act  before  the  new  man  could  in- 
terfere, and  all  Missouri  was  invited  to  come,  as  he  then  saw  it 
coming,  and    heard  it   bellowing  at  every  landing  place,    from 
Glasgow   to   Kansas   City,  with   muskets,   cannon   and   all   the 
munttions  of  war,  to  demolish  the  free  settlers,  and  so  give  peace 
to  the  seat  of  his  government.     lie  found  from  the  conversation 
going  on  around  him,   which   was  public  property,   for   it  was 
almost  hissed  into  his  ear,  that  famine  was  largely  relied  upon 
to  do  the  work  of  the  invaders ;  that  Lawrence  and  other  free 
state  settlements  were  supposed  to  be  on  the  last  gasp  for  wart  of 
food,  and  that  every  road  which  could  carry  supplies  to  the  prac- 
tically beleaguered  people  was   closely  watched  by  plunderers, 
who  would  not  allow  one  scrap  of  provision  to  escape  their  vigil- 
ance, nor  succor  of  any  kind,  unless  they  found  them  unexpected- 
ly overmatched.     The  end  could  not  be  distant,  for  neither  men, 
arms,  ammunition,  nor  supplies  of  any  description,  could  run  the 
blockade  of  the  I^Iissouri  to  sustain  the  defenders,  while  they 
were  living  evidences  that  well  fed  reinforcements  were  daily 
pouring  ii°  to  help  the  invaders,  who  must  win  before  the  new 
man  ca°me,  or  they  might  lose  their  chance  for  ever.     Their  chance 
was  already  gone,  but  they  did  not  know  that,  for  although   Mr. 
Geary  could  not   fail  to  make  mistakes,  being  only  a  man,  he 
could  neither  be  cajoled  nor  intimidated.     So  long  as  Secretary 
Woodson  continued  acting  governor,  there  was  little  hope  for  the 
party  to  which  he  stood  opposed,  for  his  unvarying  answer  to 
every  story  of  spoliation  and  wrong  was,  '-Acknowledge  the  ter- 
ritorial enactments  and  then  you  shall  have  protection."    Because 
the  free  state  men  could  not  submit  to  such  conditions,  and  be- 
cause their  food  was  daily  being  stolen  by  marauders,  they  were 
forced  at  last  to  send  out  foraging  parties  and  make  reprisals  on 
the  enemy.     If  they  must  starve  it  should  be  in  company  with 
the  proslavery  residents  in  Kansas,  and  their  barns  were  laid  un- 
der contribution.     Burlington,  Tccumseh  and  Osaukee  were  pro- 
slavery  settlements,  and  the  farms  in  their  several  localities  were 
favorite  places  of  resort  for  young  men  and  old  who  could  not 
in  any  other  way  maintain  the  commissariat  at  home.     Their 
stomachs  if  not  their  consciences  must  be  satisfied,  and  the  moral- 
ity of  a  state  of  siege  differs  very  materially  from  that  obtaining 
at  other  times. 


« 


MM 


could  in- 
,l)en  saw  it 
Inec,  from 
id  all  the 
give  peace 
)iivei'sation 
for  it  was 
died  upon 

other  free 
[or  wart  of 
o  the  prac- 
plundercrs, 
their  vigil- 
mcxpected- 
iither  men, 
lid  run  the 
while  they 
were  daily 
ire  the  new 
heir  chance 
hough   Mr. 
■  a  man,  he 
s  Secretary 
lope  for  the 
;  answer  to 
Ige  the  ter- 
."    Because 
3ns,  and  be- 
3,  they  were 
reprisals  on 
mpany  with 
ere  laid  un- 
3e  were  pro- 
;alities  were 
0  could  not 
»me.     Their 
i  the  moral- 
at  obtaining 


Gov.  Gk.iuy's  IiuLE  —  18nG-7. 


377 


The  jiroslavcry  men  wanted  Gov.  Geary  delayed  at  any  point 
aiid  on  any  pretext,  until  their  .scheme  of  extermination  could  be 
carried  out ;  but  he  did  not  wear  the  aspect  of  a  man  that  would 
invite  aggression,  and  although  when  he  stepped  on  board  the 
steamer  at  Jefferson  City  he  was  warned  by  an  excited  personage 
that  unless  he  did  what  was  wanted  in  Kansu;i  he.sliould  be  a.«sas- 
sinated,  he  went  on  his  way  with  an  unfaltering  purpose,  deter- 
mined to  adnnnister  the  affairs  of  the  territory  as  an  honest  man. 
Tliere  was  much  excitement  at  various  places  along  the  banks  of 
the  river,  but  no  man  was  commissioned  to  seize  the  new  gov- 
ernor, and  nobody  wanted  to  r>in  chances;    so,  in  spite  of  every 
malevolent  design,  the  rapidity  of  his  movements  outwitted  his 
loyal  militiamen.     He  arrived  at  Fort  Leavenworth  September 
9th,  and  the  scenes  which  were  being  enacted  daily  showed  him 
that  the  talk  on  the  boat  had  been  no  vainglorious  boasting.     An 
officer,  detailed  for  the  protection  of  three  free  settlers  with  their 
wagons,  made  his  report  that,  in  spite  of  his  authority,  the  men 
and  their  property  had  been  seized  by  the  notorious  regulator, 
Capt.  Emory  and  his  gang,  with  an  overwhelming  force,  who  had 
carried  of?  the  settlers  as  captives  to  some  unkown  fate,  and  had 
confiscated  their  property  as  spoils  of  war.     This  piece  of  robbery 
had  been  consummated  almost  within  gunshot  range  from  the 
fort.     A  detachment  of  U.  S.  troops  brouglit  in  Emory  as  a  pris- 
oner very  speedily,  and  set  at  liberty  the  men  who  had  been 
seized ;  but  the  property  was  not  recovered,  and  the  unabashed 
leader  and  his  confederates  were  set  once  more  at  liberty,  to  find 
in  additional  brutalities  to  others  satisfaction  for  the  mild  rebuke 
then  administered.     Mr.  Geary  exerted  himself  to  procure  the  re- 
covery of  the  stolen  property,  that  duty  being  devolved,  by  special 
command,  on  Col.  Clarkson  and  the  militia  force  in  Leavenworth. 
The  governor  left  Leavenworth  on  the  lOtb,  and  arrived  in  Le- 
compton,  the  territorial  capital,  on  the  12th  of  September,  where 
he  found  everybody  on  the  tiptoe  of  excitement,  talking  about 
Lane's  recent  visit,  and  the  stampede  they  were  not  proud  of  hav- 
ing made  before  an  enemy  that  did  no  harm.     His  own  desire  was 
that  bygones  should  be  bygones,  that  peace  should  now  reign, 
and  that  all  armed  intervention  should  cease.     He  issued  an  ad- 
dress full  of  sound  advice,  but  for  the  fact  that  it  was  given  to 


nuaaMWiwaBiWi 


378 


TcTTLtfs  History  of  Kaxsas. 


deaf  cars  on  ono  side,  and  to  men  powerless  to  give  cfTcct  to  liia 
policy  and  theirs  on  the  other.  lie  engaged  to  do  justice  at  all 
lia/cards,  and  he  urged  that  the  residents  in  Kansas  alone  had  the 
remedy  for  all  wrongs  in  their  hands.  In  theory  he  was  right, 
and  it  was  not  easy  for  a  man  newly  come  into  the  territory  to  bo 
aware  how  far  the  practice  had  gone  astray  from  the  proper 
course,  under  the  influences  of  such  militia  nonresidents  as  he 
had  seen  i)ouring  in  upon  the  people.  Ue  commanded  all  officers 
of  militia  to  disband  their  forces  instantly,  as  there  were  sufliciont 
men  at  his  disposal  in  the  U.  S.  forces  to  serve  in  every  ])robable 
emergency.  He  was  determined,  at  all  hazards,  to  have  none  of 
the  force  that  he  had  seen  gathering  along  the  Missouri  under 
the  insolent  pretense  that  they  were  the  territorial  militia,  and  at 
the  same  time  he  called  upon  the  residents  in  Kansas  to  arm  and 
enrol  themselves,  ready  to  be  mustered  in  and  used  by  him  in  any 
emergency  that  might  arise.  Herein  were  the  elements  for  a 
crushing  defeat  of  all  the  designs,  and  it  is  very  clear  that  his 
boat  ride  on  the  Missouri  had  been  the  occasion  of  many  valua- 
ble lessons.  lie  had  seen  that  there  was  an  intention  to  make 
war  upon  Kansas  under  the  speuious  disguise  of  the  array  of 
militia,  and  he  was  taking  the  best  possible  steps  to  compel  aban- 
donment of  the  strategem,  whereupon,  should  the  foe  avow  the 
purpose  of  aggression,  he  would  have  at  his  disposal  the  military 
already  encamped  in  various  parts  of  the  territory,  as  well  as  in 
Forts  Leavenworth  and  Scott ;  as  well  as  a  formidable  embodi- 
ment of  free  settlers,  to  fight  under  his  direction,  and  send  back 
the  invader  in  most  admired  disorder.  Immediately  upon  his 
assuming  his  position,  a  letter  came  to  his  hands  which  had  been 
meant  for  Mr.  Woodson,  announcing  that  Brig.  Gen.  Heiskill  had 
eight  hundred  men  in  the  field,  ready  for  action  and  impatient  to 
begin.  It  must  have  been  painful  for  the  brigadier  to  receive  in 
reply  an  order  to  disband  his  forces,  and  return  to  his  and  their 
homes.  That  and  the  governor's  proclamation  were  the  only 
replies  vouchsafed  to  so  much  mistaken  zeal.  Finding  that  it  was 
not  possible  to  depend  upon  the  statements  of  his  surroundings 
as  to  the  condition  of  the  country,  Mr.  Geary  had  initiated  a  sys- 
tem of  special  agents,  such  as  he  had  long  before  had  in  use  in 
California  and  in  Mexico,  to  supply  him  with  complete  reports  as 


Gov.  C!i:.iitY's  nrr.i:—l'^:)(!-7. 


379 


efTect  to  his 
justice  at  all 
lone  bad  the 
he  was  right, 
jrritory  to  bo 
1  the  proper 
sidenls  as  be 
cd  all  officers 
icre  suflicicnt 
■ery  probable 
have  none  of 
issouri  under 
lilitia,  and  at 
IS  to  arm  and 
)y  him  ill  any 
iments  for  a 
ilear  that  his 

many  valua- 
;ion  to  make 

the  array  of 
compel  aban- 
foe  avow  the 
1  the  military 
as  well  as  in 
able  embodi- 
id  send  back 
ely  upon  his 
ich  had  been 

Heiskill  had 
I  impatient  to 
to  receive  in 
his  and  their 
ere  the  only 
ng  that  it  was 

surroundings 
litiated  a  sys- 
lad  in  use  in 
lete  reports  as 


to  public  feeling  and  the  several  dangers  of  which  he  had  heard  ; 
and  the  answer  which  came  from  Lawrence  by  such  means  showed 
him  that  the  people  there  residing  tiould  not  break  up  their  organ- 
ization, because  they  were  threatened  by  a  force  of  mure  thjin  two 
thousand   iivc  hundred  men,  who  would   once  more  sack  their 
homes  and  imperil  their  lives,  unless  they  renuxincd  ready  for  de- 
fense,    lie  was  in  the  saddle  immediately,  ai\d  reached  Lawrenco 
without  delay,  finding  less  than  four  hundred  men  under  arms; 
but  he  still  tliought  that,  in  a  military  sense,  they  had  overesti- 
mated tlieir  dangers.     Tlie  city  was  found  well  fortilied,  and  the 
people  were    strengthened  in  their  resolution   by  the  few  manly  ^ 
words  that  he  addressed  to  them  during  his  first  visit.     It  was 
easy  to  see  that  although  Mr.  Geary  did  not  court  popularity  by 
any  unworthy  devices,  he  was  bound  to  become  popular  in  his 
rule.     His  brief  absence  from  Lecompton  had  worked  a  change 
in  the  capital,  as  he  found  upon  his  return  that  some  rumors  of  a 
visit  to  Osaukee  had  filled  the  city  with  a  panic  lest  Gen.  Lane 
should  come  and  devour  them  all.     The  terror  under  which  the 
proslavery  party  were  suffering  was  probably  assumed  to  win  a 
point  upon  the  governor,  the  facts  not  being  of  such  a  character 
as  to  justify  extreme  fear.     Col.  Lane  had  served  in  the  same  force 
in  Mexico,  although  not  in  the  same  regiment,  with  Col.  Geary, 
the  one  having  risen  from  the  ranks  in  the  regiment  sent  by  Indi- 
ana, and  the  other  in  one  of  the  regiments  from  Pennsylvania ;  but 
Col.   Lane  was  sufficiently   acquainted   with  the  morale  of  the 
governor,  to  be  sure  that,  under  his  control,  Kansas  would  soon 
find  peace,  consequently  there  was  no  need  of  his  services  in  the 
field,  and  he  concluded  to  leave  by  way  of  Topeka,  returning 
upon  the  road  then  known  as  Lane's  trail,  through  Nebraska  and 
Iowa,  so  that  during  his  journey  he  could  give  succor  and  coun- 
sel to  the  new  emigrants  coming  by  that  route.     It  was  not  safe 
to  travel  alone,  but  the  force  with  him  was  very  small.     When  at 
Osaukee,  the  general  was  informed  that  some  ruffians  had  been 
raiding  Hickory  Point  and  the  neighborhood  for  some  days.     On 
the  day  of  bis  setting  out,  the  robbers  had  attacked  Grasshopper 
Falls,  a  village  about  twenty-five  miles  from  Leavenworth,  and, 
as  their  last  request,  the  people  begged  him  to  break  up  the 
Stronghold.     Reinforcements  having  been  procured  from  Topeka 


>i^miigi,ttgi^^^/-r.  -Tf*---^ 


i480 


Trrn.K's  IIistdi.-y  of  Kaxs.is. 


I 


Tindor  th(>  command  of  Capt.  A.  D.  Stcphoiis,  better  known  aa 
Capt.  Wliipplc,   (Jen.  Lano  proceeded   to   Hickory   I'oint,  wlioro 
tlic  <'iiciiiy  was  foiuiil   str(>n<;ly  fortified   in   three    lioiiscs,  under 
coiiii)ctcnt  cominaiidcr.s.       Witlioiit  artillery,   notliin},'  could   be 
done,  and,  wliilo  waiting  for  such  assistance  from  Lawrence,  the 
proclamation    of    the    governor    disbanding   all   armed   bodies, 
reached  his  camp,  and  of  course  he  had   no  option  but  to  leave 
the  nuitter  as  it  stood,  only  notifying  the  reinforcements  which 
were  to  have  reached  him  at  OsauUce,  that  he  had  abandoned  the 
expedition  for  the  reason  assigned.     The  force  tlicn  commanded 
by  Lane  broke  up,  some  going  to  Toi)eku  with  Cai)t.  Stephens, 
others  accompanying  the  general  on   his  journey,  conscciueiitly 
Lccompton   had   ncjthinj;-  to    fear  from  the  man  that  was  tnost 
dreaded.  The  Hickory  Point  marauders  did  not,  however,  escape, 
as  a  force  from  Lawi-ence,  with  a  twelve-pounder  cannon,  bom- 
barded the  rude  fort  for  about  si.\  hours,  and,  after  .some  slaught- 
er, the  enemy  capitulated.     Knowing  very  little  of  the  facts,  but 
being  assured  that  warlike  proceedings  were  being  prosecuted  in 
the  neighborhood  after  hi.s  proclamation  should  have  procured  a 
cessation  of  all   hostilities.  Gov.   Geary  sent  Col.  Cook  with   a 
force  of  dragoons  to  enforce  obedience,  and  on  the  night  of    Sep- 
tember 14th,  Col.  Harvey,  with  a  force  of  over  one  hundred  men, 
surrendered  to  the  dragoons,  and  every  one  of  the  body  so  found 
in  arms  was  in  fact  arrested  and  held  prisoners  on  very  scanty 
fare  indeed.     The  fact  of  their  being  in  arms  could  not  be  de- 
nied, and  there  could  be  no  justification  of  that  offense  before 
Judge  Cato,  who  had  so  jften  committed  the  like  offense  on  the 
other  side.     The  prisoners  were  accused  of  murder,  and  bail  was 
arbitrarily  refused,  although  the  murderers  of  Dow,  Barber  and 
Brown  had  never  been  even  examined   upon  the  charge  which 
laid  at  their  doors  of  deliberate  and  unprovoked  murder,  and,  in 
this  case,  the  oflense  that  was  imputed  could  only  amount  to  eon- 
structive  murder  at  the  most.     Gen.  Smith  refusing  to  retain  the 
men  as  his  prisoners,  they  were  handed  over  to  the  civil  authori- 
ties and  were  guarded  by  Col.  Titus,  of  whom  we  have  some 
knowledge,  but  their  treatment  was  on  the  whole  deplorable. 
They  were  tried  in  the  following  month,  and  sentenced  to  long 
terms  of  imprisonment  with  hard  labor,  dragging  the  ball  and 


day.  (iHAiiv's  Uvi.t:  —  l>^i'y^'>'7. 


nsi 


r  known  as 

I'oint,  wlioro 
oiisos,  under 
ig  cDiiltl   be 
luwrence,  the 
mod    bi)diea, 
;)Ut  to  loiwo 
neuts  wliicU 
)iiiulone(l  the 
cointniinded 
|)t.  Stephens, 
e()iisc([iieiitly 
lUt  wuH  most 
revcr,  csenpo, 
cannon,  bom- 
iome  sliuight- 
the  facts,  but 
)i'oseeuted  in 
e  procured  a 
Dook  with   a 
light  of   Scp- 
uiiidred  men, 
lody  so  found 
1  very  scanty 
i  not  be  de- 
»f!ense  before 
flense  on  the 
and  bail  was 
,  Barber  and 
charge  which 
urder,  and,  in 
[nount  to  con- 
;  to  retain  the 
civil  authori- 
se have  some 
le  deplorable, 
jnced  to  long 
the  ball  and 


chain  at  every  step,  but  the  governor  exorcised  his  power  to  an- 
nul tlie  degrading  feature  of  tlu;  punishment,  and  many  of  the 
men  made  their  escape,  so  that  thirty-one  could  not  be  (.mud  lu 
Doeember.  The  remainder  were  then  handed  over  to  the  custody 
of  Capt.  Hampton,  who  behaved  very  kindly  to  tlio  men  under 
his  (iliarge.  Many  escapes  coiitinuo<l  to  oe(;ur  all  the  time,  so 
that  in  March  only  seventeen  remained  under  guard,  and  on  tho 
second  day  of  that  month,  1857,  (Jov.  Geary  used  the  pardoning 
power  vested  in  him  to  return  the  remainder  to  their  homes,  iii 
eomplianco  with  petitions  fr.)in  all  parts  of  the  territory. 

Following  to  an  end  the  story  of  Col.  liarvey  and  his  company 
has  temporarily  carried  us  away  from  Lawrence  and  its  all'airs; 
but  a  stroke  of  the  pencil  carries  us  back  to  September  14,  1850. 
Secretary  Woodson  is  now  at  Wakarusa  under  directions    from 
the  governor,  striving  to  induce  his  friends  to  rccross  the  border 
and  surrender  their  impossible  revenge  ;  but  it  is  said  to  bo  easier 
to  raise  the  Devil  than  to  induce  his  Satanic  majesty  to  return  to 
sulphurean  shades  after  his  allies  would  like  to  dispense  with 
him.     Some  such  experience  was  now  falling  in  the  way  of  Mr. 
Woodson.     His  prochunation  had  been  the  means  of  bringing  the 
pro-slavery  men  into  Kansas,  but  his  protestations  and  entreaties 
could  not  remove  them,  and  it  is  doubtful  whether  he  would 
have  ventured  into  their  den  at  Franklin,  without  an  escort  of 
United  States  dragoons.      His  eloquence  failed  to  impress  the 
border  chiefs,  and  the  disbanding  order  was  treated  with  con- 
tempt.    They  had  come  into  the  territory  to  destroy  Lawrence, 
and  nothing  would  induce  them  to  leave  until  that  town  and  ev- 
ery other  free  state  settlement  had  been  razed  to  the  ground. 
The  same  day  Gov.  Geary  rode  to  Lawrence,  accompanying  Col. 
Cooke  and  all  his  force,  resolved  to  be  ready  for  the  worst.     Al- 
ready, of  course,  he  knew  the  threats  that  were  being  fulminated 
against  himself,  but  he  was  not  cursed  with  timidity,  and  he 
meant  to  grasp  the  nettle  with  energy.     He  could  sec  now  that 
the  danger  was  not  being  overrated  in  the  city.     Nearly  three 
thousand  men  were  in  the  old  Wakarusa  camp  imploring  to  be 
led  on  to  the  destruction  of  Lawrence,  and  in  the  city  there  were 
only  three  hundred  men  at  arms,  for  the  force  under  Col.  Harvey, 
all  good  men  and  true,  bad  been  relied  upon  as  codefenders. 


,«ki  »'iiiHl««nill<»-*««-*<*' 


Ti'TTufn  IltsTitttr  or  A'.i.\w.is. 


8SJ 

Rlill  there  w«.  no  .l<ml,l  on  il..  1-rt  ol  llic  Ii«,  ,Mc  men  tlmt 

,  ,,,    j,„i,"  ,u,.l  n„»,  liKl.lin«  fur  tlnnr  wive.  .,,,1  elnU  ron,  and 

:  .en,kr  n,e ri«  ot  1 e,  conM  n„t  ■'"""  ■";;  ;;^;   ™ 

.n,  tl,c  ,iirl,tsi.le.     TI,o  .,1.1  e,„n,u»n.ler,  ln,.vc  . Urn  »...«..,  ha, 

0  n,ne»  of  ,»hun„n.,  nn.l  hi,  ene,,.v  an,,  -'""  -;;';;f ;,  "  .^ 
t„  .very  .nan  a,hlil.".,al  ,f„«rce,  u,  ll.o  |,erf..olc.  t,..l  of  all  » 
Z^^    Three  hnn,lre,l  n.en,  eaeh  hohllng  a  r,lle  wh.eh  1ml 

0   ,  lne,l  ...ain  an,l  »^.»in  in  .ho  faee  of  .h.naer.aml  wn.eh  neve 

*>  :lin« ..-.  i-» »''-  '""•  !r.::;:::  :.;„;;:; 

,„ch  ,.  ,,ow  e,n,.r,,lle,UhA  ..,,n.o..^^^^^^ 

"™  '''";\;;;:';;'u:  e  i,  r, ,  t >  - "-  j-'«-  "-"■ 

:::; ;  "Whi  l  Zheathen  ra.o,  and  the  wicked  in.as,ne  a  van, 

"' ni'  hn-  the  »,-,ow  hy  distant  f.re^ide,,  it  wonld  hayo  been  well 

,ht,'.e,-oe»  defending  I.uv,enec  shouhl  have  been  allowed  a 

Id  and  .,o  tav,.r,  to  end  ,.t  o.,ec  a,.d  for  ever  tl-  ™"ng»  ^ 

li   e  e.°ie,,;  hnt  oLv.  Oeary  wa»  right,  a.nl  the  l.ght  of  bat  e 

t  a  le"  V  ;.lea,,K,l  npon  those  faee«  fonn,l  „p,,ortun,t,e»  el,  • 

Isuc  as  that  for  which  they  were  then  m  arms.     Ihe  govt,  no 
ound   e   ly  access  to  the  city  ;  men  soon  discover  the  nn press  o£ 
1  m'hood,  and  he  had  fonnd  his  way  to  tl-   -^  ;;j-^  ^ 
Tie  cime  to  tell  thcn»  that  the  troops  were  ready  to  defend  thun 
on  X  elmy,  and  would  discharge  that  duty  to  the  last  m     . 
T  ey  wer   rea/;  to  disarm  and  disband  at  once  if  he  so  ordered 
b  Xt  1  nol  his  will ;  he  desired  them  to  keep  the.  weapo 
ready  in  the  last  resort  to  defend  their  ho.nes  and  then  lives  as 
thX  city  might  yet  require  them  all.     The  next  mormng  was  the 
time  niedir  the  assault,  and  the  governor  started  early  and 
2LZ  the  invaders'  camp.     He  was  t^-ee  mdes   rom  the  c.y 
nnd  about  one  mile  from  the  encampment,  when  he  met    he  ad 
TalfofLr  hundred  preparing  for  .he  ^^^^:^;;^^ 
^ho  they  were,  and  what  was  their  purpose,  with  a  few  supeittu 


tl,,\:  Ht.Miv's  /;r/,A'— iS>/>-7. 


383 


vtc  men  that 
\  spiti^  i)t  llio 
liiil.   Imth   liirt 
cliiltli't'ii,  uiul 
lull  lliiiy  woio 
n   Ui'own,  hml 
conrai^o  (.'two 
itrol  of  nil  liw 
Ic  which   Imil 
il  whicli  never 
,  and   tnusclofl 

Hcareil  by  ten 
iiowii  bceame 

danger  thiek- 
i  words,  a^  ho 
imagine  a  vain 

have  been  well 
been  allowed  a 
•  the  ravings  of 

■  light  of  battle 
[lortunitics  elae- 
)  the  sacriliee  of 
d  the  self  sjuno 

The  governor 
r  the  impress  of 

■  hearts  already, 
to  defend  them 
to  the  last  man. 
,f  he  so  ordered, 
3p  their  weapons 
a  their  lives,  as 
morning  was  the 
started  early  and 
les  from  the  city, 
I  he  met  the  ad- 
Having  learned 

h  a  few  superflu- 


o,H  fulir.-tives  ll.ow"  in  by  his  inf..r.nant,  to  give  pomt  to  tho 
statement,  ti.ut  "Lawicnco  was  U.  be  wiped  out,  and  every  aboli- 
ti„ni«f:"  ho  coinfHftnded  his  territorial  ...ilitia  to  "right  about 
{■,cc,"  an.l  convey  him  to  the  center  of  the  Wakarusa  f.,.ro.  1  ho 
cuinmand.r  i..  .;hiet  rc-iuired  no  vo.ichcr  as  to  hiscai.acily  to  rule, 

and  ho  was  obeyed. 

Ti.e  olVu'ers  who  could  say  n..  and  swear  to  it  when  Mr.  Wood- 
Hon  was  the  orator,  found  that  ihoy  had  other  mettle  ix.w  to  com- 
,,.■1  attention.     Some  men  such  as  Jones,  not  the  shenll,  and  a 
low  others,  urged  the  attack  against  U.  S.  trooi-s,  and  even  the  [:  niou 
iHolf,  for  ahvudy  many  of  them  saw  to  what  maelstrom  they  were 
drifting,  but  tho  more  dangerous  because  the  more  ratiotud  eon- 
eluded  that  they  must  obey  the  proclamation  and  disband.      Iho 
more  rulhanly  were  compelled  to  ac<iuiesce  api-aiently  in  a  course 
which  they  hated,  but  on  their  way  out  of  the  territory  they  in- 
flicted all  the  injury  of  which  they  were  capable  upon  the  settlers 
whom  they  grudged  to  leave  with  even  life  itself.     The  John 
Brown  war  had  ended;  and  although  it  had  cost  him  dearly  in 
his  very  heart's  blood,  there  yet  remained  two  sons  and  himself, 
with  other  men  now  around  him,  to  raise  the  question  of  abolition 
elsewhere,  to  be  answered  with  their  lives  at  first,  and  thereafter 
with  the  blood  of  hundrqds  of  thousands,  until  the  terrifio  prob- 
lem should  be  solved.     Missouri  falls  back  now  from  our  pages 
as  a  lighting  force,  and  Kansas  enters  upon  a  better  era  of  her 
history";  but  some  time  must  yet  elapse  before  the  relics  of  tho 
old  quarrel  will  altogether  cease  to  be  found,  as  well  in  tho  plowed 
fields  of  tho  territory  as  in  the  more  curious  fields  of  social  and 
political  memories.     Missouri  was  fighting  for  a  bad  cause,  in 
which  she  could  not  fail  to  be  vanquished  in  the  end,  and  her 
leaders  descended  to  the  use  of  weapons,  which  every  honorable 
man  should  avoid,  but,  beyond  doubt,  the  escutcheon  of  the  causo 
was  sullied  by  the  deeds  of  her  allies. 

The  country  was  approaching  the  days  indicated  by  Isaiah, 
when  "  The  wolf  also  shall  dwell  with  the  lamb,  and  the  leopard 
shall  lie  down  with  the  kid,"  but  there  was  much  work  yet  to  be 
done.  When  Gov.  Geary  visited  the  Wakarusa  camp  he  found 
Judge  Cato,  one  of  the  territorial  staflf,  whose  name  has  frequently 
appeared  in  these  pages,  doing  duty  as  a  soldier,  m  spite  of  tho 


It 


384 


Tuttle's  HisToiiY  OF  Kaxsah. 


proclamation  ordering  that  all  forces  should  be  disbandeil.  That 
fact  will  stand  as  a  general  indication  of  the  disloyalty  with 
which  it  was  necessary  to  do  battle  in  order  to  bring  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  territory  up  to  a  presentable  point.  Partisanship 
had  abused  all  the  functions  of  justice  and  law  for  the  advantage 
of  a  faction.  Murder  by  a  proslavery  man  was  hardly  reprehen- 
sible, but  for  a  free  state  man  to  strike  in  self  defense  deserved 
the  severest  penalties  known  to  the  judiciary.  They  were  always 
wrong  men  in  the  wrong  place,  from  Chief  Justice  Lecompte 
downward  to  the  sherifl;  and  his  deputies,  slaves  of  party  using 
all  the  powers  with  which  they  were  invested  to  prejudice  the 
cause  of  the  people,  and  to  hand  over  Kansas,  bound  hand  and 
foot  for  the  foul  designs  of  slavery.  The  duties  of  the  judges 
had  been  nominal  alnriost  ever  since  their  arrival  in  the  territory, 
as  ever  since  the  enactments  were  passed  at  Shawnee,  every  free 
settler  avoided  the  courts  as  he  would  the  plague ;  but  in  their 
idleness,  the  several  judges  were  laborious  finding  excuses  for 
activity  that  common  sense  would  have  impelled  them  to  shun, 
and  on  the  wrong  side  their  zeal  was  prodigious.  The  partiality 
of  the  judges  was  never  questioned  by  their  best  friends,  nor  was 
that  considered  a  fault,  provided  that  they  never  gave  judgment 
against  their  friends. 

On  the  way  back  from  Wakarusa  the  governor  was  accompa- 
nied by  Judge  Cato,  and  they  were  all  but  witnesses  to  a  brutal 
and  cowardly  murder,  committed  by  one  of  a  troop  of  Kickapoo 
Kangers,  within  a  few  miles  of  Lecompton.  A  cripple  named 
Buff  urn  was  at  work  in  a  field,  and  six  of  the  troop  set  upon  him 
to  steal  his  horse.  Lame  and  weak  at  the  best,  and  not  quarrel- 
some at  any  time,  the  poor  creature  was  easily  robbed ;  but  after 
that  end  had  been  secured,  one  of  the  troop  in  sheer  wantonness 
shot  him  in  the  abdomen,  so  that  he  died  in  great  agony.  While 
Buffura  was  dying  the  governor  and  Judge  Cato  came  to  the  stop, 
and  the  governor  received  the  dying  statement  of  the  murdered 
man.  The  murderer  was  arrested  after  two  months  ceaseless  de- 
mand on  the  part  of  Col.  Geary,  although  a  reward  of  $500  had 
been  offered  for  the  discovery  of  the  criminal,  but  after  Hays,  the 
murderer,  had  been  committed  to  take  his  trial  for  murder  in  the 
first  degree,  Judge  Lecompte  allowed  him  to  go  at  large  on  straw 


andea.  That 
si oy ally  with 
>•  the  adminis- 

Partisanship 
the  advantage 
•dly  reprehen- 
ense  deserved 
y  were  always 
,ice  Leconipte 
)f  party  using 

prejudice  the 
ind  hand  and 
of  the  judges 
L  the  territory, 
tiee,  every  free 
;  but  in  their 
g  excuses  for 
them  to  shun, 
The  partiality 
lends,  nor  was 
;ave  judgment 

was  accompa- 
ises  to  a  brutal 
[)  of  Kickapoo 
cripple  named 
)  set  upon  him 
id  not  quarrel- 
bed  ;  but  after 
eer  wantonness 
igony.  While 
,me  to  the  stop, 
the  murdered 
as  ceaseless  de- 
i  of  $500  had 
after  Hays,  the 
■  murder  in  the 
t  large  on  straw 


Gov.  Geauy's  BcLK—18r>G-7. 


3S5 


bail.  The  course  so  pursued  was  manifestly  defeating  the  aims 
(;f  justice,  vand  if  the  prisoner  liad  been  a  free  state  man  accused 
of  only  expressing  his  dislike  for  slavery,  there  would  have  been 
no  bail  and  no  consideration  on  the  part  of  the  chief  justice.  The 
governor  ordered  a  ro-arrest,  and  being  absent  from  the  capital  for 
a  few  days,  he  found  upon  his  return  that  Mr.  Lecompte  had  lib- 
erated the  prisoner  a  second  time  upon  a  writ  of  Ii'iheas  corpus. 
Thus  an  executive  quarrel  arose  which  in  the  end  so  far  exasper- 
ated the  governor  that  he  resigned  his  position  ;  but  we  must  not 
look  too  far  ahead,  and  it  is  a  good  plan  to  avoid  jumping  before 
we  come  to  the  stile. 

The  holding  of  regular  courts  at  stated  intervals,  and  the  en- 
couragement by  the  judiciary  of  all  attempts  to  bring  wrong  doer.s 
to  justice,  engaged  the  attention  of  the  governor,  and  he  did  his 
best  to  impress  upon  the  judiciary  his  view  in  the  matter,  but  his 
success  was  very  moderate  indeed.  The  state  prisoners  consisting 
of  Col.  Ilarvey  and  his  men  were  then  waiting  for  an  examina- 
tion, but  instead  of  bringing  them  to  trial  at  once  as  might  have 
been  done,  the  chief  justice  went  off  on  his  pleasure,  leaving  word 
that  the  one  hundred  and  one  prisoners  could  be  conveyed  to 
Leavenworth  in  three  .weeks  from  that  date.  Tlie  governor  was 
absent  when  that  order  was  made,  but  upon  his  return  Judge  Cato 
was  requested  to  make  the  examination,  with  the  results  already 
described.  The  jnisfeasance  of  officials  had  long  been  a  source  of 
complaint  in  the  territory,  and  not  without  adequate  cause.  From 
every  quarter  came  charges  which  could  not  be  rebutted,  and  the 
govcrr  or  brought  down  the  whole  stafiE  upon  him  by  an  earnest 
and  manly  effort  to  arouse  ther :  to  a  sense  of  duty.  The  U.  S. 
marshal,  he  of  the  proclamation,  used  his  opportunity  to  proc:ire 
troops  u.^der  escorts,  of  which  he  sent  his  deputies  to  arrest  free 
state  men,  but  no  other  duty  could  be  thought  of,  until  the  chief 
executive  refused  to  supply  dragoons  to  bolster  up  misapplied  au- 
thority, and  the  people  were  protected  thenceforth  from  displays 
of  insolence  which  had  been  all  but  unbearable.  There  were  thus 
daily  accruing  evidences  that  Col.  Geary  meant  to  hold  the  scales 
of  justice  fairly,  and  from  all  quarters  there  came  testimony  to  the 
essential  manliness  of  his  character. 

The  industrial  army,  which  was  spoken  of  long  since  as  Lane's 
85 


3S6  Tuttle's  History  of  ICiSfiAfi. 

army  of  tlic  north,  was  not  an  invading  force,  but  a  band  or  rath- 
er many  bands  of  settlers  who  came  on  to  malvc  their  homes  in 
the   territory,  but  who,  knowing  how  their  brethren  had  been 
treated  by  tlic  Missourians,  came  armed  for  purposes  of  defense  on 
the  route  as  well  as  after  settlement.     They  were  coming  ^^d,en 
Mr.  Shannon  resigned,  and  indeed  during  the  very  earliest  days 
of  xVugust,  three  weeks  before  his  resignation,  there  were  five 
hundred  immigrants  and  sixty  wagons  encamped  near  Nebraska 
City  about  ninety-six  miles  from  Omaha  by  the  Missouri,  ready 
to  enter  the  territory  of  Kansas.     This  number  had  gradually  ac- 
cumulated, some  had  attempted  the  Missouri  passage  and  had 
been  driven  buck  with  the  loss  of  nearly  all  their  possessions,  and 
none  could  say  what  obstacles  would  be   presented  to  their  en- 
trance in  this  direction,  hence  the  first  comers  waited  for  additions, 
and  now  they  had   indeed  become  an  army  in  dimensions,    nor 
^v-ere  they  altogether  unprepared,  should  a  fight  become  inevit- 
able     The  south  had  thoroughly  roused  the  spirit  of  the  north  at 
last;  but  notwithstanding  all  that,   these  men  wanted  peaceful 
homesteads  in   Kansas  and  would  only  give  battle  when  other 
means  failed  to  secure  them  their  rights.     Some  brought  with  them  - 
stock  and  agricultural  implements,  having  determine''  upon  farm- 
in-  and  stock  raising  as  their  pursuit,  but  they  were  not  without 
more  warlike  weapons  to  use  when  requisite.     The  little  assem- 
biaoe  contained  almost  as  many  various  projects  as  there  were 
men  in  the  company,  but  actual  conquest  by  force  of  arms  waa 
not  one  of  them.     Peaceful  possession  and  armed  defense,  if  neces- 
sary would  much  more  truthfully  express  their  intentions.     The 
force  came  on  with  abundant  proof  of  their  bona  fides,  founding  vil- 
lages such  as  Plymouth,  Lexington  and  Ilolton,  the  first  now  a 
po°  tal  village  and  railroad  station  on  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and 
Santa  Fe  Railroad  in  Lyon  county,  the  second  grown  into  a  town- 
ship on  the  Kansas  River  traversed  by  the  St.  Louis,  Lawrence 
and  Western  Railroad,  with  a  population  of  over  thirteen  hun- 
dred, and  the  last  a  city,  the  capital  of  Jackson  county  on  the 
Kansas  Central  Railroad,  having  two  newspapers  and  a  popula- 
tion of  five  hundred  persons.  , 
Enouc^h  has  been  said  to  show  that  these  men  with  their  fami- 
lies meant  settlement,  and  not  war,  and  that  they  were  well  adapt- 


■■*dp^-r^     IlliHWir^ri 


Gov.  Geary's  liuLK  —  lS5G-7. 


3S7 


land  or  rath- 
iir  lioincs  in 
?n  li!\d  been 
)f  defense  on 
;oinin,q;  when 
earliest  days 
■re  were  five 
!ar  Nebraska 
ssoviri,  ready 
gradually  ac- 
age  and  had 
sscssions,  and 
to  their  en- 
for  additions, 
nensions,    nor 
3Conie  inevit- 
\i  the  north  at 
nted  peaceful 
e  when  other 
ti-ht  with  them 
e'  upon  farm- 
•e  not  without 
;  little  assem- 
as  there  were 
e  of  arms  was 
fense,  if  neces- 
;entions.     The 
,  founding  vil- 
he  first  now  a 
1,  Topeka  and 
m  into  a  town- 
ouis,  Lawrence 
r  thirteen  hun- 
county  on  the 
1  and  a  popula- 

,'ith  their  fami- 
^ere  well  adapt- 


ed to  select  sites  for  their  future  habitations.  The  men  who  made 
these  settlements  also  left  the  streams  temporarily  bridged,  so 
that  their  successors  could  come  on  with  less  delay.  Tlie  balance 
of  the  party  came  on  to  Topeka,  where  many  made  their  homes. 
There  was  in  this  rush  of  emigrants  nothin^r  to  alarm  any  man, 
unless  he  saw  in  the  increasing  power  of  the  free  settlers  a  death 
blow  for  his  hope  that  Kansas  could  be  made  a  slave  state  ;  but 
the  territorial  authorities  wore  men  of  that  type,  and  for  the  same 
reason  that  they  would  welcome  a  rush  of  a  like  kind  over  the 
Missouri  border,  they  hated  to  see  the  new  arrivals  via  Nebraska. 
Air.  Woodson,  during  his  term  of  authority,  telegraphed  to  Presi- 
dent Pierce  that  one  thousand  armed  men  had  arrived  on  the 
borders  of  the  territory  ;  twenty  thousand  such  would  have  been 
a  gain,  and  not  a  source  of  alarm  ;  there  are  now  600,000  people 
in  KansaB,  any  one  of  whom  might  be  proud  to  entertain  the 
humblest  in  that  armv. 

The  idea  of  an  invasion  from  the  iiorth,  with  such  designs  as 
had  just  been  defeated  from  the  south,  was  presented  to  the  mind 
of  Gov.  Geary  in  the  latter  part  of  September,  and  inasmuch  as 
he  wished  to  avoid  the  chance  of  Kansas  being  made  merely  the 
battle  ground  of  a  faction,  he  despatched  a  force  to  inspect  the 
new  arrivals,  said  to  be  one  thousand  strong,  and  just  ready  to 
swoop  down  upon  the  territory.  The  company  was  found  one 
hundred  and  thirty  only,  and  they  were  all  arrested  and  conveyed 
to  the  capitol,  where  the  governor  saw  them,  and  being  satisfied 
that  they  were  peaceful  and  desirable  immigrants,  although  armed, 
gave  them  a  kindly  welcome  and  permission  to  settle  where  they 
would,  unmolested.  Continual  alarms  of  this  description  occurred. 
Three  hundred  dragoons  were  sent  to  arrest  a  force  of  seven  hun- 
dred men  with  cannon  and  small  arms,  and  instead  of  any  such 
perilous  force  there  were  only  three  hundred  immigrants,  just  as 
well  armed  as  iheir  predecessors,  and  as  peaceable.  A  delega- 
tion from  this  body,  on  the  first  of  October,  had  an  interview  with 
Col.  Geary  to  disabuse  his  mind  of  an  erroneous  impression  ;  but 
of  course  the  necessity  for  such  precautions  could  not  be  other- 
wise than  annoying  to  the  persons  molested,  whatever  the  motive 
of  the  authority  by  which  the  obstruction  comes.  Subsequently 
there  were  two  stories  as  to  the  delegation  and  their  friends,  and 


.,j 


888 


Tittle's  lIisTonr  of  Kansas. 


it  is  not  easy  to  assume  that  either  side  was  entirely  wrong.     Two 
men  disputed  about  a  shidd,  one  saying  that  it  was  gold,  the 
other  that  it  was  silver,  but  before  settling  tlie  question  in  the 
orthodox  way  by  fighting,  one  of  the  two  was  wise  enough  lo 
chan<rc  positions,  and  he  found  that  the  shield  was  gold  un  the 
one  sitle,  and  silver  on  the  other.     Gov.  Geary  reported  what  he 
saw,  and  wliat  was  reported  to  liiin,  in  his  own  way  according  to 
his  belief,  wliilc  the  immigrants  and  tlieir  friends  gave  their  ex- 
perience from  a  different  standpoint.     American  citizens  happdy 
are  not  accustomed  to  be  inspected  by  dragoons,  and  they  don't 
take  to  it  kindly;  that  is  of  course  very  proper.     The  deputy 
United  States  marshal  said  that  the  immigrants  came  as  an  organ- 
ized band  in  martial  array,  with  superfluous  arms,  and  presenting 
an  ai)])earance  so  equivocal  that  he  insisted  upon  examining  their 
wagons.     Tliere  is  no  law  that  expressly  provides  what  arms  shall 
be  carried  by  citizens,  and  i)erhai)s  the  constitution  would  allow 
every  man  to  be  bis  own  judge  in  that  respect,  but  the  exceptional 
condition  of  Kansas  may  well  account  for  preparations  on  one 
side,  and  suspicions  on  the  other.     The  force  which  came  pre- 
pared for  war  found  peace  prevailing,   established  by  the  wise 
rule  of  the  man  whose  action  thev  were  finding  so  inconvenient 
in  their  cases;  but  there  might  have  been  some  satisfaction  in 
knowing  that  the  same  rule  which  was  irksome  in  their  own  in- 
stance was  a  means  of  security  for  their  families  and  themselves, 
when  it  applied  to  the  unlawful  bands  of  marauders  that  were 
now   permanently  relegated  to  the  Airther  side  of  the  Missouri 
river.     This  world  abounds  in  compensations,  and  their  lot  was 
not  without  them.     The  duty  devolving  upon  the  governor  was 
perplexing,  but  if  he  allowed  a  body  of  men  to  come  with  arms 
and  munitions  of  war  unchecked  over  one  boundary,  how  could 
he  insist  upon  a  cessation  in  another.     If  his  predecessor  had 
cleared  the  obstructions  from  the  Missouri,  no  such  armament 
would  have  been  dreamed  of.     The  whole  party  was  arrested  in 
the  instance  mentioned,  and  the  governor  met  them  at  Topeka, 
where  from  his  own  observation  he  concluded  that  they  came 
within  the  line  which  his  proclamation  had  marked  out  as  con- 
trary to  the  law,  and  therefore  in  order  to  preserve  the  peace,  he 
called  upon  them  to  disperse.     The  governor  addressed  the  crowd 


■'srwc^ 


Gov.  GiJ.uiv's  Uvu:  —  l'^'>0-7' 


3S9 


ong.     Two 
s  gold,  the 
stion  in  the 
!  enough  to 
gold  un  the 
ted  what  he 
iccording  to 
,ve  their  ex- 
ens  happily 
I  they  don't 
The  deputy 
as  an  organ- 
d  presenting 
mining  their 
it  arms  shall 
svould  allow 
!  exceptional 
tions  on  one 
h  came  pre- 
by  the  wise 
inconvenient 
vtisfaction  in 
their  own  in- 
1  themselves, 
jrs  that  were 
the  Missouri 
their  lot  was 
governor  was 
(le  with  arms 
y,  how  could 
idecessor  had 
ch  armament 
IS  arrested  in 
ra  at  Topeka, 
at  they  came 
id  out  as  con- 
the  peace,  he 
sed  the  crowd 


at  some  length,  explaining  his  policy  and  questioning  them  as  to 
their  beiti'-  aware  of  the  terms  of  his  proclamation  before  they 
came  acrass  the  bonh'r,  but  he  showed  less  than  his  ordinary 
sa'nieity  when  he  concluded  that  their  excuses  were  unsatisfactory, 
inasmuch  as  the  requisite  information  did  reach  them  in  Nebraska 
territory.  Their  arms  of  all  kinds  were  valuable  properties.  Were 
they  to  leave  them  in  Nebraska  City  wliere  they  would  be  all 
but  valueless,  or  to  bring  them  along  where  their  value  might,  in 
a  purely  business  point  of  view,  be  expected  to  be  enhanced  by 
the  dan-ers  incidental  to  Kansas  colonization  ?  Could  they  have 
known  before  leaving  home  that  he  had  tamed  and  dispersed  the 
ruffians,  much  of  the  exi)enditure  might  have  been  saved  ;  but 
even  then  they  might  reasonably  doubt  the  continuance  of  his 
rule,  seeing  how  often  the  power  behind  the  throne  had  removed 

Kansas  governors. 

The  governor  supported  his  oflftccrs  in  the  course  they  had 
pursued,  and  the  colonists,  who  had  only  associated  for  safety  m 
their  travel,  dispersed  upon  the  first  invitation,  giving  therein  the 
best  evidence  of  their  good  faith.     The  pacilhvation  of  the  terri- 
tory was  naturally  enough  good  news,  and  the  governor  noted 
that  the  officer  of  dragoons,  Maj.  Sibley,  who  had  escorted  the 
corps  of  emigrants  under  arrest,  was  honored  with  three  cheers  in 
apparent  recoL'nition  of  his  gentlemanly  demeanor  on  the  march. 
The  warlike  s^ocieties  of  the  eastern  states  came  in  for  a  vote  of 
censure  at  the  hands  of  Col.  Geary,  who  appeared  to  be  incapable 
of  seeincr,  that  the  line  of  conduct  which  he  condemned  arose  out 
of  the  territorial  condition  which  he  had  bent  all  his  energies  to 
reform;   but  that,  had  Secretary  Woodson  remained  master  of 
the  situation,  all  these  precautions,  and  more  besides,  would  have 
been  necessary  to  save  the  free  state  men  from  absolute  exter- 
mination     The  conductors  of  the  emigrant  train  averred,  that 
their  party  consisted  of  less  than  three  hundred  persons,  whose 
families  were  following  only  a  few  days  travel  behind,  that  they 
were  desirous  to  become  residents  in  Kansas,  that  the  Missouri 
blockade  rendered  overland   travel  a  necessity,  and  that  they 
were  armed  because  they  had  reason  to  expect  that  northern 
Kansas  would  be  found  infested  with   marauders.     They  com- 
plained of  unnecessary  harshness  and  destruction  of  goods  in  the 


390 


Tuttle's  IIisroiiY  of  KA\>t.is. 


! 


search  for  arms  among  their  packiigos,  and  thoy  dechired  tlicir 
mission  to  be  peaceful  without  any  other  organization  than  that 
necessary  to  preserve  order  and  property.  Botli  sides  wore 
right,  hut  it  is  very  probable  that  some  of  the  subordinates  put 
on  the  importance  of  office  in  the  most  pompous  way  tliey  knew, 
and  assuredly  American  citiisens  are  in  peaceful  times  eiititled  to 
cany  arms,  unquestioned  by  dragoons.  Tlie  governor  was  trying 
to  be  rigorously  impartial,  and  as  a  consequence,  he  caused  annoy- 
ance to  both  sides,  but  in  the  main,  however  much  some  few  of 
the  extremists  on  the  jjopular  side  were  oitended,  the  mass  of  the 
community  could  see  that  Col.  Geary  aimed  at  doing  che  right 
thing  in  the  way  that  seemed  to  him  best  for  all  concerned.  The 
names  of  the  men  that  acted  as  conductors  for  the  party  of 
immigrants  would,  of  themselves,  stand  sponsor  for  the  truth- 
fulness of  their  statements,  so  far  as  they  spoke  from  their  own 
knowledge,         t 

It  was  a  subject  for  much  congratulation,  that  by  the  end  of 
September  peace  had  been  established  all  over  Kansas,  except  ia 
Leavenworth,  and  Gov.  Geary  by  his  energy  and  promptitude 
Lad  contributed  mainly  to  that  end.    Men  were  able  to  send  their 
produce  from  their  farms  into  cities,  and  to  procure  Ir  return  the 
goods  neces.sary  for  their  convenience  without  military  escort  or 
any  fear  of  an  assault.     The  bands  of  guerrillas  that  had  menaced 
life  and  property  so  long  were  effectually  driven  out  or  quelled  ; 
bouses  were  safe  from  assault,  as  well  from  scoundrels  clothed 
in  the  forms  of  law,  as  from  others  who  only  called  themselves  a 
militia  ;  the  disturbances  existing  were  petty  and  trivial,  such  as 
only  served  to  illustrate  the  general  peace.     Where  necessary,  in 
the  neighbood  of  Leavenworth  for  instance,  troops  were  ready 
and  willing  to  protect  and  convoy  loaded  wagons  or  other  prop- 
erty, but  the  condition  of  that  city  itself  was  still  an  eyesore  ;  and 
the  governor  applied  his  will  to  the  reduction  of  its  disorder. 
The  complaints  of  the  people  had  never  ceased  since  the  day 
that  they  had  first  learned  that  the  office  of  governor  was  filled 
by  a  man  to  whom  honesty  might  look  for  succor ;  but  where  so 
many  and  such  various  demands  were  made,  something  must  be 
done  "first     A  letter  bearing  date,  October  1,  1856,  addressed  to 
the  mayor  of  Leavenworth,  thiiL      the  regulators  must  be  dis- 


Gov.  Ghaut's  Elu:— lSr,(:-7. 


391 


declared  tlieir 
ition  tlian  that 
)tli  sides  wero 
bordiiiate.4  put 
^iiy  tlicy  knew, 
rnes  ciititled  to 
nor  was  trying 

caused  annoy- 
ih  some  few  of 
he  mass  of  the 
[ling  che  right 
ncerned.     The 

the  party  of 
for  the  truth- 
om  their  own 

by  the  end  of 
isas,  except  in 
I  promptitude 
3  to  send  their 
;  ir  return  the 
itary  escort  or 
;  had  menaced 
It  or  quelled  ; 
idrels  clothed 

themselves  a 
rivial,  such  as 
I  necessary,  in 
s  were  ready 
)r  other  prop- 
eyesore  ;  and 

its  disorder, 
since  the  day 
lor  was  filled 
but  where  so 
hing  must  be 
addressed  to 
must  be  dis- 


banded," and  so  well  was  it  known,  thai  wl.cii  (U,].  deary  spoke, 
lie  meant  business,  that  the  acquiescotit  mayor  was  immediately 
capable  of  issuing  his  iM'oclamation,  and  the  regulators  subsided 
under  regulations.  "  Law  and  order,"  but  hap[)ily,  not  in  the 
old  Leavenworth  sense,  once  more  reigned  in  the  city,  and  busi- 
ness was  speedily  seen  assuming  its  proper  proportions  in  the 
streets  where  riot  had  prevailed  so  long.  Tlie  government  was 
felt  to  be  strong  in  the  will  of  one  man  alone,  but  tliat  will  was  a 
guaranty  to  the  whole  of  the  people.  A  real  militia  force  was 
mustered  in  for  defensive  purposes  in  the  early  part  of  October, 
two  b(;ing  stationed  at  the  capital  and  one  in  the  city  of  Lawrence  ; 
but  two  months'  service  was  pronounced  enough  to  serve  all 
proper  purposes;  the  people  were  secure  in  the  good  faith  of  the 
governor,  and  he  was  confident  that  in  whatever  emergency  might 
ai'isc  he  would  be  supported  by  the  whole  force  of  the  resident 
population  from  whom  he  once  feared  so  much  trouble. 

There  had  been  many  requests  from  different  parts  of  the  terri- 
tory for  authority  to  form  independent  military  companies,  but 
in  every  case  the  proposition  was  declined,  as  the  chief  executive 
of  the  territory  was  fully  capable  of  the  position,  and  he  pro- 
posed to  be  the  actual  commander-in-chief  while  be  remained  in 
Kansas.  The  choice  of  a  delegate  to  congress  was  thought  of  so 
little  moment,  as  it  was  hoped  that  the  constitution  of  Kansas  as 
a  state  would  soon  pass  into  law,  that  when  an  election  was  called 
for,  very  few  of  the  free  state  party  cared  to  vote,  and  Whitfield 
■was  elected  by  a  posse  of  voters  that  came  over  from  Westport 
in  his  company,  and  literally  made  him  for  once  ashamed  of  his 
as-sociates  ;  or  else  he  said  so  for  the  purpose  of  covering  appear- 
ances. Things  having  been  now  reduced  to  something  like  order, 
the  governor  set  out  on  a  tour  through  Kansas,  seeing  beauties 
■which  might  well  wean  the  most  obstreperous  to  the  enjoyments 
of  peaceful  life,  yet  amidst  which  but  little  more  than  a  month 
since  the  din  of  robbery  and  rapine  had  daily  resounded ;  and 
upon  his  return,  a  day  of  "  Thanksgiving  and  Praise  "  was  ap- 
pointed for  the  20th  of  November.  Scattered  marauders  were 
still  heard  of  in  some  parts  of  the  territory,  but  officers  and 
troops  were  rendering  a  very  good  account  of  all  such  ruffians, 
when  the  troops  were  recalled  to  winter  quarters.     Five  thieves 


892 


TuTTUfs  lIlSTOIti-  OF  KaS'SAS. 


had  been  arrested,  mucli  booty  recovered,  and  it  was  sornctliitig 
to  find  the  onk'ial  force  of  tlic  territory  whicli  had  been  so  h)ng 
engaged  in  worrying  the  people  now  oeeupicd  in  rei)ressing  disor- 
der and  preventing  outrage.  The  moral  tone  tlius  given  to  gcv- 
erninent  in  Kansas  was  a  luxury. 

The  legislature  of  Vermont  liad  liberally  voted  $20,000  to  as- 
sist the  people  of  Kansas  in  consideration  of  the  fact  that  the  out- 
rages daily  perpetrated  had    prevented   the   customary    harvest 
labors  from  being  executed,  but  when   the  governor  of  the  state 
of  Vermont  communicated  that   fact  to  the  governor  of  Kansas 
territory,  Col.  Geary  expressed  a  doubt  whether  any  such  help 
was  needed,  reserving  however  the  right  to  call  upoTi  the  Vcr 
mont  people,  should  any  cases  of  suflicient  urgency  come  uiuler 
his  notice.     During  the  month  of  November  the  town  of  Ilyatt- 
villc  was  founded  on  the  south  branch  of  the  Pottawatomie,  in 
order  to  find  employment  for  a  number  of  young  men  who  were 
otherwise  likely  to  drift  out  of  soundings,  but  the  township  has 
long  since  ceased  to  be  mentioned  even  by  the  most  painstaking 
gazetteer.     The  men  most  likely  to  succeed  in  a  colony  are  just  the 
men  that  have  surplus  energy  and  can  make  success  anywhere. 
The  first  impressions  of  Gov.  Geary  were  being  very  slowly 
succeeded  by  better,  because  wider  views  of  the  men  over  whom 
he  was  called  to  rule,  and  they  were  able  to  read  him  much  soon- 
er than  he  could  decipher  their  wortli.     The  first  work  necessary 
toward  comprehending  any  person  or  thing  is  to  get  quit  of  first 
impressions,  to  unlearn  what  is  wrong  and  to  prepare  the  way  for 
a  careful  appreciation  of  the  actual  condition  of  things.     Col. 
Geary  was  sure  that  both  parties  were  in  the  wrong  in  Kansas, 
but  he  was  expecting  to  find  the  free  state  party  most  to  blame 
for  the  condition  of  aflfairs  which  had     apidly  supervened ;  he 
■was  now  slowly  learning  the  worth  of  the  men  whom  he  had  al- 
most contemned  in  the  judgment  formed  without  inquiry  into  the 
facts  where  alone  the  truth  could  be  ascertained,     lie  found  that 
they  had  been  patient  under  oppression,  until  patience  stood  on 
the  verge  of  crime  or  even  cowardice,  and  that  they  had  only 
taken  up  arms  in  self  defense  when  their  dear  ones  at  home  could 
in  no  other  way  be  protected.     He  found  them  ready  to  resume 
their  daily  avocations  as  soon  as  the  necessity  for  armed  defense 


^T«*^-^  t  -rvtw-n~ 


mfmmmmm 


nor.  GKAflY's  iiuLK—mr,-7. 


803 


1  soinctliiiig 
xjCii  so  long 
jssiiig  elisor- 
iveu  to  gov- 

>0,000  to  ns- 
that  llieout- 
ary    harvest 

of  tlio  state 
r  of  Kansas 
iT  sucli  liolp 
)on  the  Ver 

come  uiulcr 
rn  of  Ilyatt- 
iwatomie,  in 
en  who  were 
,o\vnship  has 

painstaking 
y  are  just  the 
IS  anywliere. 
very  slowly 
1  over  whom 
I  much  soon- 
irk  ueoessary 
,  quit  of  first 

I  the  way  for 
thin<j;s.  Col. 
g  in  Kansas, 
lost  to  blame 
)crvencd ;  he 

II  he  had  al- 
[uiry  into  the 
[e  found  that 
nice  stood  on 
ey  had  only 
t  home  could 
dy  to  resume 
rmed  defense 


had  passed  away,  and  it  was  singular  tlr  xcopt  in  tho  instanoo 
of  tho  Rev.  Martin  White,  who  boasted  ot  nis  horrible  exploit  in 
the  double  murder  of  William  Garrison  and  Frederieic  Brown, 
there  was  no  evidence  of  an  approach  to  a  vemklto.  A  commu- 
nity capable  of  so  much  courage  and  of  so  much  self  denial 
deserved  a  more  favorable  verdict  from  tho  governor  and  in 
course  of  time  that  result  was  fully  achieved.  His  first  duty  was 
to  govern  firmly  and  with  wise  impartiality,  and  he  carried 
through  his  role  so  well  that  no  man  could  say  ho  swerved  toward 
either  side  ;  but  inasmuch  as  fair  play  was  all  that  the  free  state 
men  had  ever  asked,  his  inflexible  justice  was  a  passport  to  their 
regard,  however  reserved  might  be  his  manner.  That  day,  at 
Lawrence,  when  he  refused  to  accept  a  surrender  of  the  arms  of 
John  Brown  and  his  comi)'.'.ny,  was  a  good  inlet  to  the  character 
of  tlie  man,  and  it  won  him  more  than  golden  opinions  from  men 
all  over  Kansas,  wlien  the  story  was  told. 

He  was  governor  of  Kansas  in  the  best  sense,  at  a  time  when 
the  people  were  dependent  upon  one  man  power,  and  it  was  well 
that  Mr.  Pierce  was  able  to  find  a  man  so  capable.     But  every 
quality  that  endeared  him  to  the  settlers  was  an  additional  reason 
-why  the  other  side  should  be  his  inexorable  enemies,  should  even 
come  in  bitter  earnest  to  discuss  the  best  means  for  putting  him 
aside  by  a  method  more  expeditious  and  more  deterrent  of  future 
aspirants  from  the  east,  than  appealing  to  the  power  behind  the 
throne.     There  was  a  proposition  to  combine  the  great  mass  of 
the  residents  in  Kansas,  early  in  the  month  of  December,  upon  a 
basis  mutually  acceptable,  which  could  be  propounded  as  a  com- 
mon declaration  of  principles,  but  the  necessity  to  recognize  the 
Shawnee  legislature  in  any  degree  rendered  the  attempt  abortive. 
Still,  the  people  were  now  earnestly  wooing  peace,  and  when  the 
time  drew  near  for  the  reassembly  of  the  state  legislature,  many 
thought  that  no  good  purpose  could  be  served  just  at  that  time 
by  continuing   the  struggle.     The  traveler,  that  could   not  be 
robbed  of  his  cloak  by  the  strong  winds  that  tried  strenuously  to 
carry  it  away,  allowed  the  garment  to  drop  unheeded  from  his  shoul- 
ders in  the  genial  sunshine.     Gov.  Robinson,  who  never  failed  in 
times  of  trouble,  was  in^'ined  to  think  that  he  could  more  profit- 
ably serve  the  territory,  if  he  resigned  the  office  to  which  he  had 


MMPMnMHi 


3i>i  TirTij:'s  llisivur  i>f  Kassas. 

been  clcoltMl  III  n'opcka,  and   lhi;ii  bolouk  lumselt  to  Wasliiii-tou 
to  work   111  the  (;aii.s.- ..[  llio  pi-oplo ;  but  owing  to  some  misun- 
derHtunding,  his  letter  of  resigmUion  was  not  presented  when  the 
Icgishituro  convened  on   tiie  otli  of  .lanuiiry,    18o7,  and   it  was 
made  to  apiH-ar  that  the  doctor  had  fiiiU'd  to  show  proper  cour- 
te.sy  to  his  friends.     Tlio  lieutenant  governor,  who  held  tliC  doc- 
tor's  letter,  was  also  absent;  but  nil   the  discontent  <lisai)peared, 
on  a  brief  explanation.     The  asseml)ling  of  the  legislature  guve 
no  heartburning  to  Gov.  CJeary,  although  as  usual,  his  reporters 
were  present  to  see  how  things  were  moving ;  but  another  power 
was  visibly   present,   in   the   penson  of  sheriff   Jones.     Another 
quarrel  was  a  potent  necessity  in  his  life,  and  he  arrived  in  To- 
peka,  armed   with  writs  sued  out  from  Judge  Cato,   to  arrest 
every  member  of  the  state  legislature.     Of  course  there  would 
be  resistance,  and  he  saw  a  never  ending  vista  of  war  rising  out 
of  his  well  concocted  scheme;  but  when  the  writs  were  exhib- 
ited to  the  several  legislators,  they  took  the  arrests  as  the  merest 
matters  of  course,  were  conveyed  to  Teeumseh    without  a  mur- 
mur,  came  up  before  .ludge  Cato  on  the  following  day,  were  lib- 
erated upon  their  own  bail  in  every  case,  and  were   not  called 
upon  at  any  time  after  to  stand  a  trial  for  the  nominal  oflense. 
Catiline,  the  conspirator,  was  a  second  time  overthrown  by  Cato, 
and  the  sheriflE  was  cue  unhappiest  man  in  Kansas. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 


TERRITORIAL   HISTORY 
(conUnxied.) 

GOVERNOR  GEARY  CONCLUDES  -  EVENTS  OF  1857. 

Lecompton  Legislature -Governor's  Message -Unpalatable  Truths -Fac 
tion  Fury -Abominable  Legislation -Lecomptc's  Defenders -Condon, 
ing  Murder— Vetoing  Veto -Fomenting  Strife- Sheritf  Sherrard  — 
Insolent  Official- Kold  Threats  — Patient  Waiting  — Legislative  Resolu- 
tion-Sufficient Reasons -Uncontrolled  Rage -Malicious  Motive  — 
-     Buncombe -Illegal  Law -Personal  Violence -Supreme  Contempt  — 


Coy.  Gkmiy  Ci>\ci.vDh:s—  ISS?. 


Wasliiii^tDii 
OHIO  ini.sun- 
e<l  when  the 

illlll    it    WU3 

[)r()per  cour- 
clil  I'iO  doc- 
disappearecl, 
datiiro  guvo 
lis  reporters 
lotlicr  power 
•s.     Another 
rived  in  To- 
to,   to  arrest 
there  would 
ar  rising  out 
were  exhib- 
\s  the  merest 
hout  a  niur- 
lay,  were  lib- 
•0  not  called 
[linal  offense. 
)wn  by  Cato, 


OF  1857. 

3  Truths  — Fac- 
iiders  —  Oondon- 
jriff  Sherrard  — 
gislative  Resolu- 
cious  Motive  — 
me  Coutempt  — 


AsHrml)ly   Piivll.'j{<.-Lii\vlcs^ncHH-Mulnlaiirm^'    Di-iilty      <•'         !»- 

dillVn  !..■.•- riM..vi..rIr.l      Dilll.ultlc.s  -  I'cpulMi'      lnai,i;null law 

31,.,,,i„,r_U,.pivssioii    |),.mai..KMl-.M:ilcoiiicMl     Maj'-rity  -  ( i.  I*'- 

n<.unml-l'isl..l  KuroUhl.T-Hystiin.lr.-^  Slu.l  -  Munl-r- Kim  CV.u- 
tintUMl-ShcnMnrs  IVaih  -  Lvml.  Liiw-Tiimuli  Urprcssml  -  J.)ue» 
!;„.„,„.„_  |.,...>hiv.iyConv.nii...i-Al)M.lui.'ly  Kxclusivi;  -  Muj..r  Ueu- 
cral  KirliMrdsun  -  Slave  Laws- ('.rui.tin'.' CIkui.th- Kn.'o.in.v'inv' HnH- 
rn,i.ls-U.-v,.,uir  SlMtu.-!)..uUy  F,MW-SiiP,'lr  Is.uc-.I.'IV.  DuvU - 
Oovcnior  I'c.wiTl.ss  -  l'icsid..|.lial  l).s.M-ti..n  -  Murd.-rcr  lluyn  -Viiullc 
'  tivi'  Tmui.i>li  -  lH'i"v  ''•■^■'-"^  -  l'''ul<'"ii»l  K.'tivHt  -  (Mpl.  Walker  - 
Oovnnc.r  HmUinized  -  Kansa.s  Cu.ve.-ls  -  \V...k1so„-s  PnMuaUuu- 
]WlelKUuu^sA,MMmUee-(^.vernor^Valk..r-l•:xp.M•ien.•edS.atesmau-- 

r..eli„.inary  (•-...di.ions  -  Avoidin.  War  -  Dim-nll  Pn-  e.u  -  C...Htl. 
tntional  Convent  i..n  -  Seeretary  Stanton  -  Pn.slavery  Man-  le.rlto. 
rial  I'olicy  -  (iovernor  Inau«unite«  -  Popular  Apatl.y  -  Cooked  Ceu- 
sns  -  Fraudulent  UetnrnH  -  Di.fnuud.l.cd  -  Stanton  Deee.yed  -  (>..v. 
orn...-.  Address --Adjuslinstiuiurel-IIonest  Advice- Certamly  Vote- 

ItatirteutionDonhtful-Frol.il.itinsViolence-Uatineatn.nhssential- 
Anothcr  Victitn  -  Poubters"  Castle  -  Decline  Particpatun,  --  h  re."  H.dl 
p„„,,.-.Tournalistic  Disease-Topeku  Orpini/alKm -Walker  M  sun- 
derstood -Trusting  Uatilieation- Press  Censures -hnd,.nger.ng  Kau- 
T-  Distrust  U..iversal  _  Soutl.eru  Fury  -  Topeku  CouveuUon  -  Stuto 
Legislature  —  Biding  Events. 

When  the  whilom  Shawnee  legislature  asseinble.l  at  Lecomp- 
ton  the  12th  of  January,  there  was  rage  in  almost  every  heart 
against  tlte  governor,  who  had  .lefeated  their  abommable    de- 
signs,  a,.d  that  feeling  was  intensified  by  the  nature  of  his  message 
Col.  Geary  had  now  bee.i  nearly  four  months  in  the  territory    and 
from  the  dav  of  his  arrival  he  had  thwarted  them  by  forcible  re- 
,nonstrances"and   by  the  quiet  exercise  of  his  powers     The  tone 
and  tenor  of   his  message  showed  that  the  whole  «'tuat,on  had 
been  calmlv  considered,  and  that  the  writer  did  not  hesitate  to 
utter  unpalatable  truths,  when  necessary,  even  though  he  should 
thereby  bring  down  upon  him  the  fury  of  a  merciless  and  yn.die- 
tive  faction.     The  legislature  was  angry  beyond  measure  to  find 
that  the  so  called  Kansas  militia  was  classed  in  the  same  category 
^ith  the  forces  that  had  been  fighting  under  Gen.  Lane,  and  of 
course  the  governor  was  wrong  in  that  instance,  as  the  men  di- 
rected by  the  General  before  mentioned  were  using  their  natural 
right  in  defending  their  homes,  in  the  absence  of  legal  authority 
to  protect  them,  while  the  "militia,"  a  fraud  just  on  a  par  with 


I! 


uuaMHWiStniiiBr 


.^■1  1^ 


I  HI  II -I, n 


806 


Ti'TTLk's  llisroiiY  OF  K.iss.is. 


tlio  "lp;4i.il!itnir,"  was  assailing  all   tliat  \va«  most  dear  to  their 
Hciglilioix   ill  a  timimcr  wliicli  no  law  coiilil   iiplioM.      But  tliat 
was  ii'»t  tlio  point  takun  by  tlio  legislature.    With  that  body  tho 
movotnent-s  of  tho  militia  wcro  praiseworthy   in  the  highest  de- 
gree;  and   hi-li   treason  was  a  term  too  mihl   to  express  their 
horror  at  the  eoiiduet  of  Lane.     The  gdvernor's  sins  did  not  end 
tliere;  ho  reeonimended  that  the  slavery  laws  should  be  ri-pealed, 
and  that  eertain  other  enaettnents  should  bo  amended  to  bring 
them  into  aeeordanoe  with  tlie  will   ot  tho  community;  besides 
nil  tliese  several  sins,  tho  governor  coneluded  with  an  annouiiee- 
iiient  of  liis  impartiality.      When  the   prisoner,   weeping    in    tho 
presence  of  the  judge  was  promised  justice,  ho  candidly  replied, 
•'  That  is  wliat  T  am  afrai<l  of ;"  so  with  the  legislature,  they  hated 
the   idea  of  an   impartial    govern<jr.       lioforo  tho  Hcssion    com- 
ineneed,  a  cauous  was  held,  and  in  that  secret  assembly  it  was  re- 
Bolved   that  evei'y   measure  vetoed  by  the  governor  should  be 
passed    in    spite   of   him  by  a    two-thirds  vote  in  both  houso.s. 
Jlaving  arrived  at  that  resolution,  measures  were  introduced  from 
which  he  must  dissent,  in  order  that  he   might  experience  their 
animus  against  him.     One  bill  gave   power  to  any  judge  to  bail 
any  prisoner  lield  for  any  oll'ense,  during  vacation.     This  act,  al- 
though worthless  as  ex  parte  farlo  law  for  tho  purpose  intended, 
was  meant  as  an  indorsennMit  of  Ciiief  Justice  Lecon  pto  ni  allow- 
ing  tho  murderer  Hays  to  escai)e  after  the  death  of  Buffuin.     The 
objections  of  the  governor  were  ridiculed  by  liis  mentors,  and  his 
veto  was  vetoed  with  but  one  dissentient  vote.     Availing  them- 
selves  of  the  condonation  of  murder  thus  extended  to  political 
accomplices,  several  malefactors  for  whose  convenience  warrants 
had  long  been  waiting,  came  up  and  were  discharged  from  custo- 
dy by  their  subservient  friend,  Judge  Cato.     Kvery  other  measure, 
with  only  one  exception,  that  was  passed  by  tlie  house  of  represen- 
tatives during  that  session,  became  law  by  two-thirds  votes  of  both 
houses.     There  was  a  determination  which  nothing  could  unsettle 
that  the  man  who  had  saved  Lawrence  from  destruction  should 
be  driven  from  the  territory  by  any  and  every  means.     Sheriff 
Jones  had  resigned  hisoflice,  and  the  appointment  of  his  successor 
was  made  the  occasion  for  a  malignant  display  on  the  part  of  his 
iriends,  the  county  commissioners.     A  person   named  Shenard 


Gov.  CiKMtY  Ci)SCi.i't)h:s—lS:t7. 


wr 


dear  to  their 
(I  lint  that 
,hat  botly  tho 
!  highest  do- 
ex|ii'e.sH  their 

(lid  not  end 
I  be  ri'pealed, 
[led  to  bring 
nity ;  besides 
an  announce- 
•[ling  in  the 
lidly  replied, 
re,  tlioy  liatod 
.session  com- 
bly  it  was  ro- 
or  shoukl  be 
both  liousos. 
roduoed  from 
[>eriencc  tlieir 

judge  to  bail 

Til  is  aet,  al- 
»oso  intended, 

pte  •:!  allow- 
kiffuin.  The 
ntors,  and  his 
.vailing  thein- 
id  to  political 
enee  warrants 
d  from  custo- 
3ther  measure, 
.se  (^f  represen- 
?  votes  of  both 
could  unsettle 
action  should 
eana.  Sheriff 
f  his  successor 
he  part  of  his 
med  Shenard 


was  recfirntnended  for  the  olHeo  becftuso  ho  boa.stcd  that  ho  would 
involve  the  wliolo  neighborhood  in  war  witliin  a  week  after  his 
duties  commenced.  Tho  commi.ssionors  gave  liim  tho  nonunation, 
but  his  ollieial  authority  must  eomo  from  the  governor.  Thcro 
was  .Mome  didlciilly  as  to  tiie  issuing  ilie  eominission  when  Sher- 
rard  lirst  called  al  the  executive  olliee,  an<l  the  appointee  was  very 
insolent  in  his  remarks ;  threatening  on  the  second  (occasion  tho 
wor.-t  po.ssiblo  consetjuenccs  to  the  governor  personally,  unless  tho 
document  was  forthcoming.  Such  manifestations  continued,  but 
of  course,  the  governor  would  not  bo  intimidated  ;  and  while  lliu 
business  was  thus  half  way,  tho  Douglas  county  commissioners 
became  nwaro  that  they  had  made  a  very  wrong  selection,  and 
they  called  upon  Col.  Geary  to  request  that  ho  would  assist  them 
by  withhoMing  the  commission  until  they  could  hold  a  regular 
meeting  and  annul  the  appointment.  The  evil  repute  <if  Sherrard 
was  common  property,  and  memorials  against  his  authori/utiou 
came  in  on  every  hand,  so  tho  governor  waited  ,  of  course  more 
willingly  because  of  tho  brutal  threats  which  iuid  been  fulminated 
against  his  own  life. 

Tlio  house  of  rt.'prcsentativcs  took  up  tl  j  quarrel  on  tho  sido 
of  the  brawling  appointee,  and  a  resoluti  >\\  was  pa.ssod  calling 
upon  tho  chief  executive  to  give  reasons  for  his  conduct,  and  the 
application  called  forth  a  sullicient,  but  of  course  an  unsatisfactory 
reply.     The  rage  of  tho  legislature  was  boundless,  because  every 
reason  that  showed  tho  fellow  unworthy  of  tho  office,  and  repug- 
nant to  the  best    men  in  the  territory,  made  him  more  fit  to  be 
their  instrument ;  and  it  is  possible  that  they  would  have   taken 
up  his  quarrel  even  if  he  had  been  a  good  man., in  order  to  im- 
prove their   attack   upon   Col.    Geary.     They   were  brimful   of 
malice,  and  they  needed  no  other  motive  to  persevere  in  their  con- 
duct.    Every  variety  of  declamation  was  exhausted  in  the  task 
of  defaming  His  Excellency,  and  profanity  was  freely  used  as  a 
epice   for  their  remarks.     Passing   beyond   verbiage,  the  house 
passed  a  bill  legalizing  Sherrard's  appointment  without  a  commis- 
sion, but  the  council  refused  to  concur  in  that  measure,  although 
that  body  blamed  the  governor  strongly.     The  sheriflf  elect  be- 
came more  demonstrative  than  ever  now,  and  two  members  of 
the  governor's  household  in  succession  were  assaulted  by  him. 


^i 


398 


Tuttle's  History  of  Kansas. 


Following  up  that  lead,  on  the  9th  of  February,  he  accosted  the 
governor  himself  as  he  left  the  house  of  representatives,  and  tried 
to  provoke  an  altercation,  but  the  Colonel  treated  him  with  con- 
tempt,   and    passed  on,  followed   by   the   rufHan    with   his  jms- 
tol  in  his  hand  and   spitting   with   fury.     Maj.  Gen.   liichard- 
son  introduced  a  resolution  in  the  house  defending  its  privileges 
and  denouncing  Shcrrard,  but  the  motion  was  put  aside,  and 
only  a  half  approving  remonstrance  substituted  to  uphold  the 
dignity  of  the  legislature.     Judge  Cato  had  been  more  cotnplaia- 
an°t  than  the  other  officials  until  now,  but  it  became  evident  at 
this  time  that  he  was  in  league  witli  ex-sheriff  Jones  and  Sher- 
rard,  against  the  chief,  so  that  although  a  warrant  had  been  pro- 
cured against  the  assailant,  no  service  could  be  effected,  and  re- 
dress was  at  last  abandoned.     The  governor  was  learning  what 
"  law  and  order  "  meant  in  the  esteem  of  the  territorial  authori- 
ties'.    Popular  indignation  was  manifested  everywhere,  in  mass 
meetings  in  many  places,  and  one  such  assembly  was  convened 
in  the  capital;  the  proslavery  men  demanded  that  the  governor 
should  f.ib'd  the  meeting,  but  he  declined  to  take  that  course 
very  properly.     The  audience  was  largely  made  up  of  the  Mis- 
sourian  faction,  and  it  soon  became  apparent  that  a  fight  would 
be  more  in  order  than  a  debate.     Sherrard,  who  was  present,  used 
some  expressions  which  were  tantamount  to  a  challenge  to  any 
one  that  supported  the  governor,  and  when  a  Mr.   Shepherd  de- 
fended Col.  (xeary's  conduct,  the  sheriff  elect  drew  his  six  shooter 
and  fired  every  barrel  at  him.     The  gentlemen  thus  assailed,  was 
thrice  wounded  before  ho  could  remove  his  gloves  and  use  his 
pistol,  nor  was  his  weapon   then  available,  as  the  caps  were  wet, 
and  seeing  that  his  assailant  was  about  to  use  another  pistol,  he 
rushed  upon  him,  using  his  own  as  a  bludgeon.     The  fight  con- 
tiuued  in  that  way  for  some  time  before  the  crowd  could  separate 
the  combatants,  when  Mr.  Shepherd  was  removed,  woqnded  in  a 
manner  supposed  to  be  mortal.     Another  person  in  the  meeting 
had  been  shot  in  the  assault.     Mr.   Jones,  a  member  of  the  gov- 
ernor's household,  who  was  present,  was  next  assailed  by  Sher- 
rard,  but  that  gentleman  seeing  the  revolver  raised  to  shoot,  drew 
his  own  weapon  and  the  firing  became  general.     Sherrard  fell 
mortally  wounded,   and  his  companions  wanted  to  hang   Mr. 


■  ■  '■'  ^•:l'<^^tti'vr  ■*'K:a  -f*^ 


■awMTiWIi^WfaMfc''^**" 


pp 


mmv 


Gov.  Geary  Coscludes  — 1857. 


399 


accosted  the 
ves,  and  tried 
lim  with  con- 
•with   hi3  pis- 
jen.   1-Jichard- 
its  privileges 
at  aside,  and 
3  uphold  the 
lore  cotnplais- 
me  evident  at 
les  and  Sher- 
lad  been  pro- 
'ected,  and  re- 
learning  what 
jorial  authori- 
^here,  in  mass 
was  convened 
t  the  governor 
ke  that  course 
ip  of  the  Mis- 
a  fight  would 
3  present,  used 
illenge  to  any 
Shepherd  de- 
his  six  shooter 
IS  assailed,  was 
res  and  use  his 
caps  were  wet, 
>ther  pistol,  he 
The  fight  con- 
could  separate 
woqnded  in  a 
in  the  meeting 
ber  of  the  gov- 
iailed  by  Sher- 
1  to  shoot,  drew 
Sherrard  fell 
,  to  hang   Mr. 


Jones,  but  the  opposite  side  was  too  strong  to  allow  such  an  act 
of  revenge,  and  the  riot  was  quelled  at  this  point.     Jones  made 
his  escajie  through  Nebraska,  or  he  would  have  been  lynched,  as 
a  reward  of  $500  was  offered  for  his  execution.     Before  leav- 
intr,  he  was  examined  by  Judge  Cato,  who  held  him  to  bail  in 
the  sum  of  $5,000.     The  governor's  eyes  were  opened  now  to  the 
luetics  of  the  proslavery  party,  but  too  late  for  his  convictions  to 
be  of  value  to  the  territory.     Several  preliminary  meetings  in 
different  places  had  begun  in  January,  1857,  when  the  Lecomp- 
ton  legislature  met  to  organize  a  proslavery  convention  without 
disguise,  and  that  no  man  should  have  a  seat  therein   who  was 
not  sound  on  the  single  issue,  was  the  expressed   determination 
of  the  party,  but  at  the  last  moment  and  in  deference  to  northern 
democratic  feeling,  the   name  was  changed  to  "National  Demo- 
cratic Party."     The  convention  meetings,  as  long  as  they  lasted, 
were  concurrent  with  those  of  the  legislature.     Maj.   Gen.  Rich- 
ardson, one  of  the  very  few  men  in   the  house  of  representa- 
tives,  who  was  not  lost  to  all  sense  of    honor,  died  while  the 
house  was  in  session,  and  his  loss  was  formally  mourned. 

The  slave  laws  were  vindicated  with  much  asperity  against  the 
governor's  message ;  charters  were  granted  to  many  towns,  some 
of  which  never  came  into  existence  in  fact,  and  legislation  to  en- 
courage the  building  of  railroads  was  advanced ;  but  of  course 
every  movement  of  the  kind  indicated  some  personal  end  to  be 
served.  The  treasurer  had  in  hand  two  dollars  and  some  cents, 
the  total  revenue  for  the  year  being  less  than '$2,000,  and  the 
indebtedness  of  the  territory  exceeded  two  years'  income  at  that 

rate. 

From  Col.  Geary's  standpoint,  it  now  became  apparent  that  he 
was  surrounded  by  deadly  enemies ;  but  he  supposed  that  the 
democracy  all  over  the  union,  and  the  president,  would  sustain 
him  against  his  foes;  but  he  speedily  found  that  the  power 
wielded  by  the  secretary  of  war  was  still  in  the  hands  of  Jeffer- 
son Davis,  who  would  sacrifice  his  old  comrade  in  arms  without 
a  scruple,  to  satisfy  the  slave  power.  Gen.  Smith,  at  Fort  Leaven- 
■worth,  would  send  no  troops  for  his  protection,  and  his  plea  was, 
"  orders  from  the  secretary  of  war  "  designating  the  troops  for 
other  services.     The  moneys  due  to  him  from  Washington  were 


•.■-^*f(*i-.|S*«»'""-r 


400 


Tuttle's  History  of  K.issas. 


E 


refased,  his  dispatches  were  left  unnoticed,  and  even  in  the  case 
of  the  murdcroi-  Hays,  Socretiiry  Murcy  took  sides  against  the 
best  ofTKnal  ever  sent  to  the  territory.     The  men  who  had  been 
quieted  at  Leave..wortli  and  elsewhere  had  carried  their  wro;igs 
to  lieadfiuarters,  and  tliey  enjoyed  their  vindictive  triumph.     Un- 
able to  bear  up  against  such  injustice,  Col.  Geary  resigned  his 
appointment  of  the  -ith  of  March,  but  although  that  act  was  not 
to  take  eflect  until  the  20th,  he  was  compelled,  for  prudential 
reasons,  to  save  his  life  by  a  precipitate  retreat  before  the  morn- 
ing of  the  5th,  being  aided  therein   by  Capt.  Walker,  the  well 
known  free  state  guerrilla  leader.     The  first  impressions  brought 
by  the  governor  to  Kansas  militated  largely  against  his  success 
in  the  <rnice,  but,  in  spite  of  that  drawback",  he  had  succeeded  re- 
markably, as  we  have  seen,  so  long  as  U.  S.  troops  were  allowed 
to  support  him  in  the  honest  and  manly  course  marked  out;  but 
when  he  was  left' alone  and  unsupported  by  the  general  govern- 
ment, under  President  Buchanan,  t:ere  were  but  two  courses  open 
before  him  :  one  to  remain  and  be  assassinated,  and  the  other  to  try 
the  chances  of  a  precipitate  retreat.     It  is  claimed  by  the  friends 
of  Chief  Justice  Lecompte,  that  his  intervention  alone  prevented   ^ 
the  murder  of  Col.  Geary.     The  dangers  run  by  Mr.  Shannon  and 
by  Mr.  Reeder  were  already  well  known  in  the  free  state  cities, 
and  in  each  of  these  instances  a  inan  was  converted  to  free  soil 
views  by  uie  horrible  lawlessness  of  the  law  makers  in  Kansas. 
Once  more  Secretary  Woodson  was  ex  officio  governor  of  the  ter- 
ritory, pending  the  arrival  of  the  successor  of  Col.  Geary;  but 
when  President  Buchanan  nominated  Gov.  Walker,  another  Penn- 
Bylvanian,  to  that  office,  he  promoted  Mr.  Woodson  to  be  receiver 
in  the  Delaware  land  district,  so  that  the  territory  was  no  longer 
cursed  by  his  assiduous  zeal  for  slavery. 

The  new  governor  came  into  office  under  special  promises  of 
protection  from  the  president,  and  he  was  also  the  friend  of  the 
great  Stephen  A.  Douglas.  He  was  essentially  a  statesman  and 
a  man  of  considerable  powers  of  mind,  as  his  previous  career  had 
made  manifest.  He  was  a  lawyer  in  good  repute,  son  of  Judge 
Walker,  of  the  United  States  supreme  court,  and  had  been  secre- 
tary of  the  treasury  in  President  Polk's  cabinet;  consequently  he 
was  a  man  of  mark.     lie  had  scrupled  to  accept  the  nomination, 


r -:y^  .,-'vyu"Jfe'»: 


•"WHf 


Gor.  Geary  Coxcludes—1857. 


401 


ill  the  case 
aiiiiiiist  the 
lo  had  been 
their  wrongs 
iumph.     Uu- 
resigned  his 
t  act  was  not 
jr  prudential 
re  the  morn- 
leer,  the  well 
sions  brought 
t  his  success 
succeeded  re- 
were  allowed 
■ked  out;  but 
neral  govern- 
)  courses  open 
he  other  to  try 
by  the  friends 
3ne  prevented 
Shannon  and 
ce  state  cities, 
ed  to  free  soil 
!rs  in  Kansas, 
nor  of  the  ter- 
^1.  Geary;  but 
another  Penn- 
to  be  receiver 
was  no  longer 

al  promises  of 
:  friend  of  the 
statesman  and 
ioua  career  had 
,  son  of  Judge 
had  been  secre- 
ionsequently  he 
he  nomination, 


but  that  it  was  urged  upon  him  that  unless  peculiar  talent  was 
employed  in  adjusting  the  ulluirs  of  Kansas,  the  wliolc  union 
would  be  involved  in  civil  war.     The  problem  of  avoidance  was 
not  to  be  easily  solved  by  any  one,  but  Mr.  Walker  was  assumed 
to  be  the  man  best  calculated  to  attempt  the  task.     Years  later  ho 
was  a  tried  and  trusted  friend  of  the  great  President  Lincoln,  an 
evidence  that  he  was  no  mere  time  server,  but  a  truly  patriotic 
man.     lie  discussed  his  policy  with  his  friends  Buchanan  and 
Douglas,  and  he  carried  out  as  well  as  he  was  able  the  cour.se 
which  they  had  mapped ;  but  even  tliey  could  not  divine  the 
purposes  of  the  proslavery  party.     Tiiere  was  a  probability  that 
the  Topeka  government  would  vindicate  and  uphold  its  authority 
by  force  of  arms,  aided  by  the  free  states,  which  dared  not  allow 
the  free  settlers  to  be  crushed,  while,  of  course,  the  south  and 
Missouri  would  send  their  hordes  to  sustain  the  pseudo  legisla- 
ture and  territorial  authority,  and  the  consequences  could  not  bo 
imagined  without  a  shudder.     Pour  years  later  the  end  was  only 
at  hand,  when  Abraham  Lincoln's  administration  ended  the  dis- 
pute by  procuring  the  admission  of  Kansas  to  the  union  as  a  free 
state,  after  Mr.  Buchanan  had  been  dellected  from  the  straight 
course  of  honesty  into  devious  channels,  which  made  the  whole 
of  his  after  life  an  attempt  at  vindication ;  after  Stephen  A.  Doug- 
las, worn  out  and  cast  i.side,  had  only  life  enough  remaining  to 
send  liis  dying  message  to  his  sons,  urging  them  to  be  true  to  the 
union,  which  ho  had  tried  to  .serve  at  his  last  moment  by  advice 
and  aid  to  his  great  rival.  President  Lincoln.     But  tlie  struggle 
must  be  evolved  and  ended  in  its  own  way ;  there  was  no  other 
pcssible.     The  policy  determined  upon  in  Washington  was,  to 
uphold  the  territorial  enactments  by  all  the  power  of  the  United 
States,  and  at  the  same  time  to  convene  an  assembly  of  the  people 
to  vote  on  the  question  of  a  state  constitution,  under  all  the  guar- 
anties that  proper  force  could  offer,  for  fair  voting  only  by  bona 
fide  residents  in  the  territory.     The  new  secretary,  Mr.  Stanton, 
was  a  man  of  different  stamp  from  his  predecessor,  but  he  came 
full  of  proslavery  prejudices,  and  he  was  necc-^sarily  liable  to  be 
misled  by  proslavery  advisers  in  matters  of  detail,  very  important 
in  their  influence,  with  which  he  must  deal.     The  new  secretary 
preceded  the  governor,  arriving  in  Lecompton   April  15,  1857, 
99 


tmimmitmm 


iiiiiiiri'^iim- 


402  TuTTLTfs  HrsTOEY  OF  Kansas. 

and  he  at  once  assumed  the  direction  of  affairs     In  a  very  out^ 
1  con  .'ay,  he  denounced  free  state  men  and  the.r  pohcy  of 
oppo   n.  t/rritorial  enactments.     He  was  the  first  to  promulgate 
tho'poli^y  already  resolved  upon,  and  the  stc,.  necessary  to  rre^ 
pare  for  the  constitutional  convention  were  at  once  ^^^S""-     ^  '^^ 
Lvernor  followed  one  month  and  twelve  days  later,  and  h,s  in- 
aulural  address  followed  immediately;  but  until  the  M.ssonnan 
Lotion  and  their  southern  allies  began  to  denounce  the  appom.ce 
of  President  Buchanan,  there  was  a  singular  apathy  throughou 
Kansas.     It  was  not  possible  to  induce  free  state  men  to  consen 
to  take  an  interest  in  a  constitutional  convention  assembled  unde 
the  auspices  of  the  usurpers,  calling  themselves  the  terr.to   al 
e'is  atl,  and  3"Bt  at  that  point  the  difficulty  was  --F-b  «• 
The  census  neJessary  to  be  taken,  before  an  election  of  delegate 
to  the  convention  could  be  held,  was  authorized  by  an  act  of  the 
Lc    mpton  legislature  in  February,  but  the  sheriffs  of  counties 
te    TcolleeUhe  required  information  and  make  the  returns,  so 
that  there  was  no  guaranty  for  fair  play  from  the  -  f^*^";''  - 
reality,  less  than  half  the  counties  were  represented  when  the 
ensus'was  said  to  be  complete :  fifteen  counties  only  were  de^t 
with  out  of  thirty.four,  and  the  returns  were  grossly  unt  ue  in 
every  respect  in  which  falsity  could  help  the  proslavcry  faction^ 
No  person  could  vote  unless  his  name  appeared  on  the  list  and 
the  delegates  were  allotted  for  the  whole  territory  to  the  fifteen 
counties  wrongfully  returned,  while  nineteen  counties  were  left 
l^lu   representation;    while  hundreds  of   nonresidents   were 
Inumerated  where  the  sheriffs  thought  they  would  do  the  most 
sood      This  act  of  disfranchisement  was  the  first  work  of  the  new 
LrJtary,  but  Mr.  Stanton  had,  beyond  doubt,  been  deceived, 
The  borier  counties,  almost  alone,  where  Missouri  could  vote 
with  ease,  were  included  in  the  wrongful  apportionment.     Wh  n 
the  error  became  apparent  to  the  secretary,  it  was  too  late  to 
amend;  and,  unfortunately,  penitence  will  seldom  undo  a  wrong 

^''^^e  governor's  inaugural  address  was  mainly  addressed  to  the 

free  state  party,  and  he  used  all  his  lawyer-like  persuasiveness  to 

nduce  them  to  vote  in  the  June  election,  when  the  constitutional 

convention  was  to  be  elected.     Kis  good  will  appeared  m  every 


mmtLiiMMV 


Gov.  Gkauy  Coxcia'des—  1S57. 


m 


1  a  very  out- 
eir  policy  of 
)  promulgate 
jssary  to  r  re- 
begun.     The 
,  and  his  in- 
le  Missourian 
the  appointee 
y  throughout 
ten  to  consent 
lembled  under 
the  territorial 
,3  insuperable, 
)n  of  delegates 
'  an  act  of  the 
ffs  of  counties 
the  returns,  so 
outset,  and,  in 
ited  when  the 
inly  were  dealt 
(ssly  untrue  in 
slavery  faction. 
)n  the  list,  and 
f  to  the  fifteen 
nties  were  left 
iresidents   were 
Id  do  the  most 
vrork  of  the  new 
been  deceived, 
luri  could  vote 
mment.     When 
yas  too  late  to 
a  undo  a  wrong 

iddressed  to  the 
lersuasiveness  to 
be  constitutional 
)peared  in  every 


line ;  he  was,  moreover,  a  man  possessed  of  an  intellect,  and,  in 
that  fact,  his  proslavery  allies  soon  discovered  that  he  was  a  very 
inconvenient  person  to  be  governor  of  Kansas. 

Among  other  reasons  why  every  man  whose  name  appeared  on 
the  census  should  vote,  Mr.  Walker  called  attention  to  the  fact 
that  the  enactment  providing  for  the  convention  contained  no 
proviso  for  the  submission  of  the  constitution  when  framed  to  a 
ratification  vote  by  the  whole  people,  and  although  he  stated, 
toward  the  end  of  his  address,  that  such  an  omission  ought  to 
afford  a  reason  why  congress  should  reject  the  constitution,  he 
still  urged  every  resident  to  cast  a  ballot  in  June  for  delegates  to 
the  convention.     The  address  was  lengthy  and  well  compacted, 
and  it  contained  the  statement  that  he  was  sustained  in  his  views 
by  Mr.  Buchanan  and  his  cabinet;  but  beyond  the  points  named, 
and  an  implied  engagement  that  violence  would  not  be  allowed 
to  prevent  a  full  ballot  on  polling  day,  there  was  nothing  else 
noteworthy.     The  fact  that  Mr.  Walker  demanded  ratificatioa 
became  almost  immediately  a  bone  of  contention  among  pro- 
slavery  men,  who  saw  in  tliat  movement  the  defeat  of  all  their 
schemes ;  and  in  spite  of  the  president  and  Mr.  Douglas,  the  gov- 
ernor was  already  set  down  as  another  necessary  victim  to  their 
policy.     The  free  state  men  who  had  lived  in  doubters'  castle 
until  that  paragraph  was  penned,  saw  therein  an  indication  of  a 
means  to  nullify  the  whole  procedure.     They  would  not  send 
delegates  to  the  convention,  but  when  the  measure  was  submitted 
to  a  popular  vote,  they  would  use  their  right  as  they  saw  fit. 
Should  there  be  no  attempt  at  a  ratification,  then  they  were  sure 
that  the  constitution  would  never  pass  through  congress;  their 
friends  in  the  lower  house  were  strong  enough  to  place  that  ques- 
tion beyond  doubt.     Supposing  that  the  census  had  been  com- 
piled fairly,  the  free  state  party  could  have  carried  a  convention 
of  their  own  friends  without  difficulty,  as  their  numbers  had 
largely  increased ;  but  there  was  no  such  chance  under  the  false 
and  fraudulent  system  adopted,  so  that  there  was  no  inducement 
to  recognize  the  Shawnee-Lecompton  sham.     False  voting  was 
now  the  only  resource  of  the  faction.     Their  numbers  had  so 
materially  decreased  in  Kansas  that  the  Atchison  thunderer,  long 
active  and  pernicious  as  the  "Squatter  Sovereign,"  ceased  to  be 


IM«niiil     Hill" 


lau i.«,i'«iliiliiiiMi>i>'- 


m 


i,n:ivmtmtm9fm0m0mf0»immi»HKmH>0i«W'''-V.''  '  Ujlilmii 


T«H 


404 


Ti'ttll's  llisroj^y  of  Kassas. 


l)ublislied  about  the  rniddlo  of  1857,  and  no  such  imper  has  at 
any  time  since  disgniced  the  territory  or  the  state.     Perhaps  if 
Col.  Geary  had  propounded  such  a  scheme  in  January  as  Mr. 
Walker  advocated  in  May,  after  tlie  people  had  come  to  know 
and  appreciate  him,  there  might  have  been  u  different  result;  but 
l^Ir.  Walke    was  not  known,  and  in  that  fact  added  to  his  south- 
ern associations,  there  was  ground  for  reasonable  doubt ;  so  the 
free  state  men  coricludcd  that  they  would  adhere  to  the  Topeka 
constitution  and  organization  until  some  material  improvement 
should  be  offered.     They  would  trust  to  the  ratification  or  non- 
ratification  of  the  Lecompton  constitution,  and  express  an  opinion 
then,  if  ac  all.     Tlic  southern  and  the  Missouri  press  denounced 
that  clause  with  all  the  interperative  skill  that  belonged  to  their 
repertoire,  and  Gov.  Walker  was  told  in  fifty  different  ways,  that 
he  was  endangering  Kansas  for  the  slave  power  by  such  words. 
Thus  the  means  that  were  to  have  ended  the  difficulty  seemed  to 
be  only  a  new  beginning  of  trouble,  and  distrust,  which  had  been 
sectional  only,  became  general.    Southern  fury  was  unmistakable, 
and  Gov.  Walker's  law  was  rudely  questioned. 

The  free  .state  men  held  a  convention  in  their  capital,  in  which 
it  was  formally  resolved  that  the  Lecompton  fraud  should  not  be 
countenanced,  and  the  .state  legislature  was  duly  convened  on  the 
9th  of  June,  six  days  before  the  time  named  for  the  election. 
The  chief  of  the  territorial  executive  was  in  the  city  when  the 
state  legislature  met,  but  that  gentleman  sought  peace,  and  their 
session  was  not  disturbed.  The  state  legislature  ordered  a  census 
which  would  serve  to  show  how  falsely  the  enumeration  had  been 
taken  by  the  make-believe  sheriffs  and  their  assistants.  The 
election  of  state  officers  in  August,  1857,  having  been  provided 
for,  and  Topeka  having  been  expressly  designated  as  the  capital 
of  the  state,  the  legislature  concluded  to  rest  from  its  labors  until 
the  outcome  of  tLe  new  line  of  policy  should  appear.  There 
■were  many  who  were  already  shrewd  enough  to  assert  that  before 
the  year  had  ended,  Mr.  Walker  would  be  numbered  among  the 
men  convinced  of  the  rectitude  of  the  free  settlers'  demands  in 
Kansa.s,  by  actual  contact  with  themselves  and  their  opponents. 


ifmi-H^i" 


I  paper  has  at 
3.     Perhaps  if 
muary  as  Mr. 
;ome  to  know 
iiit  result;  but 
.1  to  liis  south- 
doubt  ;  so  the 
to  the  Topeka 
I  improvement 
cation  or  non- 
ress  an  opinion 
ress  denounced 
longed  to  their 
rent  ways,  that 
by  such  words, 
ulty  seemed  to 
vhich  had  been 
1  unmistakable, 

ipital,  in  which 
I  should  not  be 
onvened  on  the 
>r  the  election. 

city  when  the 
)eaco,  and  their 
rdered  a  census 
ration  had  been 
ssistants.     The 

been  provided 
d  as  the  capital 

its  labors  until 
appear.  There 
!sert  that  before 
ered  among  the 
ers'  demands  in 
;heir  opponents. 


Dksver  vice  Walker  — lSo7-d. 


m 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

!  TEURITOIUAL  HISTOKY. 

DENVER  VICE  WALKER -EVENTS  OF  1857-8. 

StaU'  Omccrs— Liino  Organizing  — Grasshopper  Falls  — August  Eloclions  — 
Menacing  Lawrence  — About  October- Walker's  Promises  — Sluulow 
and  Substance— Recognizing  Dimcultics  — Designed  Unfairness— Uu- 
equally  Yoked  —  Another  Ell'ort  -Territorial  Taxes  —  Reluctant  Assent  — 
JLuss  Convention  --Delegates  Convened  —  Ballot  Conquest—  Fair  Test  — 
V/ise  Concession  — Lane  Le.uling  — Endless  Debates  —  Sound   Conehi- 
Blon  —  Delegate   Nominations  — Supporting  Judges  — Despondent  Ap- 
peal  — Success  Unexpected— Congressional  Delegate- Ccrliflcates  Re- 
fused—  Cato's  JNIandamus  —  iMagnanimity  —  Cato  Vanquished  —  Consti- 
tulional  Convention  —  Popular  Disgust  —  Settlers  Convention  —  Lecomp- 
ton  Fraud  —  C()nstituti<in  Unratified  —  Washington  Jlanufacture  —  AVar 
Secretary  —  Slave  Code  —  Flagitious  Procedure  —  Fraud  Invited  —  Ma- 
liirnant  Influences- Soliciting  Invasion  — Wrong  Basis- Refuse  Vot- 
ii^g  _  Looking    Buck  —  Daring    Stroke  —  Secret    Machinations  -  Two 
Wrongs  —  Cailioun's  Maneuver—  Masked  Batteries- Proslavcry  Si)ies  — 
Walker's    Scruples  — Buchanan  AVavers— Dreadful    Music  — Governor 
Resigns  —  Manly  Statement  —  Kansas  Unconquerable  —Changed  Instruc- 
tions—Acting Governor— Another  Convert  — Extra  Session  — Stanton's 
Message  —  Difficulty  Unsolved  —  Organization  —  Honest    Voting  —  In- 
vestigation—Frauds Punished  — Congressional  Work  — Test  Election  — 
Stant'on  Removed  — Gen.   Denver— Sec.  Gov.  Calhoun's  Report  — Two 
Pictures  — Leavenworth  Democrats  — Buchanan  Stoops  — Political  Cou- 
science  -  Senate  Action  — Brave  Douglas— Congressional  Battles  — A. 
H.  Stephens- Bill  Admitting— Crittenden's  Amendment- Conditional 
Admission  — Popular  Verdict— Trying  Bribes  — Congressional   Lobby- 
ists—Dirty   Hands  — AVithering    Denunciation- Territorial  Ticket  — 
Brutum    i^HZmw  —  Further    Doubts  —  Lawrence   Convention —AVou't 
Vote  —  Try  Again  —  Bolters  Convene  —  Decisive  Victory  —  State  Organ- 
izatiou— Views  Differ  — Territorial  Work  —  Denver's  Message— State 
Constitution  — Minneola  Capital—  Log  Rolling  — Impotent  Conclusion. 

The  delegate  convention,  which  we  have  seen  in  session  at  To- 
peka, nominated  officers  for  the  August  elections,  and  reiterated 
the  scorn  for  Lecompton  and  its  legislature  which  had  been  ex- 


IUIIWH1J»«IWUI'II''MII'''"«'" 


iMniaitflNIMliMlHMiiHHM^ 


"ilHiy"^ 


mtftmmmmm  » i  **mt  >J.'»  JP  '.j^'ii  iii«i"ii«jj  i 


406 


TvTTLtfs  History  of  K ass  as. 


pressed  by  the  Topeka  legislature,  and  in  consideration  of  rumors 
of  Misi5oui-ian  aggression  to  be  consummated  in  August,  Gen. 
Lane  was  requested  to  organize  the  people  in  every  precinct  to 
protect  the  ballot.     The  course  to  be  taken  as  to  the  October 
elections  was  relegated  to  a  mass,  to  be  convened  at  Grasshopper 
Falls  toward  the  end  of  August ;  when  a  delegate  convention 
would  also  assein-)le,  charged  to  carry  out  the  views  of  the  peo- 
ple.    The  voting  in  August  showed  7,2(i7  as  the  highest  vote  re- 
corded, and  the  ticket  nominated  by  the  convention  was  of  course 
carried.     There  were  only  34  votes  against  the  Topeka  constitu- 
tion, and  7,267  affirmed  its  fitness.     Lawrence  having  refused  to 
organize  under  the  charter  passed  by  the  Lecompton  legislature, 
Gov.  Walker  unwisely  tried  to  compel  submission,  and  the  city 
•was  surrounded  by  about  six  hundred  dragoons,  but  the  men  of 
Lawrence  persisted  in  contemning  the  charter  and  in  i)reparing  an 
organization  of  their  own,  and  the  troops  were  at  length  called  oflf 
after  a  few  weeks  of  useless  exercise.     The  October  elections  were 
still  the  topic  everywhere,  and  the  governor's  promises  had  in 
them  the  ring  of  sincerity,  so  that  many  were  disposed  to  partici- 
pate in  electing  a  legislature  not  under  territorial  enactments,  but 
under  the  organic  act.     It  seems  wonderful  now  that  any  men 
hesitated  when  an  honest  vote  of  over  7,000  could  be  polled  un- 
der some  show  of  fairness,  but  many  argued  in  favor  of  abandon- 
ing the  substance  de  facto  government  in  the  territory,  for  the 
shadowy  glory  of  a  nominal  state  organization  ;  and  not  a  few 
went  for  both  together,  certainly  the  best  course  then  available. 
There  were  many  difficulties  in  the  way,  among  the  rest  the  un- 
fair census  and  an  unjust  apportionment  of  representatives  by  the 
leaders  of  the  proslavery  party  availing  themselves  of  the  gov- 
ernor's local   newness,  but  the  obstacles  were  not  insuperable. 
The  objects  aimed  at  were  indubitable,  and  the  prospect  of  suc- 
cess for  the  Missourian  faction  lulled  that  party  into  a  false  secur- 
ity, so  that  even  their  frauds  helped  to  defeat  them.     Precincts 
were  unequally  yoked  together  so  that  a  populous  city  like  To- 
peka could  be  outvoted  at  Fort  Scott,  and  counties  where  Mis- 
souri could  readily  muster  undisturbed  were  allowed  to  return 
more  members  than  other  two  counties  where  resident  voters  were 
more  numerous.     The  principle  being  thus  stated,  it  is  useless  to 


vtion  o!  rumora 
August,  Gen. 
ery  precinct  to 
o  the  October 
at  Grasshopper 
<xte  convention 
ws  of  the  peo- 
lighcst  vote  re- 
n  wns  of  course 
opeka  constitu- 
ving  refused  to 
iton  legislature, 
)n,  and  the  city 
but  the  men  of 
in  preparing  an 
3ngth  called  oflf 
r  elections  were 
romises  had  in 
)osed  to  partici- 
jnactments,  but 
r  that  any  men 
.  be  polled  un- 
ror  of  abandon- 
jrritory,  for  the 
and  not  a  few 
then  available, 
the  rest  the  un- 
jntatives  by  the 
^es  of  the  gov- 
lot  insuperable. 
)rospect  of  sue- 
to  a  false  secur- 
lem.  Precincts 
us  city  like  To- 
ities  where  Mis- 
owed  to  return 
lent  voters  were 
i,  it  is  useless  to 


HP 


Dhwncit  vicK  Wai.kj:ii  —  1S57-8. 


¥ft 


burden  the  reader  with  the  tiresome  details  of  the  purposed  inva- 
sioii,  under  which  a  remote  precinct  with  oidy  a  score  of  inhabit- 
ants far  from  the  probabilities  of  observation  could  return  a  vote 
of  hundreds,  or  if  necessary  of  thousands,  to  counteract  honest 
polling  elsewhere.  The  ^lissourians  were  now  sure  of  their  con- 
quest"  another  effort  and  they  could  carry  Kansas  for  slavery. 

Judge  Cato  had  just  decided  that  no  man  could  vote  who  had 
not  paid  his  territorial  taxes,  but  Governor  Walker  took  an  op- 
posite  view,  and  was  ready  to  act  thereupon.    This  was  an  object, 
not  for  the  amount  but  for  the  principle  involved.     Many  were 
thus  won  to  a  reluctant  assent  to  participation  before  the  mass 
(convention,  August  25th,  at  Grasshopper  Falls.     The  debates 
were  very  spirited  on  that  occasion,  and  the  delegates  who  were 
on  hand  at  the  same  time  were  versed  in  every  phase  of  the  is- 
sue; hence,  after  much  discussion,  it  was  resolved  that  a  fair  test 
should  be  put  upon  the  governor's  promises  of  justice  and  protec- 
tion by  an  attempt  to  conquer  their  own  liberties  as  citizens  at 
the  ballot-box.     State  Governor  llobinson,  whose  resignation  had 
never  been  handed  in,  was  one  of  the  advocates  for  square  and 
solid  voting.     The  preamble  and  resolutions  of  the  convention 
showed  a  fine  perception  of  all  the  circumstances,  and  suggested 
the  reasonableness  of  trying  what  could  be  done  in  the  premises. 
Efforts  were  to  be  made  to  remedy  the  apportionment  of  repre- 
sentatives, and,  under  the  adroit  leadership  of  Gen.  Lane,  that 
gentleman  was  empowered  to  offer  to  Governor  Walker  the  sup- 
port of  the  force  organized  by  him  to  protect  the  ballot  during 
the  August  elections.     Those  who  opposed  participation  made 
their  position  strong  by  able  argument,  but  the  event  proved  the 
wisdom  of  effort,  and  Kansas  has  cause  to  be  proud  that  a  coa- 
clusion  so  fortunate  was  arrived  at  on  that  occasion,  and  in  sub- 
sequent assemblies.     The  convention  nominated  Mr.  M.  J.  Par- 
rott  as  delegate  to  congress,  and  the  nomination  was  sustained  by 
the  vote.     There  were  precautions  adopted  to  minimize  fraud  and 
facilitate  detection,  and  a  committee  appointed  to  secure  proper 
support  for  the  judges  of  election.     The  address  to  the  electors 
contained  the  energy  of  despair,  and  the  times  warranted  that 
tone,  but  to  the  surprise  of  almost  everybody  the  election  of  Oc- 
tober 5th  gave  to  the  free  state  party  a  preponderance  of  more 


e^>.*|g»l!"'<t— 


■^g,*^M'!iffiiipri"ii"»*»!>-'^- 


40S 


Trrn.ifs  Ifisroiir  or  /v. i. vs. is. 


If 


tlian  two  to  one  in  tlio  council,  an<\  nearly  two  in  one  in  the 
house  of  icprosontatives.     Tl.o  dclogatc  to  congrcs.s  was  clioson 
by  a  niaj..ritv  of  over  four  thousand.     Tho  nmi-hinory  of  fraud 
ha.l  been  tried,  hut  so  closely  had  the  work  been  foHowcd,  that 
the  defeat  was  really  crushit)g.     In  one  villaj/c,  where  less  tlian 
100  h<^al  voter.-^  resided,  there  were  nearly  1.700  polled,  ilic  bal- 
ance eomin.4  from  Missouri,  and  other  .such  frauds,  smaller  in  de- 
gree, were  c.mmou.     The  governor,  true  to  hi.^  promises  as   to 
fair  i)lay,  refused  certificates  where  the  evidence  would  warrant 
such  action  on  his  part,  so  that  persons  claimin,^'  to  be  elected 
could  not  take  their  seats.     Judoo  Cuto,  the  willing  instrun.eut 
of  hi.s  party,  gave  the  fraudulently  elected  men  mmuhinmes   to 
compel  the^s.-Hio  of  eertiftcates,  but  the  governor  refused  to  take 
any  notieo  of  the  command  further  than  to  restate  his  obje::lious, 
and  to  ofler  the  judgo  whatever  assistance  he  rerpured  to  enforce 
the  mmi<Ia,H'i.^  or  W\>  arrest  for  nonobservaiicc  if  he  saw  lit.     Tlie 
judge  saw  that  the  battle  had  been  earrie.l  far  enough,  and    ho 
subsided.     The  judges  in   Kansas  were  men  bound  up  by  their 
devotion  to  party,  and  it  is  difTieult  to  imagine  what  might  have 
been  the  eonserpienee  had  the  governors  been  as  bad  as  tliey.     Of 
cour.sc  there  were  good  men  nominated  as  judges,  but  only  such 
as  would  be  suk^ervient  found  favor  with  the  Missouri   faction. 
We  have  seen  that  the  vote  on  the  T..peka  constitution  was  car- 
ried by  7.267  against  3-1.  The  constitutional  convention  was  elected 
by  only  2,200  votes,  with   all  the  help  that  the  border  counties  of 
Missouri  could  give  to  the  pro-slavery  party.     The  eonven.iu,, 
orf'anized,  September  7th,  in  Lecompton,  and,  after  sitting  four 
days  adjourned  until  October  lOth.  to  allow  the  members  to  pre- 
pare'for  the  territorial  elections.     When  the  result  of  that  move- 
ment was  seen,  the  disgust  of  all  classes  found  free  vent  against 
the  convention,  which  did  not  represent  the  people  and  yet  was 
about  to  assume  the  duty  of  framing  their  constitution.     Some 
would  have  suppressed  th.eir  sittings  by  force,  but  their  apjioint- 
ment  had  the  form  of  law  and  the  substance  of  protection  by 
United  States  troops,  so  they  sat  in  peace  under  the  presidency 
Mr  John  Calhoun.     The  settlers  held  a  convention  in  the  same 
town  at  the  same  time,  protesting  in  a  very  forcible  way  against 
the  fraud  which  their  own  votes  at  the  proper  time  might  have  ren- 


Pa'.vi'WW  i/'7v  WAi.Kh:it—  If^'TS. 


409 


one  in  tho 
was  clio.'jcn 
ery  of  fraud 
)ll()\vc(l,  t*mt 
?ri!  loss  tluvn 
lied,  ilio  l):il- 
tnallcr  in  de- 
itnis*ps  art  to 
[)uld  warrant 

1     bo     ('l(H't(Ml 

r  instrument 
(niliimuaes  to 
used  to  take 
is  obje^ilions, 
:nl  to  enfort'O 
4aw  lit.  Tlio 
)ugl),  and    lie 

nj>  by  ihoir 
i  tni,<,dit  have 

as  tlicy.     Of 
)ut  only  such 
souri  faction. 
Uion  was  car- 
)n  was  elected 
or  counties  of 
ie  convent I'lM 
r  sitting  four 
;mbers  to  pre- 
of  that  move- 
j  vent  against 
3  and  yet  was 
tution.     Some 
their  apj)oint- 
protection  by 
he  presidency 
m  in  the  same 
le  way  against 
aight  have  ren- 


dered impossible,  but  tortl.o  fact  that  the  people  and  tho  governor 
did  not  know  each  other  nt  the  time  that  the  inaugural  address 
was  given  to  the  territory.     Conventions  of  the  .same  desmptiou 
were  held  in  all  parts  of  Kansas,  an.l,  so  strong  was  publie  opin- 
ion,  tl.al  for  many  days  a  .piorum  could  not  be  obtained  to  ^l.apo 
a  constitution.     The  Leeon.pton  outrage  was  two  weeks  undergo- 
ing  tlu!  proce.-^fl  of  incubation,  and  then  the  document  was  signed 
by  only  forty-three  of  the  sixty  members  elected  ;  but  that  was, 
of  course,  enough.     It  seems  probable  that  the  original  intent.oa 
was  to  submit  the  constitution  to  the  people   to  be  vot.'d  upon. 
Calhoun,  the   pre.Mdent,  certainly  announ.rd   tbat   purp'-s.-  wlieii 
he  was  a  candidate  for  eleetion,   but  eviutually  that   idea  was 
abandoned  when  the  constitution,  sent  from  Washington   ready- 
made  by  the  i.ro-slavery  leaders,  was  f.nuul  too  dangerous  to  bo 
publi^ied.     Mr.   Biu'hanau   was  only   halfway  admitted   to  tho 
perilous  secrets  in  which  his  war  secretary  was  more  deeply  in- 
volved ;  hence  it  happened  afterwards  that  one  headed  his  party 
in  the  greatest  rebellion  ever  known,  and  the  other  drifted    into 
petty  compliances  that  embittered  his  life  without  .securing  him 
even  the  gratitude  of  the  pro-.slavery  men.     It  is  easy  for  ^[r. 
Davis  now  to  talk  philanthropy  and  science  at  agricultural  meet- 
in<'s,  but  no  man  can  doubt  that  ho  was  for  years  planning  the  re- 
volt,' upon  which  he  eventually  made  the  great  failure,  by  which 
he  is  (listingui.shed;  and  that  he  did  not  scruple  to  abuse  the 
trust  rep(j.sed  in  him  by  tlie  whole  Union,  while  he  was  secretary 
of  war  and  afterwards  while  chairman  of  the  committee  for  tho 
like  i>urpo.=e,  to  leave  the  Union  helpless  in  the  hour  when  trea.<?on 

sliould  strike  lier. 

Kansas  was  to  have  been  made  the  occasion  of  a  civil  war,  un- 
less slavery  could  be  fastened  there ;  but  Mr.  Douglas  was  not  a 
power  that  could  be  warped  by  such  a  man  as  Davis,  beyond  the 
point  where  the  " Little  Giant"  said  " stop."  The  conditions  as 
to  slavery  in  the  constitution  would  have  made  that  peculiar  in- 
8tituti(m  imperative,  from  the  Missouri  to  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
until  after  186-i,  and  would  have  refused  permission  to  free  ne- 
groes to  reside  in  the  state  under  any  circumstances.  State  ofhcers 
were  to  be  elected  in  January,  1858.  It  was  necessary  to  go 
throu-h  the  form  of  submission  to  a  popular  vote,  but  every  step 


I 


r^TwiB— ■riMiaBip 


410 


'J'tTTLK's  JlisTonv  Oh'  Kassas. 


\ 


LI 


was  an  insult  to  tliu  ballot  box  ;  tlic  result  would  bo  known  to 
Calhoun  only,  and  In- could  misivprcsi-nl  the  rclurnH,  unclialU;iigcd, 
in  nny  way  that  ho  thought  lit.  Tho  niachincry  for  testing  pub- 
lic opinion  Hnggc(*ted  Iraud  at  every  step,  and  various  tcstH,  nfter- 
wanlM  applied,  prove  that  the  whole  inovetnent  was  u  eoiicertod 
crime  in  the  interests  ot  .slavery.  The  most  malignant  iiifluonees 
that  ever  oppressed  u  people  operated  then  in  Kansas  to  falsify 
tlie  will  of  the  community ;  the  whole  appeal  was  placed  upon  a 
wrong  basis,  as  tho  convention  was  a  fraud  from  its  inception  to 
its  ending,  and  invasion  of  the  ballot  box  was  invited  at  every 
Blage,  in  the  choice  of  tho  delegates  first,  and  in  the  pretended 
ratilleation  afterwards.  No  wonder  then  that  the  poo))le  wero 
furiou.sly  indignant  in  every  quarter  when  tho  ghastly  farce  wna 
being  played,  which  it  was  hoj)ed  would  rob  thetn  of  their  birth- 
right. The  other  provisions  of  the  con.stitution  were  oppressive, 
but  tho  shivery  proviso  was  that  upon  which  both  parlies  wero 
most  bent,  and  the  remainder  need  not  be  recited.  Tiio  vote  upon 
the  constitution  was  so  entirely  ino})erativc  that  the  free  state 
party  in  Kansas  refu.sed  to  take  part  in  the  election,  but  many 
were  heard  to  regret  that  they  had  carried  their  nonintervention 
so  far  wlien  the  constitutional  convention  was  being  elected,  but 
for  which  it  now  seemed  that  they  might  have  been  very  near  the 
end  of  all  their  territorial  dilicultics.  Still  there  was  little  use 
in  looking  back ;  had  they  carried  the  convention  the  other  party 
would  have  rushed  to  the  polling  places  and  carried  the  territo- 
rial elections,  the  military  would  have  been  called  oil  from  pro- 
tecting the  convention,  and  in  somo  other  form  their  troubles 
■would  have  been  continued  until  the  liberal  part;,  procured  the 
control  in  congress.  Still  the  danger  was  considerable  that  they 
might  now  fall  victims  to  the  daring  scheme  attempted  at  Lecoinp- 
ton  under  the  pretext  of  "  law  and  order."  There  wero  orguni^ia- 
tions  at  this  time  on  the  free  state  oidc  which  were  prepared  to 
end  the  whole  struggle  in  one  gigantic  tragedy  rather  than  submit 
to  the  audacious  crime,  but  happily  their  proposals  remained  in- 
cboatc,  as  two  wronjj.s  never  yet  made  one  right ;  but  the  schemes 
of  the  Lecompton  faction  were  carried  on  with  the  deadly  precision 
of  men  who  used  masked  batteries,  and  had  undermined  the  most 
cherished  possessions  of  a  free  and  intellectual  people.     Spies  era- 


■WTiiga 


■ulWIUiUltitllll 


Miuiwawi 


DKSVKii  VICE  Walkku—  1S57-8. 


411 


1)0  known  to 
iiiicliatliMigoil, 
r  testing  pub- 
US  to»tH,  nftor- 
8  u  coiiccrtud 
lilt  iiifluormos 
irtiirt  to  falsify 
)Iacocl  upon  a 
i  inception  to 
itcil  at  Qvcvy 
lic3  pretcmlcil 

poo})li!  wcro 
Htly  farce  was 
jf  their  birth- 
re  oppressive, 
I  parlies  were 
[Mio  vote  upon 
the  free  state 
on,  but  many 
)nintervention 
I  eleuteil,  but 
very  near  the 
was  little  use 
ic  other  party 
ed  the  territo- 

ofl  from  pro- 
iheir  troubles 

procured  the 
ible  that  they 
;d  at  Locoinp- 
vere  orgimi/su- 
e  prepared  to 
r  than  submit 

remained  in- 
t  the  schemes 
!idly  precision 
ined  the  most 
e.     Spies  era- 


ployed  by  the  leaders  of  the  free  state  movement  brou.;j;ht  froin 
the  innermost  recesses  of  tlio  secret  associations  a  full  rcvchitioii 
of  the  means  that  were  to  be  resorted  to  after  the  constitution  had 
been  neeeptwl  in  ctingress.  So  well  had  thoy  prepared  the  way 
tlicre  that  success  was  abnost  a  dead  certainty,  and  perhaps  but 
forCiuv.  Walker,  they  were  jiistilicd  in  their  anticipations.  Tiio 
fltate  oiUcers  chosen  under  their  constitution  could  be  manipulated 
by  admitting  or  rejecting  returns  to  securo  thqir  own  party,  tho 
immes  published  at  tho  last  moment  woidd  allow  of  tho  dominant 
party  assuming  jiower  immediately,  the  hordes  which  had  so  often 
overrun  the  land  could  have  come  then  with  greater  certainty  than 
ever,  and  the  battle  of  liberty  would  have  been  endctl  for  many 
years.  Calhoun  hold  all  the  returns,  and  he  steadfastly  forebore 
to  make  announcements  pending  tho  action  of  congress.  Tho 
doings  of  the  convention  had  for  some  time  disquieted  the  gov- 
ernor, and  toward  tho  end  of  November,  1857,  ho  was  in  Wash- 
ington, leaving  Mr.  Stanton  governor  ^jto  (em.,  recounting  to  Pres- 
ident lUichanan  the  story  of  fraud  which  was  culminating  in  the 
constitution  and  the  election  of  state  olTicers,  against  tho  well 
known  desires  of  four-fifths  of  the  resident  population  in  the  ter- 
ritory. Just  such  an  avowal  as  Mr.  Iteeder  made  to  President 
Pierce  was  now  submitted  to  President  Buchanan  by  Mr.  Walker; 
the  details  differed,  the  principle  was  the  same,  and  unhappily 
there  was  the  same  abnegation  of  high  principle  on  the  part  of 
the  chief  executive.  The  president  "  knew  the  right  and  yet  the 
wrong  pursued,"  because  he  feared  somewhat  and  hoped  moro 
from  the  faction  that  had  lifted  him  into  power,  and  the  dreadful 
music  that  told  him  of  the  woes  of  an  oppressed  people  driven  to 
the  verge  of  armed  resistance  agonized  him  without  possessing 
the  power  to  rouse  him  to  his  duty.  Tho  vei^,-  condition  of  things 
which  his  instructions  to  his  friend  the  governor  in  July,  1857, 
had  anticipated,  had  come  to  pass,  and  he  was  incapable  of  veri- 
fying his  engagements.  The  action  of  Mr.  Buchanan  in  favoring 
the  convention  left  Mr.  Walker  no  option  as  an  honest  man  but 
to  resign  his  oflice,  and  in  doing  so  he  submitted  to  his  ofRcial 
superior  a  statement  of  his  motives  which  must  have  caused  the 
cheeks  of  the  president  to  tingle  with  shame,  unless  the  possession 
of  a  purely  political  conscience  is  a  guaranty  against  the  better 


ifciJMiii  irtBrtiaaMWfai 


wBiPWtwarjTBitiiw 


rviW* 


•v^r 


412 


TvTTui'ii  History  of  Kaxsas. 


I 


feelings  of  humanity,  ^fr.  Walker  could  not  cany  out  the 
changed  instructions  whieli  must  follow  the  president's  message 
without  violating  his  engagements  towards  a  people  whom  he 
now  believed  to  be  uncon([uerable,  without  a  civil  war  which 
miglit  commence  at  any  moment. 

Tlio  acting  governor,  Secretary  Stanton,  whom  we  have  seen 
addressing  the  most  deliunt  words  to  the  free  stato  men,  threat- 
ening them  "with  war  to  the  knife"  uidess  tliey  submitted  to 
territorial  enactments,  was  n(.nv  si)ee(lily  becoming  a  convert  to 
the  honesty  of  their  views  and   the  rectitude  of  their  demands. 
On  tlie  first  day  of  December  he  convened  an  extra  session  of  the 
newly  elected    legislature   to   consider   the   situation,  especially 
with  reference  to  tlie  Lecompton  constitution  and  the  acts  of  tlie 
convention.     When  tliat  body  met  on  the  7th  of  the  month,  his 
message  pithily  described  his  views  on  the  question  of  the  day, 
and  left  with  tliem  the  duty  to  devise,  if  sucli  were  possible, 
some  means  of  extrication  for  the  imperiled  and  alarmed   con- 
stituency represented  by  them.    Tlie  legislature,  having  organized, 
concluded  to  act  upon  the  message  by  affording  the  electors  a 
bona  fide  opportunity  to  show  whether  the  constitution  and  its 
promoters  had  their  approval.    The  difficulty  would  not  be  solved 
by  such  an  operation,  but  it  would  be  something  to  have  ascer- 
tained beyond  question,  what  was  the  popular  will.     Committees 
were  also  nominated   to  inquire   into  certain   alleged  frauds  in 
election   precincts,  and   the  men  who  had    procured  admission 
therefrom  were  unseated  ;  their  places  being  filled  by  the  men 
duly  entitled.     Before  the  end  of  the  session,  Mr.  Stanton  was 
removed  for  the  course  which  he  had  pursued  ;  but  when  the 
legislature  rose  on  the  17th  of  December,  the  Lecompton  con- 
ve°ntion  had  been  disowned,  and  the  act,  under  which  it  was  made 
possible,  repealed.     Congress  had  been  memorialized  disclaiming 
the  constitution,  arrangements  had  been  made  for  taking  a  popu- 
lar vote  on  the  great  issue,  ami  such  provisions  had  been  made 
against  election  frauds  as  could  not  fail  to  deter  many  from  such 
practices  as  had  too  long  been  common.     The  proslavery  party 
secured  another  victim   in  Mr.  Stanton,   but  K;  nsas  had  made 
another  convert  to  its  demands  in  the  fifth  governing  man  sacri- 
ficed, because  he  could  not  1  elp  seeing  the  justice  of  its  cause. 


.JVflBBB-- 


■"■^f^fif^W"!*^ 


Dj-jnver  vice  Walker  — 1S57S. 


413 


•ry  out  tbo 

It's  message 

e  whom  he 

war  which 

5  have  seen 
ncn,  threat- 
Libmitted  to 
,  convert  to 
ir  domauds. 
33sion  of  the 
1,  especially 
!  acts  of  the 
3  month,  his 
of  the  day, 
jre  possible, 
armed   con- 
i<I  orcranized, 
le  electors  a 
tion  and  its 
ot  be  solved 
'  have  ascer- 
Committees 
;d  frauds  in 
d  admission 
by  the  men 
Stanton  was 
ut  when  the 
Mnpton  con- 
it  was  made 
[  disclaiming 
king  a  popu- 
l  been  made 
ly  from  such 
slavery  party 
IS  had  made 
i<i;  man  sacri- 
!  of  its  cause. 


Gen.  Denver  was  nominated  to  succeed  Mr.  Stanton  as  sec- 
retary and  acting  governor.  Already  it  was  known  at  head- 
quarters tliat  the  governship  would  be  vacant,  but  it  was  neces- 
sary to  sujiersede  Mr.  Stanton  immediately,  before  worse  might 
happen  to  the  proslavery  men.  The  general  was  found  to  be  a 
man  of  good  address  and  engaging  manners,  the  son  of  a  farmer, 
a  civil  engineer  and  a  lawyer ;  he  had  won  his  promotion  in 
^Mexico  under  Gen.  Scott,  and  was  in  every  way  deserving  of  the 
confidence  of  the  community  over  whom  he  was  called  to  rule. 
He  had  filled  many  important  offices  prior  to  this  time,  and  in 
every  position,  had  won  honor  and  respect.  He  was  not  to 
remain  long  in  Kansas,  as  events  proved,  but  he  would  do 
nothing  there  that  should  sully  his  Uiurels,  and  under  the  ban- 
ner sustained  by  Abraham  Lincoln,  he  would  yet  revisit  Kansas, 
as  well  as  distinguish  himself  on  many  glorious  fields,  fighting 
always  for  the  union.  The  general  had  been  engaged  in  Indian 
affairs,  when  he  was  called  upon  to  assume  the  functions  of  act- 
ing governor,  so  that  he  was  then  upon  the  spot.  For  that 
reason,  mainly,  it  is  probable  that  he  was  chosen,  as  there  was  in 
him  no  fitness  for  the  work  of  a  faction.  Ue  won  his  way  to  the 
esteem  of  the  free  state  party  with  more  readiness  than  any  other 
Washington  appointee.  Immediately  after  Mr.  Stanton  had  been 
relieved,  Mr.  Calhoun  took  the  vote  on  the  constitution  clause 
referring  to  slavery,  and  as  he  stated  the  result,  there  were  6,226 
votes  east  for  the  constitution  with  slavery,  and  only  569  against 
slavery.  Commissioner  afterwards  appointed  ascertained  how 
the  fraud  had  been  committed,  but  there  was  a  much  speedier 
way  to  find  that  the  return  was  a  falsehood,  as  on  the  4th  of 
January,  1858,  a  fair  and  open  vote  was  taken  on  the  main  issues 
imder  the  provisions  of  the  legislature  convened  by  Mr.  Stanton, 
and  the  results  were,  for  the  Lecompton  constitution  without 
slavery,  24  ;  for  that  constitution  with  slavery,  138  ;  and  against 
the  constitution,  root  and  branch,  10,226.  That  fact,  without  one 
word  of  comment,  is  the  justification  for  Mr.  Stanton's  procedure 
as  the  acting  governor  of  Kansas,  and  the  figures  have  never 
been  controverted  in  the  smallest  particular.  The  democrats  of 
Leavenworth  denounced  the  fraud  attempted  by  a  section  of 
their  own  party,  and  memorialized  congress  to  throw  out  the 


414 


Tvttle's  History  of  Kansas. 


constitution,  but  the  president  stooped  from  his  high  estate  to 
become  tlic  servitor  of  the  ftietion  that  had  obliged  him  to  super- 
sede the  much  nobler  man,  the  secratary.  Public  opinion 
strongly  sustained  Stanton  and  Gov.  Walker,  but  Mr.  Buchanan 
wishal  the  state  of  Kan.sas  to  be  admitted  with  the  Lecompton 
constitution.  The  document  just  named,  and  the  president's 
message  were  handed  over  to  the  proper  committee,  and  in  due 
course^  the  report  came  back  to  the  senate  recommending  the 
admission,  as  before  stated,  under  the  constitution  named,  but 
Stephen  A.  Douglas  brought  up  from  the  same  committee  a 
minority  report,  denouncing  the  constiution  and  the  convention 
as  alike  unworthy  of  support,  as  the  will  of  the  people  of  Kansas 
was  not  represented  in  either  one  or  the  other. 

Thu^.  act  was  a  catastrophe  for  the  proslavery  party,  and  it  was 
remembered  when.  Breckinridge  was  nominated  for  president  by 
the  proslavery  democrats  against  Mr.  Douglas,  but  it  was  a  deed 
of  heroism  for  which  that  senator  deserved  gratitude  from  his  life 
long  opponents.     Congressional  battles  were  once  more  acti'-^. 
and  it  seems  curious  that  the  leader  of  the  democratic  part/  ir- 
the  senate  and  in  the  union  should,  on  this  issue,  have  been  oii;' 
the  mouth  piece  of  a  minority,  but  it  must  be  remembered  thai 
he  had  long  been  the  intimate  friend  of  Gov.  Walker,  and  had 
been  one  of  the  chief  agents  in  sending   him  to  Kansas.     He 
would  not  leave  the  side  of  his  friend  in  such  an  emergency, 
whatever  might  be  the  action  of  the  president,  and  it  was  impos- 
sible for  him  to  suppose  that  the  people  whom  he  had  served  so 
well  were  prepared  to  abandon  even  himself,  rather  than  abate 
their  pretensions  on  the  slave  project.     Hon.  Alex.  IT.  Stephens 
readily  assumed  the  side  popular  with  his  own  party,  and  as 
chairman  of  the  committee  appointed  by  the  house,  brought  up  a 
report  to  admit  Kansas  on  the  Lecompton  basis.     Then  also  a 
minority  report  revealed  a  wide  diversity  of  thought,  denounced 
the  constitution  and  the  party  by  whom  it  was  wrought,  calling 
attention  to  existing  evidences  of  fraud.     The  bill  in  the  senate, 
to  admit  Kansas,  was  met  by  a  substitute  in  the  hands  of  Mr. 
Crittenden,  who  demanded  as  a  condition  precedent,  that  the  con- 
stitution should  be  ratified  by  a  popular  vote,  and  that  if  rejected, 
the  people  might  frame  a  constitution  for  themselves;  and  even 


..qi.^^gwa^^i^f^il^Uj'J^JM^ 


iWMM^flHMttWfM 


Denver  vice  Walker  — 18'>7-8. 


416 


^li  estate  to 
im  to  super- 
lie  opinion 
r.  Buchanan 
i  Lecompton 

president's 

and  in  duo 

lending  the 

named,  but 

committee  a 

convention 
le  of  Kansas 

f,  and  it  was 
3resident  by 
t  was  a  deed 
from  his  life 
more  acti'"", 
atic  partv  in 
ve  been  on.  • 
umbered  thai 
ker,  and  had 
Kansas,     lie 
1  emergency, 
it  was  impos- 
lad  served  so 
r  than  abate 
,  n.  Stephens 
party,  and  as 
brought  up  a 
Then  also  a 
bt,  denounced 
ought,  calling 
in  the  senate, 
hands  of  Mr. 
,  that  the  con- 
lat  if  rejected, 
v^es;  and  even 


in  the  prnslavery  senate  there  were  2-i  to  support  the  amendment 
to  34  in  favor  of  the  constitution.     The  house  took  up  and  car- 
ried the  Crittenden  amendment;  the  senate  refused  concurrence, 
but  requested  a  conference,  and  in  a  joint  committee  a  compro- 
mise measure  was  agreed  upon,  which   passed  both  houses,  offer- 
ing liberal  land  grants  and  s[)ecial  bonuses  to  Kansas,  provided 
the  Lecompton  constitution  should  be  ratified  by  a  popular  vote, 
as  the  basis  of  admission  to  the  union,  but  otherwise  postponing 
admission  until  the   population    had  reached,   by  enumeration, 
93,500  souls,  the  rate  of  representation.     The  schemes  of  coer- 
cion  had  failed  and  concessions  wore  now  to  be  offered  on  any 
other  point,  as  a  setoff  to  the  proslavery  clauses.     Washington 
lobbyists  worked  with  such  vim  on  that  occasion,  as  was  never 
seen  equaled,  unless  the  Credit  Mobilier,  or  the  Pacific  Mail  cor- 
ruptionists  borrowed  anew  zeal  from  that  experience;  and  in 
1860,  the  means  of  operation  were  revealed  by  a  committee  un- 
der Judge  Covode,  who  prepared  and  carried  a  stinging  denun- 
ciation of  the  system  which  descended  to  money  bribes,  where 
such  unworthy  artifices  would  suffice,  and  where  proscriptions 
had  failed  to  suborn  men  and  organizations  to  the  vile  designs  of 
the  proslavery  section  of  democracy.     There  have  been  terrible 
revelations  since  that  time,  but  never  one  in  which  terrorism  was 
used  in  such  an  unblushing  way  to  supply  the  machinery  of  cor- 
ruption, in  order  to  force   through   congress  measures  against 
which  the  honor  and  the  common  sense  of  the  whole  people  re- 
volted.    Happily,  the  days  of  the  faction  were  near  the  end,  and 
we  may  hope  that  no  such  era  of  violence  and  fraud  can  ever 

recur. 

Keturning  now  to  the  territory,  we  note  that  the  officers  under 
the  Lecompton  constitution  have  been  elected,  and  by  way  of 
emphasis  to  the  assertion  that  the  constitution  makers  did  not 
represent  the  people,  it  is  worthy  of  special  remark  that  they 
were  unable,  with  all  the  corruption  then  possible,  to  carry  their 
own  staff  of  officials.  They  did  their  very  utmost  to  se^  .re  that 
end  and  failed.  The  removal  of  Mr.  Woodson  from  the  helm  of 
affairs  was  no  small  gain  to  the  free  settlers,  for  the  proslavery 
men  never  succeeded  as  an  organization,  unless  they  could  im- 
port brain  power  that  had  germinated  elsewhere.     The  faction 


rrpp-i^r.  ;<hM!SB»-'' " 


.jTriiiiiiiiiiiirtiii 


nmn  !■  r'li  I  ill  i-**!! 


■  juiiMIJi,Tl.>H" 


410  Tuttlk's  lIisTOiiY  OF  Kansas. 

a..sc.ul>led  ut  Lecompton,  Dec.  7,   1S57,  ai.d  n<Mnnnjtea  a  ticket, 
a.iug  little  else  beside.  ulRrnung  the  desirability  of  tbeu-  pet  con- 
.stituU...  and  denouncing  the  governor  and  ^-^l^^'^'^l 
their  words  had  no  power  within  ^1-  terrUory         he  ud^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
worthless,  und  the  nuu.es  may  rest  where  they  fell,     ihtio  vue 
now  renewed  doubts  an.ong  the  seltler.s,  whether  they  ^"^^-^^^^ 
,  ticket  for  the  san.e  list,  or  rest  upon  the  Topeka  const   a  .on 
and   organization.     This  happened  to  be  the  top.e  of  u  eon^^^^^ 
tion   in  Lawrence,   Dee.  2,  1657,  but  seen.g  th.U  <^^^^^ 
kH'islature  had  been  convened,  it  was  thought  advisable  to  awa  t 
tht-ir  aeiion  on  that  question,  should  any  course  be  found  possr- 
lle.     When  that  body  had  given  up  that  part  of  the  prob le.n 
the  Lawrence  convention  resumed,  Dec.  23d.     Dunng  tvv-o  dajs 
the  debate  was  p.olonged,   and  a  majority  of  delegates   favored 
votin.s  but  a  majority  of  the  full  representation,  if  every  d.stnct 
bad  been  adciuulely  represented,  favored  nonvoting;  so  the  non- 
■    voting  party,  among  whom  Gen.  Lane  was  conspicuous  sueeeed- 
Id  b;a\tratagcm,  in  procuring  the  vote  by  districts  which  nc^ 
atived  the  more  reasonable  course  of  voting  for  a    icket.     1  he 
actual  majority  present  determined  to  try  again,  and  the     bolt-    . 
ers"  as  they  were  called,  having  convened,  nominated  a  ticket 
^di'ich  uiiitcu  all  classes  opposed  to  the  Lecompton  faction. 

Almost  the  whole  of  the  settlers  resolved  to  help  tue  persistent 
majority,  and  the  consequence  was,  that  had  the  constitution  be- 
coine  law,  it  would  have  been  administered  in  favor  of  the  people 
by  the  free  state  officers.     Every  office  was  earned,  and  in  the 
senate  they  secured  thirteen  members  against  six;  in  the  house 
twenty-nine  against  fifteen.     Fraudulent  -tes  b^ough    up    he 
number  polled  by  the  proslavery  governor  to  8,o4o      Still    e  was 
beaten  by  830,  although  thousands  were  deterred  from  voting  uy 
tl"    I  tracted  policy  li  the  day.     Tlieir  prospective  officers  now  . 
tei-:  Governor,  G.  W.  Smith ;  Lieut.  Gov.,  WY  Roberts ;  sec- 
retary of  State,  P.  C.  Schuyler,  Treasurer,  A.  J.  Mead ;  Aud.  o  , 
J   KGoodin;  and  Congressional  Representative  M  J.  1  auott. 
Their  duty  would  have  been,  of  course,  to  have  helped  the  people 
to  make  or  amend  the  law  in  such  a  manner  as  to  render  it  cou- 
ccurrent  with  popular  sentiment.     There  were  uow  three  govern- 
ments  in  Kansas:    That  just  elected  under  the LawrencQ  conven- 


ed  a  ticket, 
cir  pi't  con- 
uintoii,  but 

ticket  \\M3 
Tlici'«  were 
should  rua 
constitution 
,f  a  convcn- 
e  territorial 
ble  to  await 
found  possi- 
he  problem, 
ig  two  days 
ites   favored 
svery  district 

so  the  non- 
ous,  succeed- 
i,  which  neg- 
tickct.  The 
d  the  "  bolt- 
lated  a  ticket 
action. 

the  persistent 
nstitution  be- 
of  the  people 
d,  and  in  the 
in  the  house, 
jught  up  the 
Still  he  was 
•om  voting  by 
'e  officers  now 
Roberts ;  Sec- 
ead;  Auditor, 
M.  J.  Parrott. 
ped  the  people 
t  render  it  con- 
/  three  govera- 
vrencQ  conven- 


i. ; 


^11. 


<i! 


liii 


Ill  IjJI'l 


Desves  vice  Walker  —  lS:>7-8. 


in 


tion ;  the  Topcka  organi/.ation,  with  Dr.  Robinson  for  governor,: 
and  the  territoriiil,  reprcscntetl  by  Gen.  Denver.  The  first  named 
body,  limited  their  action  to  an  appeal  to  congress,  to  disallow 
the  constitution.  The  second,  remained  intact,  striving  to  prepare 
the  way  for  ellicient  state  government,  should  an  emergency  arise. 
The  message  of  Dr.  Robinson  to  the  Topeka  legislature  resulted 
in  a  session  adjourned  to  Lawrence,  where  an  address  was  pre- 
sented to  the  territorial  legislature,  urging  such  action  as  would 
help  forward  the  larger  design.  The  adjusttnr-nt  proposed  by  the 
Dr.  and  his  friends  was  not  acceptable  to  tl.  legislators  in  pos-. 
session,  but,  of  course,  on  such  an  issue,  there  was  room  for  very 
widely  divergent  views  ;  still,  the  proposition  was  not  negatived, 
it  was  only  deferred  until  circumstance.-?  might  favor  another 
course.  Thus,  the  territorial  authorities  were  masters  of  the  field, 
and  it  is  matter  for  regret  that  they  were  not  equal  to  other  and 
better  work  than  that  which  they  transacted  for  the  people.  The 
legi.slature  assembled  at  Lecompton,  January  4,  1858,  and  organ- 
ized as  in  the  extra  session,  without  dissent.  The  message  ot 
Secretary  Denver  was  brief  and  to  the  purpose,  and  there  was  a 
prospect  of  valuable  work  being  accomplished;  but  the  men. 
■were  mostly  unused  to  such  labor  of  course,  and  the  time  was 
frittered  away.  The  legislature  adjourned  to  Lawrence,  January 
5th,  and  remained  in  session  until  February  12th.  The  appointment 
of  commissioners,  to  investigate  the  late  election  frauds,  took 
many  of  the  best  men  available,  and  that  work  was,  on  the  whole, 
effectively  carried  through.  Their  report  was  made  available  for 
congressional  action  afterwards.  The  legislature  provided  for  the 
elestion  of  delegates  in  the  following  month,  March,  to  frame  a 
constitution,  to  be  submitted  to  the  people  for  ratification  prior 
to  b-^ing  adopted  as  the  basis  for  the  admission  to  the  union  ;  but 
on  the  whole,  perhaps,  it  may  Uccve  been  inevitijible  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, that  the  first  territorial  legislature  elected  by  the  set- 
tlers must  be  pronounced  a  failure.  Log  rolling  became,  to  a  large 
extent,  the  occupation  of  members,  and  many  small  jobs  were  hur- 
ried through  for  local  and  personal  ends.  The  Missouri  code, 
which  should  have  been  amended  in  all  its  odious  provisions,  re- 
mained practically  untouched.  The  unjust  apportionment  of 
members,  which  had  been  blamed  in   their  predecessors,  was  not 


»:  ,t/»*iimtamtamimm 


41*8 


TvTTLifs  IIisTonr  of  Kansas- 


'.  itl 


nmonaod  as  it  might  liixvc  been,  and  the  poor  body  came  to  a"  most 
lame  and  impotent  conclusion."     Upon  one  point  there  was  do- 
cided  action,  but  it  decided  nothing,  because  it  did  not  cxpresa 
the  will  of  the  people,  which,  more  than  the  letter  ot  law,  .s  essen- 
tial  to  give  vitality  to  enactments.     The  territorial  capital  was  lo- 
catod  at  Minneota,  a  kind  of  no  place,  within  a  few  miles  oE 
rrairic  City,  and  grants  of  land,  and  a  charter  of  incorporation, 
helped  to  build  up  that  impossible  metropolis,  but  it  came  to 
nothin-.     The  bill  was  sent  back  by  Gen.  Denver  with  his  ob- 
jections, and  the  two  houses  used  their  two-thirds  power  to  pass 
it  again  over  his  veto :  but  at  that  point  the  folly  came  to  an  end, 
and°no  body  ever  cared  anything  further  for  this  measure.     There 
was  no  reason  why  the  towns,  which  had  fought  the  battle  ot  the 
people  so  long,  should  be  discounted  now  in  favor  of  a  center  to  be 
created  for  the  purpose,  merely  because  some  few  manipulators 
could  exert  an  influence  over  men  unused  to  the  stress  of  legisla- 
tion     The  people  of  Kansas  had  now,  after  much  stormy  naviga- 
tion, reached  port;  or,  if  not  exactly  in  port,  they  were  beyond 
Hurlgate,  with  a  fair  prospect  of  the  wished  for  haven. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 


tn 


TERUITOUTAIi    HISTORY 
(continued.) 

DENVER  SUCCEEDING  GEARY -STRIFE  IN  THE  SOUTHEAST. 

Purlher  Troubles -Southeast  Counties  -  Capt.  Montgomery -Reprcsenta- 
tivc  Man -Probable  War- Sound  Advice  -  Missouri  Advantages - 
Quiclc  March -Mound  City -Covert  Convention -Wily  Schemes - 
Cool  Courage  -  Colonel  Fox  -  Postponed  Meeting  -  Sophistry  Fails  - 
Osawatomie  Raid  -  Further  Alarms  -  Enf.-rced  Flight  -  Systematized 
Plunder  -  Geary's  Mistake  -  \  isiting  Lawren6n  -  Guerrilla  War  -  Con- 
sternation  -  Speedy  Justice  -  Reprisals  -  Governor's  Movemen^  - 
Texan  Rangers -Making  Points- Surrounding  Enemies -Spoiling 
EKVptians- Thrilling  Situation -Perilous  Escape -Under  Clouds- 
New  Departure  -  Operating  in  Stock  -  Church  Difficulty  -  Collision  - 
Great  Odds  -  Awkward  Responsibility  -  Legalized  Oppression  -  Cash 


Tio  to  a  "  most 
there  was  ilo- 
l  not  cxpresa 
■  law,  is  cftsen- 
japital  was  lo- 
fcw  miles  of 
incorporation, 
at  it  came  to 

with  his  ob- 
powcr  to  pass 
in^c  to  an  end, 
(asure.  There 
3  battle  ot  the 
;  a  center  to  be 
'  manipulators 
res3  of  legisla- 
stormy  naviga- 

were  beyond 
,ven. 


S  SOUTHEAST. 

lery— Rcprcsenta- 
Liri  Advantages  — 
Wily  Schemes  — 
Sophistry  Fails  — 
:lit  — Systematized 
crrillaWar  — Con- 
r's  Movements  — 
nemies  —  Spoiling 
-Under  Clouds  — 
ulty  — Colli  sion  — 
Dpprcssiou  —  Cash 


SriiiFi:  IS  THE  SovriiE.isT. 


419 


Ball  —  0|)iiiion.s  Changv.  -  Shameless  Tyranny  —  Unwelcome  Neighbors  — 
"  .TdliM  IJi'Dwii  "  —  Soliinion'^  .Iud,i;ment  —  Coiupiilini;  Hiu'hl  —  >[!irshal 
Little— ira>ty  Hi'trcat  —  (icncriil  Lane  —  Secret  (Organization — After 
OllViulers  — Timid  Counselors  — Fort  Scott— Broken  Promises- War 
Policy  —  Enemies  Corralled  —  Plunderers  —  Demoralized  Force  — t^uar. 
tering  on  Knemy  — Self  Del'ense  —  Faitlilul  Spies- Murderous  Pro- 
scriptioii  — JnyliawVer's  Ilevenge —  Ilumillon's  Tactics  —  Wanhington 
Lobbyists —  Montgomery  Moves —  Little  Thermopylic —  An  Armistice  — 
U.  S.  Prestige  —  Following  Hamilton  — Putnam's  Leap  —  Choosing 
Blood  —  Murder  en  Mamie  —  Flying  Miscreants — West  Point — Mas- 
sacre Averted  —  Denver's  Messenger  —  i^Iarslial  Walker  —  Murderera 
Arretted  —  Agent  Clark  —  Tiiuo  Bargain  —  Surrender  —  MDiitgomery 
Taken  —  Governor's  Visit  —  Manly  Platform —  Peace  Convention  —  Hc- 
suming  Hostilities — Continuous  Outrage  —  Summary  Process  —  Free 
Immigration  —  Brown's  Party  —  Traitorous  Confereneo —  Discreet  Retire- 
ment —  Brown's  i{esoluti(ms  —  Fellowship  —  Releasing  Rice  —  Causual- 
ties  —  Brown  in  Missouri  —  Canada  Expedition  —  Singular  Punish- 
ment—  Enemy  Flanked  —  Law  Triumphs  —  Amnesty — \Vrong  Hamil- 
ton —  Closing  Accounts.  .     ,    .  , 

Although  the  difficulties  in  Kansas  generally  were  being 
subdued  when  Gov.  Denver  was  first  nominated  secretary  of  the 
territory,  there  was  still  much  trouble  in  the  southeast  which 
must  be  briefly  reviewed,  as  the  two  parties  were  pitted  against 
each  other  there,  and  blood  was  shed  freely.  The  career  of  one 
leader,  Capt  Montgomery,  the  ablest  and  most  noted,  may  be 
followed  with  advar*age,  as  his  movements  had  a  representative 
character  which  will  render  it  needless  to  follow  the  other  par- 
tisan commanders.  Montgomery,  originally  from  Ohio,  had  spent 
some  time  in  Kentucky,  whence  he  had  removed  to  Missouri,  in- 
tending to  settle  in  Kansas,  but  had  changed  his  purpose  iipon 
being  informed  that  Misitouri  was  resolved  at  any  cost  to  make  a 
slave  state  in  the  territory.  Bending  to  what  seemed  good  ad- 
vice, he  concluded  to  remove  to  Missouri,  until  his  mind  rein- 
forced by  what  he  saw  in  the  older  slave  state,  he  resolved  to  as- 
sist in  repelling  slavery  from  the  new.  Once  determined  on  that 
point,  there  was  no  delay,  and  he  speedily  arrived  in  Mound 
City,  in  the  vicinity  of  which  there  was  no  difficulty  in  buying  a 
claim  for  little  money  from  a  Missouri  family  dissatisfied  with 
the  location.  Movi::g  his  family  to  the  purchased  claim,  he  re- 
mained in  Missouri  to  earn  money  for  its  improvement,  and  to  be 
invested  in  stock.     The  character  of  Montgomery  was  intrepid, 


420 


TvTTI.K's  lIlSTOllY  or  K.ISSAS. 


and  yet  con.sidcratc ;  a  felicitous  combinatiuii  of  sound  judg- 
ment and  mercy. 

In  April,  1855,  Montgomery,  wlioso  Hojourn  in  Missouri  had 
given  the  proslavery  party  a  claim  upon   liini,  as  they  supposed, 
attended  a  convention  in  Mound  '''ly,  five  miles  from  hi.>  home, 
where  candidates  were  being  noim.iated   to  the  legislature,  which 
afterwards  assendjlcd  in   Pawnee.     The  directors  of  the  conven- 
tion were  from  Mi.ssouri,  the  settlers  were  not  well  informed  as  to 
the  real  issues,  and  it  was  liopcd  that  shivery  would  not  be  named 
during   the  canvass,  although  that  was  the  main  purpose  to  bo 
served  by  the  election.     The  free  settlers  were  told  that  the  time 
had  not  come  for  dealing  with  that  (pie.-^tion.     The  meeting  was 
going  well  for  the  proslavery  design,  when  Montgomery,  who  had 
been  nominated  .secretary,  addressed  the  people,  giving  his   rea- 
sons why  Kan.sa?  should  be  made  a  free  state,  and  enforcing  the 
necessity  for  vigilance.     Col.  Fo.\,  the  convener  and  prospective 
candidate  in  the  Missouri  interest,  was  compelled  to  pledge  him- 
self against  slavery,  to  secure  a  chance  of  nomination,  and  then 
the  convention  was  postjwned  to  secure  a  larger  attendance  of 
actual  settlers.     There  was  a  nmeh  larger   gathering  on  both 
sides  when  the  convention  resumed,    and  much  sophistry  was 
used  to  carry  the  populace  toward  the  policy  favored  by  the 
neighboring  state,  but  the  audience  was  almost  entirely  on  the 
other  side,  and  Montgomery  might  have  had  the  nomination,  but 
after  exerting  his  eloquence  to  convince  waverers  as  to  the  proper 
policy,  he  thought  it  best  to  choose  Fox,  binding  him  by  his 
prom'ises,  as  well  as  such  gentry  can  be  secured.     The  Missouri 
party  ran  the  election  on  polling  day,  as  we  have  seen,  and  the 
legislature  was  so  completely  an  outrage  that  the  free  state  men 
convened  at  Mound  City  as  well  as  elsewhere,  and  repudiated  its 
ennetments. 

Circumstances  favored  the  southeast  so  that  there  was  no  show 
of  armed  force  in  that  section,  except  the  raids  on  polling  days, 
until  the  autumn  of  1856,  when  Fort  Scott  sent  a  proslavery  con- 
tingent to  assist  in  the  attack  on  Ossawatomie.  The  conduct  of 
that  party  has  been  described  elsewhere.  Mound  City  was  soon 
alarmed  by  an  appearance  of  armed  men  encamped  at  Paris,  and 
it  became  known  that  free  state  men  were  to  be  driven  from  their 


rj^ 


Sritu'i:  IS  rut:  Suvtiif.ast. 


421 


pound   judg- 

Missouri  had 
cy  supposed, 
in  lii.:;  home, 
laturc,  which 
[  the  convcn- 
iConned  n.s  to 
not  be  named 
)iirpo.sc  to  bo 
that  the  time 
meeting  was 
lory,  who  had 
zing  his  rea- 
en forcing  the 
id  prospective 
:;  pledge  him- 
ion,  and  then 
attendance  of 
rint'  on  both 
sophistry  was 
vorcd  by  the 
iitirely  on  the 
imination,  but 
I  to  the  proper 
I  him  by  his 
The  Missouri 
seen,  and  the 
'ree  state  men 
repudiated  its 

3  was  no  show 
I  polling  days, 
)roslavery  con- 
Che  conduct  of 
City  was  soon 
1  at  Paris,  and 
ven  from  their 


homes  in  Kansas.  The  city  was  deserted  almost  entirely,  and  iho 
Mis.-<ourian.s  plimdorcd  tlio  homos  of  tiio  fugitives,  whom  they 
wore  at  the  sumo  time  harassing  in  their  llight.  After  about  tlweo 
weeks  tiie  major  part  (^f  tlio  settlers  hail  returned,  when  they 
were  once  more  tlireatened  by  their  antagonists,  and  Montgomery 
was  delegated  to  submit  n  statement  of  tucir  case  to  tlio  now  gov- 
ci'iior,  (ieary.  That  gcntleiuairs  distrust  of  the  free  settlers  in- 
duced him  to  turn  almost  a  deaf  ear  to  Capt.  Montgomery,  and 
the  (lelegMte  went  to  Lawrence,  whence  the  army  of  boi.ler  ruf- 
fians had  just  been  removed  by  the  resolute  action  of  (ieary,  as 
el.icwhere  described.  The  citizens  of  Lawrence  could  not  leave 
their  own  city  to  defend  another,  but  they  sent  arms  and  good 
advice  by  Montgomery,  and  there  was  some  hope  that  the  policy 
pursued  by  the  governor,  so  largo  an  improvement  upon  that  of 
his  itrmiediato  predecessor,  would  protect  the  settlers  from  out- 
rage in  the  future.  The  hopelessness  of  the  territory  was  aj)tly 
illustrated  on  his  return  to  his  home,  where  he  found  that  his 
neighbors  had  been  driven  away,  his  own  family  insulted  during 
his  absence,  and  that  his  life  was  especially  sought  by  his  adver- 
saries. It  was  considered  an  evidence  of  peculiar  turpitude  on 
his  part,  that  he,  having  been  a  resident  in  Missouri,  was  yet  iden- 
tified with  free  state  views.  lie  availed  him.self  at  once  of  hia 
knowledge  of  the  country  to  attack  the  marauders  wherever  he 
could  find  an  advantage,  and  at  that  work  he  was  "a  host  in  him- 
self," so  that  he  soon  spread  consternation  among  the  gangs  that 
had  been  so  long  despoiling  the  whole  neighborhood.  Every  de- 
sign succeeded,  and  the  invaders  were  soon  in  deadly  terror  of  a 
clump  of  brush,  an  angle  in  the  rocks,  or  any  cover  that  might 
conceal  their  foe.  One  man  against  many,  he  seemed  to  be  a 
match  for  them  all.  Organization  having  failed,  he  had  been 
forced  back  upon  his  natural  rights  and  they  seemed  ample  for 
attack  and  defen.se.  The  enemy  never  imagined  that  one  man, 
untiring  in  his  movements,  was  the  author  of  so  many  discom- 
fitures. His  courage  and  successes  brought  additional  force  to  his 
standard.  His  army  consisted  now  of  seven  men,  including  him- 
self, and  after  a  council  of  war  it  was  resolved  to  attack  the  house 
of  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Missouri  raiders.  This  man  Davis 
was  one  of  the  party  that  had  been  called  out  and  armed  by  the 


422  TufTLhfs  JlisToiiV  or  Kassah. 

acting  K'ovornor,  vmhv  the  pr.tonso  tl.ut  ll>o.y  consiilutea  a  Kan- 
BUS  n.il.tia  force,  wlnlo   really  they  were  earrymg  u..l  the  designs 
of  Missouri.     Davis  being  a  captain,  his  house  was  an  armory  ami 
for  twofold  reascs  it  was  desiral.le  that  the  weapons  should  bo 
in  better  han.ls.     The  attacking  party  found  that  tho.r  nuun  ob- 
ject  had  failed,  as  Davis,  with   his  gang,  had  gone  away  to  avo.d 
a  collision  with  (Jov.  Geary,  who,  with  three  hundred  men,  was 
disarming  all  such  bands.     The  little  armament  captured  a  quan- 
tity  of  ammunition  and  some  arms,  but  a  prisoner  that  had  been 
Bceured,  made  his  escape,  giving  the  alar.n  to  others  who  would 
otherwise  have  been   visited.     Twenty  miles  south  of    Davis  a 
place,  the  Texan  rangers  were  startled  on  the  same  day,  towar. 
evening,  by  Montgon.ery  s  party,  and  upon  their  arrival  in  l^ort 
Scott  the  dimensions  of  tlie  guerrilla  band  had  become  magn.Ued 
into  an  army.     The  proslavery  settlement  at  Fort  Scott  was  al- 
most  a  desert  within  an  hour  after  the  report  was  circulated 

An  excursion  into  Missouri  was  the  next  exploit,  to  attack  the 
points  where  proslavery  men  customarily  assembled  before  niul- 
ing  Kansas,  and  to  which  they  returned  with  their  plundei%     i  ho 
little  band  of  seven  made  themselves  masters  of  the  points  as- 
sailed,  captured  and  destroyed  a  quantity  of  arms,  procured  fresh 
horses  and  returned  to  the  scene  of  their  former  operations  none 
the  poorer  for  their  expedition.     Soon  afterwards  the  guerrilla 
chief  attacked  a  camp  of  invaders  .nt  Bull  Creek,  but  the  party 
fled  without  fighting,  and  he  proceeded  with  a  little  s<iuadron  of 
ten  determined  fellows  to  liberate  negroes  in  Missouri,  as  it  was 
considered  good  policy  to  carry  the  war  into  the  enemy  s  country. 
Keturning  home  alone,  resolved  on  abandoning  warlike  enter- 
prises,  he  had  just  got  beyond  the  old  Wakarusa  encampment 
from  Lawrence,  when  his  bridle  rein  was  sei^.cd  by  a  couple  of 
xnilitia  men  of  the  opposite  side  in  politics.     He  was  commanded 
to  surrender,  and  with  the  speed  of  lightning  he  dismounted  on 
the  side  farthest  from  his  captors,  using  the  device  common  among 
Indians,  of  making  his  horse  his  rampart  of  defense,  and  his  re- 
volver pointed  at  the  soldier  whose  musket  was  half  way  to  hia 
shoulder,  caused  a  very  considerable  alteration  in  the  views  ol 
the  militiamen.     Some  minutes  were  spent  in  the  rencontre,  bu 
as  soon  as  the  position  was  realized,  the  would-be  custodians  of 


•<^»tg.. . 


a— .i*^-- 


toil  a  Kan- 
the  designs 
irmory,  and 
<  sliould  bo 
iir  tniiiii  ob- 
iiy  to  avoid 
I  men,  was 
red  a  (juan- 
It  had  been 

who  would 

ol  Davis's 
day,  toward 
ival  in  Fort 
10  mat' ni  tied 
icott  was  al- 
nilated. 
o  attack  tbe 

before  raid- 
under.  The 
10  points  as- 
•oourcd  fresh 
^rations  none 
the  guerrilla 
,nit  the  party 

S(]uadron  of 
uri,  as  it  was 
ay's  country, 
■arlike  enter- 
encampment, 
)y  a  couple  of 
3  commanded 
ismounted  on 
)mmon  among 
56,  and  his  re- 
al f  way  to  his 

the  views  of 
rencontre,  but 

custodians  of 


SritlFH  IS   rilE  SOVTIIKAST. 

Montgomery  resolved  to  be  (luit  of  his  eo.uininy.  Not  another 
word  was  .a.d,  but  enough  had  been  convoyed  in  that  noiseless 
huran-'ue  with  the  revolver  to  end  the  controversy.  i.o  eaptor.s 
rode  o"n  without  their  prisoner,  and  the  almost  captured  man  wont 
on  his  way  rejoicing.  A  rogi.nont  of  sueh  men  as  Montgon.ery 
could  have  held  Kansas  against  all  the  rulUans  of  the  border    _ 

Aflrr  the  free  settlers  left  their  claims  under  the  terror  of  m- 
vision  in  the  wh.ter  of  18oU-7,  their  antagonists  took  possession 
of 'their  property  in  the  southeast,  as  well  as  elsewhere,  mau.ta.n- 
inc  a  kind  of  military  rule,  under  which  the  chances  were  largely 
against  repossession  by  the  r.ghtful  owners:  but  new  arnva  s  m 
1857  in  the  so  called  "  ^lorthern  Arn.y"  s)  far  reinforced  the 
despoiled  men  that  it  wa.  i)ossiole  to  commence  operations  to  re- 
cover the  stolen  property  .md  the  fraudulently  held  dauns.     iho 
fuNt  step  was  to  gather  up  the  viv>,.g[uMy  appropriated  stock  and 
that  step  was  not  carried  tlu-ough  w.  hout  sor.M>  llghung,  still,  in 
the  nuiin,  the  end  was  accomplished.     The  re, -««ession  of  chums 
was  next  attempted,  and  the  first  diflicuhv  (  xurred  with  a  pro- 
slavery  preacher  named  Southwool  ylio,  knowingly    -r  not,  was 
in  a  house  built  by  a  man  that  he  i  bc-n  driven  fro-n  ;.;.c  ground. 
Two  liundred  men  assembled  to  assist  Southwood,  by  expelling 
Stone,  the  free  settler  claimant;  but  eight  resolute  men  held  u... 
cabin  against  them,  and,  after  many  days  spent  in  threats  and  ex- 
postulations, Southwood  vacated   the   claim.      The  like  scenes 
'vere  occurring  more  or  less  fro  :uently  all  over  the  temtory 
When  the  United  States  court  opened  at  Fort  Scott,  numbers  of 
the  free  settlers  were  indicted  for  oflenscs  more  or  less  imaginary, 
the  object  being  to  procure  the  absence  of  popular  leaders,  and 
just  now  the  judicial  staff  was  at  war  with  Gov.  Geary,  so  that 
bis  rule  was  drawing  to  a  close  at  the  moment  that  he  began  to 
understand  the  wani-  ../  Kansas.     Some  of  the  men  indicted  were 
held  prisoners  in  ioi.  Scott,  bail  being  refused.     Montgomery 
now  came  upon  the  scene  once  more,  and  a  body  of  men  under 
him  approach^  Fort  Scott  to  procure  the  release  of  their  friends. 
Peaceful  apr.aiensions  for  their  liberation  on  bail  resulted  in  an 
insolent  proposition  that  $800  cash  should  be  deposited  as  secur- 
Hy  for  each  prisoner  to  be  released,  and  no  other  bail  would  be 
accepted.     Judge  Williams,  on  the  bench,  was  as  haughty  as 


:irjrii;iiiTii'ffiw<irwffiWi"r-fliirfy'°"° 


fW^:- 


424  Tuttlk's  History  of  Kansas. 

eatan      ^rontrromcry  believed  that  he  could  inOucnce  the  opinion 
of  the  court, °and  largely  control  its  action.     Having  arrested  a 
pro^lavery  man  and  held  him  in  custody  long  enough  to  impress 
his  mindVith  the  idea  that  he  had  been  in  great  peril,  he  inci- 
dentally mentioned  in  the  prisoner's  hearing  his  intention  to  sack 
Fort  Scott  and  release  the  prisoners  unlawfully  held.     Tlie  pro- 
slavery  man  was  soon  afterwards  liberated,  and  immediately  after 
his  storv  reached  the  judge,  the  prisoners  were  discharged  upon 
their  own  recognizances,  with  many  remarks  intended  to  be  com- 
plimentary and  soothing.     The  charm  had  produced  its  effect, 
and  ^font.'omery  was  looked  upon  as  a  competent  legal  authority. 
Several  citizens  were  arrested  for  trying  to  resume  possession 
of  their  homes,  but  any  charge  would  suffice  in  the  then  condition 
of  the  courts  in  Kansas,  and  judgments  went  invariably  against 
free  settlers.      Sometimes  their  properties  were  seized  without 
form  of  process,  or'  trial,  and  sold  by  proslavery  sheriffs  to  the 
highest  bidder,  the  governor  in  vain  trying  to  rescue  the  vic- 
tims of  oppression  from  the  wrongs  which  he  had  at  first  believed 
to  be  merely  illusory.     Fort  Scott  was  now  the  stronghold  of  the 
proslavery  magnates,  who  had  been  driven  out  of  the  northern 
and  middle  sections  of  the  territory  by  Gov.  Geary's  strong  peace 
policy;  and  they  made  the  surrounding  country  very  warm  for 
free  settlers.     Fnding  that  there  was  no  redress  for  them  in  Fort 
Scott,  the  popular  party  initiated  a  court  of  their  own,  calling 
their  chief  justice  "John  Brown,"  and  while  the  proceedings  of 
this  assembly  burlesqued,  in  the  freest  possible  spirit,  the  action 
of  the  official  staff  in  Fort  Scott,  there  was  still  so  complete  an 
arrangement  for  carrying  out  the  judgments  arrived  at  that,  pro- 
slavery  men  dreaded  citation  before  the  new  tribunal. 

Capt.  Abbott,  the  well  known  guerrilla  leader  at  Wakarusa, 
was  the  sherifT,  and  if  the  decisions  of  the  judge  gave  token  of  a 
Solomon  on  the  bench,  the  vigor  of  administration  was  fully  on  a 
par  with  the  other  features  of  the  movement.  The  proceedings 
of  the  court  attracted  so  much  attention,  that  an  order  was  made 
at  Fort  Scott  for  the  suspension  of  the  squatter  court,  and  all  its 
members  were  to  be  arrested.  Marshal  Little  was  instructed  to 
carry  out  the  mandate,  and  he  came,  with  seventy  armed  men,  to 
-within  about  ono  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  court  house  ;  but  at  that 


■rHliVi    ^'WHIIU'III 


Strife  in  the  Southeast. 


425 


he  opinion 
arrested  a 
to  impress 
il,  he  inci- 
on  to  sack 
Tlie  pro- 
lately  after 
irged  upon 
to  be  com- 
.  its  effect, 
[  authority, 
possession 
n  condition 
bly  against 
ed  without 
riffs  to  the 
le  the  vic- 
rst  believed 
hold  of  the 
16  northern 
itrong  peace 
y  warm  for 
lem  in  Fort 
awn,  calling 
oceedings  of 
t,  the  action 
complete  an 
at  that,  pro- 

Wakarusa, 
e  token  of  a 
is  fully  on  a 

proceedings 
ir  was  made 
,  and  all  its 
nstructed  to 
med  men,  to 
:  but  at  that 


point  he  paused  to  hold  a  parley,  at  the  end  of  which  he  retired 
with  his  force,  apparently  satisfied  that  the  court  should  be  up- 
held.    Some  few  days  after,  he  appeared  with  a  force  considerably 
augmented,  and  with  a  tone  correspondingly  changed.     Tlie  court 
was  allowed  thirty  minutes  within  which  to  surrender  or  be  fired 
upon.     There  was  to  be  a  fight,  as  the  court  would  not  surren- 
der, but  the  dispositions  made  by  Capt.  Abbott  with  the  few  men 
at  his  disposal  were  so  complete  th;u  tlio  attacking  force  was 
taken  in  the  rear  just  as  the  assault  began.     One  man  and  one 
horse  sustained  injuries,  and  Marshal  Little,  with  his  two  hundred 
men,  made  very  quick  time  back  to  Fort  Scott.     While  a  renewal 
of  the  attack  was  daily  looked   for,  there  was  a  change  being 
worked  in  tlic  aspect  of  Kansas  by  the  election  of  a  legislature 
and  the  appointment  of  ofTicers  under  the  auspices  of    the  free 
state  party,  so  tliat  the  reign  of  injustice,  not  quite  over,  was 
drawing  towards  a  close.     Gen.  Lane  came  up  from  Lawrence  to 
ascertain  the  actual  position  of  affairs,  and  prepare  the  way  for 
the  new  regime  whicli,  if  possible,  was  to  be  inaugurated  peace- 
fully.    But  for  the  presence  of  United  States  troops  at  Fort  Scott, 
the  place  would  have  been  captured ;  but,  under  the  circum- 
stances, peace  was  thought  better  than  conquest,  and  nothing  was 
accomplished  beyond  the  establishment  of  a  secret  society,  whose 
object  was  to  defeat  the  Lecornpton  constitution. 

The  Fort  Scott  difficulty  was  perennial,  and  in  February  a  force 
was  organi;5ed  to  arrest  some  offenders  in  that  town,  Montgomery 
being  nominated  to  carry  the  writs  into  effect.  Some  of  the  more 
timid  of  the  free  state  party  tried  to  arrange  matters  peaceably 
beforehand,  and  in  consequence  the  expedition  was  a  failure,  there 
being  none  of  the  offenders  in  the  town  when  the  vindicators  of 
justice  arrived,  and  Montgomery  and  his  men  had  to  content 
themselves  with  fair  promises  and  an  excellent  breakfast.  The 
promises  were  not  worth  much,  having  been  made  only  to  serve  a 
temporary  purpose  until  United  States  troops  arrived. 

Capt.  Anderson,  with  a  detachment  of  troops,  came  to  Fort 
Scott,  and  the  free  state  men  were  challenged  to  "  come  on.'' 
Montgomery  procured  a  howitzer  from  Lawrence,  and  his  inten- 
tion was  to  force  all  the  proslavery  men  into  Fort  Scott,  so  that 
he  might  reduce  them  by  starvation  during  an  extended  siege. 


x^''S"i>waMMHMMMIi 


'i 


426 


TUTTLffs  HiSTOliY  OF  IClXSAS. 


Pursuant  to  that  plan  many  of  tlie  worst  characters  were  visited, 
and  such  of  them  as  could  be  found  were  chastised.  A  man 
named  Zuaskault  was  shot  but  not  killed.  He  had  the  repute  of 
having  committed  many  murders.  The  proslavery  men  at  Little 
Osage  and  elsewhere  asked  for  aid  from.  Fort  Scott,  but  Capt. 
Anderson  told  them  that  they  must  come  in  if  they  wanted  pro- 
tection, as  his  force  must  not  be  scattered  in  outlying  places. 
The  result  was  that  the  country  outside  of  Fort  Scott  was  tolera- 
bly clear  of  marauders,  and,  leaving  the  command  temporarily  in 
other  hands,  Montgomery  retired  to  his  farm. 

The  officers  left  in  command  of  the  troops  unfortunately  abused 
their  position  by  allowing  recourse  to  plundering,  and  in  conse- 
quence the  men  who  were  most  worthy  of  confidence  left  the 
ranks,  the  resf  becoming  utterly  demoralized.     It  became  neces- 
sary for  Capt.  Montgomery  to  resume  his  position  to  prevent  his 
men  becoming  a  pest  to  the  territory,  but  by  his  means  the  mis- 
chief was  soon  remedied.     Some  few,  who  were  constitutionally 
thievish,  went  ofiE  under  a  congenial  leader,  and  in  due  time  ob- 
tained their  deserts,  but  the  great  majority  became  loyal  soldiers 
again  under  good  hands.     Montgomery  was  not  so  entirely. scru- 
pulous as  to  refuse  his  men  a  chance  to  quarter  on  the  enemy 
when  military  necessity  rendered  such  a  course  advisable,  but  he 
preserved  the  morale  of  his  company  with  great  success.     There 
was  quite  work  enough  on  hand  to  occupy  the  time  and  energy 
of  the  force,  as  the  Missouri  men  who  had  been  driven  out  came 
back  with  reinforcments,  and  numerous  lives  were  lost  on  both 
sides.     The  men  of  the  north  were  warned  to  be  ready  if  needed, 
but  Montgomery  believed  that  his  own  strength  would  suffice, 
provided  he  could  uphold  the  spirits  of  a  few  that  were  ready  to 
stampede  the  whole  party.     Some  few  successes  on  the  free  state 
side  produced  the  desired  effect,  and  all  was  safe,  for  tlic  time,  at 

any  rate. 

Montgomery's  bands  were  known  as  '•  Jayhawkers,"  because  of 
the  suddenness  and  certainty  with  which  they  swooped  down  up- 
on the  enemy  at  times  most  fatal  to  their  purposes.  This  was  in 
consequence  of  the  leader  having  under  his  orders  a  faithful  spy 
in  each  of  the  secret  lodges  in  Fort  Scott,  and  at  the  most  danger- 
ous spots  in  Missouri,  from  whom  all  necessary  details  could  be 


SjftMaiJut  aiwafWB,'  Ml  nnnjijiiMiirm 


Strife  in  the  Southeast. 


427 


ere  visited, 
1.  A  man 
e  repute  of 
3n  at  Little 
,  but  Capt. 
ranted  pro- 
iiig  places, 
was  tolera- 
iporarily  in 

tely  abused 
lI  in  conse- 
ice  left  the 
2ame  neces- 
prevent  his 
ns  the  mis- 
5titutionally 
ue  time  ob- 
lyal  soldiers 
ntirely.scru- 
n  the  enemy 
lable,  but  he 
3ess.     There 
and  energy 
en  out  camfi 
lost  on  both 
ly  if  needed, 
ould  suffice, 
ere  ready  to 
the  free  state 
:  tlic  time,  at 

I,"  because  of 
led  down  up- 
This  was  in 
I  faithful  spy 
most  danger- 
iails  could  be 


procured,  so  that  whenever  there  was  a  scheme  afoot  that  threat- 
ened evil  consequences  to  his  party,  the  mine  was  countermmed, 
and  at  the  fateful  moment,  "the  engineers  were  hoist  with  their 
own  petard."     The  men  thus  defeated  came  to  believe  that  Mont- 
eomcry  had  unearthly  aids,  and  their  superstitious  fears  were  in 
lar.^e  port  his  allies  on  many  occasions.     There  was  one  man 
named'  Hamilton  who  distinguished  himself  as  a  leader  among  the 
border  ruffians,  and  it  was  ascertained  beyond  question  that  this 
man  was  to  attack  in  succession  about  seventy  free  state  men, 
capturing  them  in  tens  and  putting  them  instantly  to  death.     iUe 
list  of  men  to  be  murdered  thus  was  supplied  to  Montgomery,  and 
the  order  in  which  the  successive  executions  would  occur,  at  the 
rate  of  about  ten  every  week.     Hamilton  appears  to  have  been 
rather  an  amiable  man,  and  one  in  whom  reliance  could  be  placed, 
until  after  the  proslavery  party  lost  ground  in  Kansas,  when  he 
became  desperat'e,  associated  himself  with  secret  societies  for  the 
suppression  of  free  settlement,  and  became  identiRed  with  guerrilla 
operations  ;  a  career  which  almost  invariably  unsettles  character 
The  lobbyists  in  Washington  had  become  certain  that  they  could 
push  the  Lecompton  constitution  through  congress,  and  their  con- 
fidence  communicated  to  the  party  in  Missouri,  induced  redoubled 
effort  to  secure  the  results  of  victory  upon  the  law  coming  into 

operation. 

Threats  of  the  complete  demolition  of  the  free  state  party  were 
commonly  heard   everywhere  on   the  borders,  and  Hamilton  s 
threats  would  have  passed  with  little  note  but  for  the  lists  al- 
■   ready  procured  ;  but  when  his  fulminations  were  combined  with 
the  detailed  information  referred  to,  Montgomery  concluded  that 
it  was  time  to  bring  him  to  an  account.     The  troops  were  to  be 
withdrawn  from  Fort  Scott,  and  Hamilton  was  on  hand,  so  that 
it  seemed  probable  that  he  would  seize  the  opportunity  now  to 
carry  out  his  design  ;  consequently  Montgomery  made  an  attack 
on  some  of  the  proslavery  party  near  the  Marmiton,  hoping  that 
Hamilton  with  his  force  would  come  to  the  rescue  and  permit  of  the 
quarrel  being  fought  out  ther..     Hamilton  took  refuge  in  Fort 
Scott  and  induced  Capt.  Anderson  with  the  regular  troops  to  take 
up  the  quarrel  without  a  requisition  from  the  governor.     The  ap- 
pearance of  United  States  troops  caused  Montgomery  to  retreat  at 


mm 


MSMMRS 


!*#.«-. 


428 


Tvttle's  History  of  Kaxsjs. 


full  speed  toward  Yellow  Point  Ci'cok,  hotly  pursued.  A  narrow 
defile  just  at  the  point  named  afTorded  him  an  opi)ortunity  for 
defense,  and  his  men  were  speedily  so  placed  as  that  they  could 
have  repelled  twiee  the  number  of  assailants.  Anderson  wxa 
wounded,  his  horse  killed,  his  troops  routed  and  one  man  killed ; 
only  one  of  the  free  state  men  being  wounded  in  the  affray.  An 
armistice  to  remove  Anderson  from  under  his  fallen  horse  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  timely  retreat,  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  troops  after- 
wards refused  to  attempt  the  arrest  of  Montgomery.  An<lerson 
resigned  to  avoid  a  court  martial,  and  the  prestige  of  United  States 
troops  was  considerably  damaged  by  his  conduct. 

^[ontgomery  followed  Hamilton  persistently  and  tracked  him 
to  his  house,  but  it  was  too  strong  to  be  attacked  with  small  arms 
only,  and  before  his  howitzer  could  be  brought  up,  the  United 
States  troops  came  to  the  rescue  of  their  ally.  Montgomery's 
men  were  told  to  scatter  for  the  time  and  rendezvous  about  eight 
miles  oil  the  next  morning.  Two  of  the  party  were  not  wise 
enough  to  obey  instructions,  and  in  consequence  they  were  pur- 
sued, narrowly  escaping  capture  by  leaping  a  declivity  which 
their  pursuers  would  not  descend,  remembering  probably  the  es- 
cape that  was  made  during  the  revolutionary  war  by  Putnam. 
Hamilton  escaped  into  Missouri,  "nursing  his  rage  to  keep  it 
warm,"  and  Montgomery  submitted  to  the  sheriii"  a  statement  of 
the  designs  entertained  by  that  dangerous  citizen. 

The  scheme  long  deferred  was  not  abandoned,  but  the  origina- 
tor o:  the  murderous  design  could  not  readily  find  instruments 
for  his  purpose ;  many  brave  men  refused  to  be  mixed  up  with  a 
deed  so  horrible.  At  a  meeting  held  on  the  19th  of  May,  just 
across  the  border  in  Missouri,  there  was  an  appeal  for  volunteers, 
and  twenty-five  men  mustered  for  the  first  expedition.  The  time 
was  opportune,  as  the  delay  had  lulled  suspicion,  and  Hamilton 
had  no  difficulty  in  gathering  in  the  prisoners  that  were  wanted 
near  Chouteau's  Trading  Post.  Nineteen  were  arrested,  eleven 
were  shot  and  five  fell  mortally  wounded,  the  rest  feigning  death, 
and  all  save  one  wounded  remained  alive  to  tell  of  the  horrible 
barbarities  in  which  the  miscreants  indulged  after  the  murders 
were  as  they  thought  consummated  in  each  case.  Montgomery 
was  immediately  in  request  to  lead  the  pursuit,  about  two  hua- 


-%ini-ni  iirmimii 


StBIFE  jy  THE  SovriiEAST. 


429 


A  narrow 
I rt unity  for 
tliey  could 
ilorson  \v\3 
nan  killed; 
ifTray.  An 
jrse  was  fol- 
;roops  after- 
Anderson 
nited  States 

racked  him 

small  arms 

the  United 

ontgomery's 

about  eight 

re  not  wise 

sy  were  pur- 

ivity  which 

ably  the  ea- 

by  Putnam. 

to  keep  it 

statement  of 

the  origina- 
instruments 
3d  up  with  a 
of  May,  just 
r  volunteers, 
1.  The  time 
nd  Hamilton 
were  wanted 
ested,  eleven 
gning  death, 
the  horrible 
the  murders 
Montgomery 
3Ut  two  hun- 


dred men  mustering  under  his  orders,  but  it  was  too  late.  ^^  est 
Point  was  supposed  to  be  the  resting  place  of  the  murderers,  but 
the  place  was  visited  in  vain;  the  citizens  expressed  their  horror 
at  the  outrage,  but  they  either  could  or  would  give  no  informa- 
tion that  would  lead  to  their  arrest.  Noi.hing  therefore  remained 
but  to  return  from  Missouri  and  guard  the  borders  to  prevent  the 
consummation  of  the  remainder  of  the  scheme.  Kcgular  troops 
under  Capt.  Weaver  soon  assumed  that  duty. 

Hamilton  never  found  an  opportunity  to  complete  his  purpose, 
but  while  waiting  and  watching  for  him  and  his  gang,  an  oppor- 
tunity occurred  for  Montgomery  to  communicate  with  Gov.  Den- 
ver offering  to  surrender  for  trial  himself  and  all  his  men,  if  the 
governor  would  allow  the  settlers  to  elect  their  own  sheriff,  and 
withdraw  the  troops  from  Fort  Scott.     The  communication  also 
sucr<rested  the  desirability  of  a  personal  investigation  on  the  part 
of  °the  new  executive.     Capt.  Walker  came  down  to  arrest  Mont- 
gomery on  two  charges,  but  he  found  the  guerrilla  commander  in 
hicrh  repute  among  the  settlers,  and  therefore  as  deputy  marshal, 
being  himself  a  free  state  man,  he  never  saw  Montgomery  for 
many  days.     The  marshal  consented  to  arrest  some  murderers  at 
Fort  Scott,  and  Montgomery  in  disguise  accompanied  the  party. 
Clark,  the  Indian  agent,  was  one  of  the  men  named  for  arrest, 
and  he  made  a  great  show  of  defense,  but  five  minutes  having 
been  afforded  him  to  think  the  matter  over,  he  surrendered  to 
save  his  life.     Montgomery's  presence  in  the  posse  was  pointed 
out  to  Capt.  Walker,  and  there  was  a  likelihood  of  trouble,  but 
Montgomery,  who  had  no  doubt  of  a  fair  trial,  now  surrendered, 
bein<-  however  set  at  liberty  by  the  sheriff  again  as  soon  as  it  had 
been°discovered  that  the  authorities  in  Fort  Scott  had  released 
Clark  and  the  other  prisoners  just  arrested. 

Gov.  Denver  acted  upon  Montgomery's  suggestion,  and  visited 
'  Fort  Scott  to  make  himself  conversant  with  the  affairs  of  south- 
eastern Kansas.  His  visit  was  extended  through  a  wide  range  of 
the  territory,  and  in  every  place  that  was  stopped  at,  he  made  a 
host  of  friends.  His  arrangements  contributed  largely  to  the 
pacification  of  Kansas,  as  he  prevented  Missourian  invasions, 
repressed  the  action  of  troops  where  the  action  of  law  should  suf- 
fice, and  assisted  the  people  to  a  fair  field  for  self  government. 


BBtaMntwmi.i  I.I  iii.iiii«wiiiil»w 


kmtmi^^-^ 


i^^lli^■y^^pil(»^jr^ 


t 


430 


Tvttle's  History  of  Kas'sas. 


The  arrangement  of  old  troubles  was  proposed  by  liirn  on  tlio 
basirf  of  an  anniosty  for  political  ofTenscs,  and  that  suggestion  was 
8ubse(picntly  carried  out,  as  it  met  with  cordial  approval  from 
nearly  all  the  actual  settlers.  There  was  a  convention  held  'it 
P'ort  Scott  in  consequence  of  this  visit,  and  all  jiarties  agreed  to 
start  fair,  abandoning  the  quarrels  of  tlie  past,  but  even  whilo 
the  convention  was  still  sitting,  tliere  came  near  being  a  renewal 
of  hostilities  among  the  members. 

It  is  not  easy  for  men  who  have  been  for  years  accustomed  to 
issue  their  own  writs  in  the  form  of  a  rifle  ball  to  settle  down 
into  the  observance  of  peaceful  regulations,  and  thus  it  happened 
that  in  southeastern  Kansas  for  some  time,  continuous  outrages  on 
one  side  or  the  other,  perpetrated  of  course  by  the  least  worthy 
members  on  both  sides,  prevented  pacification  and  led  to  a  resump- 
tion of  hostilities.  Horses  stolen  in  Kansas  were  followed  by 
their  free  state  owiiers  to  Missouri,  where  the  men  were  shot,  one 
dying  at  once,  the  other  being  able  to  reach  home  and  tell  of  the 
outrage.  Little  Osage  settlement  was  plundered  soon  after  by 
Missourians.  Then  an  attack  was  made  on  Montgomery  in  his 
own  house,  but  the  leader  was  not  injured;  Then  arrests  were 
made  on  old  writs  in  brea';h  of  an  implied  covenant  made  when 
the  treaty  was  signed,  but  the  prisoner  was  liberated  on  Mont- 
gomery's application.  The  influx  of  free  settlers  continually  in- 
creased the  majority  against  slavery,  but  it  did  not  tend  to  make 
the  proslavery  party  more  amiable. 

A  free  settler  named  Rice  was  arrested  in  violation  of  the  com- 
pact, and  his  release  was  demanded.  A  convention  called  to 
arrange  matters  almost  ended  in  fighting,  and  it  was  evident  that 
peace  was  near  an  end.  Returning  from  the  convention,  Mont- 
gomery learned  that  Old  John  Brown  and  his  party  were  to  be 
attacked  in  a  log  house  not  far  from  his  own ;  of  course  he  went 
to  the  rescue,  having  only  fifty  men,  but  he  held  the  place  against 
four  hundred,  and  the  assailant,  McDan'cl,  dared  not  risk  an  at- 
tack. Next  day,  McDaniel  proposed  to  Montgomery  that  he 
should  attend  a  convention  of  free  state  democrats,  aiming  at 
pacification,  and  he  did  so,  the  basis  of  affiliation  being  drawn 
by  Blown.  Fellowship  was  thus  extended  to  the  successful 
leader,  but  he  would  not  abandon  Eice,  who  was  still  a  prisoner 


-■.ji  jdltiiM  iitewatwti^** 


fmlm 


liirn  on  tho 
gestion  was 
[)roval  fr(Mn 
tion  held  at 
33  iigrced  to 
even  wliilo 
g  a  renewal 


3Ustomed  to 
settle  down 
it  happened 
outrages  on 
east  worthy 
to  a  resunip- 
followed  by 
sre  shot,  one 
d  tell  of  the 
)on  after  by 
imery  in  his 
arrests  were 
made  when 
3d  on  Mont- 
ntinually  in- 
end  to  make 

I  of  the  com- 
>n  called  to 
evident  that 
ntion,  Mont- 
y  were  to  be 
irse  he  went 
place  against 
)t  risk  an  at- 
ery  that  he 
s,  aiming  at 
aeing  drawn 
e  successful 
ill  a  prisoner 


Stuife  /.v  the  Southeast. 


431 


in  Fort  Scott.  The  night'of  the  loth  of  Doc,  1858,  was  named 
for  the  adventure  of  setting  him  at  liberty,  to  do  winch,  it  was 
necessary  to  capture  the  town,  and  the  work  v;as  accomplished 
by  sixty-nine  men,  including  Montgomery.  Marslud  L.ttlc  fired 
on  the  party,  and  was  himself  shot,  the  prisoner  was  released, 
and  the  town  saved  from  destruction  by  the  prudent  leader. 

John  Brown  accompanied  the  party  until  near  the  town,  but 
he  did  not  enter  Fort  Scott;  and  soon  afterwards  he  was  heard  of 
in  Missouri,  where  he  released  a  number  of  slaves  from   their 
masters,  enraged  the  proslavcry  men  almost  to  desperation,  jm-o- 
vokcd  the  offering  of  two  rewards  for  his  arrest,  watched  the  bor- 
ders to  prevent  incursions  in  pursuit,  and  in  due  time  set  out  for 
Canada  with  the  party  that  his  enterprise  had  rescued  from  ser- 
vitude, five  years  before  Lincoln's  proclamation.     He  did  not 
escape  without  adventure.     He  was  attacked  by  42  proslavcry 
men  at  Holton,  but  his  assailants  were  routed,  and  he  revenged 
himself  on  four  prisoners,  by  refusing  them  permission  to  swear 
during  five  days,  and  making  them  say  their  prayers.    Slavery  was 
bein-  attacked  on  its  own  territory,  the  enemy  was  flanked  the 
legislature  was  in  the  hands  of  the  people,  and  at  the  special  re- 
quest  of  Gov.  Denver,  such  action  was  initiated  as  in   the  end 
enabled  the  settlers  to  right  their  own  wrongs.     The  districts 
in  which  violence  had  been  most  marked  were  in  some  degree 
relieved  by  the  nomination  of  Lawrence  as  the  place  where  of- 
fenders should  be  tried,  until  better  times  should  come.     Mont- 
gomery went  to  Lawrence  for   trial,  but  an  act  of  amnesty  re- 
lieved him  and  some  hundreds  beside,  from  the  ordeal.     During 
the  time  that  the  amnesty   was  first  operating,  Capt.  Ilami  ton 
arrived  in  Lawrence  with  some  prisoners,  and  the  name  leading 
many  to  suppose  that  it  was  the  murderer  before  mentioned 
caused  a  great  riot,  but  no  loss  of  life,  as  it  became  known  that 
■    the  wrong  Hamilton  was  being  pursued.     The  prisoners  newly 
brought  in  were  set  at  liberty,  the  reign  of  peace  and  content- 
ment,  not  yet  perfect,  was  about  to  commence,  and  would  go  on 
with  varying  fortunes,  until  the  parties  between  whom  the  troub- 
les had  come  should  find  their  advantage  in  the  grand  develop- 
ments which  God's  providence  will  always  accomplish. 


432 


Ti'TTLE's  IflSTOHY  OF  K ASS  AS. 


CUAPTER    XX. 

TKUKITOIilAL     IliyPOUT. 
ieoncluaeil.) 


DENVER,  MEDARY  AND  STANTON -END  OF  CIVIL  STRIFE.    , 

Settling  Di)\vu—  Cliaiigcd  Aspects  —  nucliuimn  Ailviseil  —  ClmngiiiK  Front- 
Shivery  Si'liemcs— Washington  Orders  — Abortive  Effort  — Dying  Or- 
giini/,a( ions  —  Why  Clianging  —  Topekii  Government  —  Natural  Decay  — 
HeneflcenI  Mortality  —  Convention  of  185^- State  Ticket  — Negro  Suf- 
f,.njrc  —  General  Indifference  —  Early  Grave  —  Lecompton  Rubble  —  Stu- 
l)\d  Legislation  —  New  I'artics  —  Republicans  Organize  —  Democratic 
I'lallorm-  Nouctjmmitlal- Speedier  Growth- Old  Orgunizatiou- 
Horace  Greeley —  New  Legislature —  Useful  Laboi'—  Denver  Resigns  — 
Governor  Medary  — Counting  Cost  — Audit  Commissioners  —  Actual 
Allowance  —  Congressional  Neglect— Territorial  Sacrifices  —  Great  Em- 
bnrrassment  —  Interesting  Relics  —Convention  1859  — AVoman's  Rights- 
Negro  Question— Topeka  Capital  —  Popular  Ratification —State  Offl- 
ciu'ls  —  The  Legislature— Defeclive  Census  — National  Features  — Amer- 
ica's Growth  — Living  Principles  — Early  Notice  — Marquette  — La 
Salle —  Nation's  Heart  — Social  Basis- Development- Wliitc  Set- 
tiers- Santa  Fe  — Natural  Beauty  —  Washington  Irving  —  Missouri 
Compromise  — CIcngressioual  Legacy  — Early  Trials  — Enduring  Cour- 
„ge  —Barbarous  Laws  —  Flourishing  Cities  —  Levying  War  —  Governing 
Marshals  —  Posse  Comitatus  —  State  Suspended  — Lincoln  Wins  — War 
Record  —  Troubles  Past  —  Governor  Stanton  —  Legislative  Differences  — 
Kansas  Famine  —  Climatic  Causes  —  Forest  Influences --  Fearful  Story  — 
General  Failure  — Water  Poisonous  — Fodder  Gone  — Going  Back — 
Starving  Remainder  —  Eastern  Benevolence  —  General  Response  —  New 
York  —  Wisconsin  —  Illinois  —  Indiana  —  Ohio  —  Jleteorological  Fea- 
tures —  Desert  Theory  —  Grasshopper  Famine  —  Looking  Ahead. 

WiTKK  Douglas  and  Buchanan  joined  in  urging  the  successor 
of  Geary  to  assume  the  task  of  governing  Kansas,  there  was  a 
foregone  conclusion  in  the  mind  of  the  democratic  leader,  that  the 
slavery  struggle  was  dootned  to  defeat  at  the  hands  of  squatter 
sovereigns  in  the  territory,  and  his  hope  pointed  toward  some  fav- 
orable compromise  that  would  recuperate  the  party  as  a  whole, 
and  the  slave  owning  section  in  particular,  for  the  reverse  imme- 


''"Hl!!,  lyii  »ii '!'»  fflrimnfTga 


J  STRIFE. 

giiijf  Front  — 

-  Dying  Or- 
urul  Dfiniy  — 

-  Nfgro  'suf. 
Jul)l)lc  —  Stu- 
-Dcmocnitic 
giinizutiou  — 
•cr  Resigns  — 
icrs  —  Actual 

—  Groat  Eni- 
tin's  Kiglits — 

—  State  Offl- 
[ures  —  Amer- 
iircpiettc  —  La 

-  Wliitc  Set- 
ig  —  Missouri 
iduring  Cour- 

—  Governing 
Wins  —  War 

Differences  — 
L'arful  Story  — 
oing  Back  — 
iponse  —  New 
alogical  Fea- 
Aheacl. 


le  successor 
there  was  a 
der,  that  the 

of  squatter 
•d  some  fav* 

as  a  whole, 
verse  imme- 


i  : 

1      i 


t     ■ 


I    I 


PHIUDDLrHM 


\^y.yi^X'<-    iBggffllBMagl^gl^  MJMiailgSigili'^    -->-—■<■- 


it  * 


'M 


n 


>=!=»<    MAY1(r'*MO»M18IM0"l8«J 

■  ^■—iijMriT 

itr..A.    *  -^ 


End  of  Civil  SntiFE. 


4U3 


vDMBiRMr*  tare. 


tliatcly  iinj)ciuliiig.  lV'rrti)iiiilly,  ho  did  not  euro,  ns  lie  said  in  \m 
debutes  Willi  Jjiiicolri,  wlictlicr  slavery  wua  voted  up  or  voted 
down;  but  in  the  ititerests  of  the  party  that  he  led,  it  was  desir- 
able to  inuiiitain  nseendaiiey  at  almost  any  cost.  Walker,  him- 
Belf  a  statesman,  saw  the  danger  of  a  division  in  the  ranks  of  do- 
raoeraey,  eommeneing  in  the  Kansas  struggle,  and  with  all  hia 
might  he  endeavored  to  hold  the  disintegrating  atoms  together. 
Possibly  ho  might  have  suceeedod  if  allowed  to  manage  alTairs  in 
his  own  way,  but  that  was  not  part  of  the  designs  of  providence. 
There  were  signs  of  setthng  down  in  Kansas.  Democrats,  ojiposed 
to  shivery,  had  been  joined  with  republicans  on  that  issue  until  it 
began  to  appear  that  tho  question  could  only  be  settled  in  one 
way,  unfavorable  to  the  purposes  of  tho  south,  and  then  with 
changed  iispeets  in  regard  to  that  issue,  parties  began  to  rally 
under  their  several  standards  as  of  yore.  Walker's  policy  would 
have  assisted  in  that  direction,  pacifying  the  territory,  solidifying 
democracy  and  looking  elsewhere  to  lind  room  for  tho  expansion 
of  slavery,  llis  advice  tendered  to  Buehanaii  was  sound  as  a  mat- 
ter of  policy,  and  his  first  utterance  in  the  territory  evidenced  a 
change  of  front ;  but  the  proslavery  men  were  reluctant  to  give 
up  their  aims,  and  when  orders  from  Washington  enforced  the 
necessity  for  the  Lecompton  constitution,  that  wing  of  the  organi- 
zation, powerless  to  win  a  substantial  victory,  had  sufHcient  vital- 
ity to  prosecute  an  abortive  effort  in  the  forlorn  hope  of  the  At- 
chison clique.  Walker  was  placed  under  a  ban,  as  other  gover- 
nors had  been,  and  when  Buchanan  was  at  length  induced  to 
espouse  the  "Lecompton  faction,  Walker  resigned.  The  action  of 
Douglas,  whether  it  was  due  to  policy,  principle  or  personal  re- 
gard for  Walker,  helped  to  kill  the  organization  in  Kansas,  which 
had  united  democrats  and  republicans.  Free  state  men  did  not 
abandon  their  resolve,  but  they  sought  its  fulfilment  in  different 
directions,  each  under  old  alTiliations.  The  Topeka  constitutioa 
and  state  government  resulting  from  a  compromise  necessary  at  the 
time  was  now  unsatisfactory  to  both  sections,  and  the  out  of  date 
party  fell  into  decay,  such  as  the  circumstances  of  the  time  de- 
manded. Compromises  are,  at  best,  only  temporary  makeshifts, 
and  they  find  their  end  in  a  mortality  blessed  by  every  looker  on. 
Some  men  clung  eagerly  to  the  old  names  and  forms  from  which 


■)(*- 


wmmimtliiia^^ 


434 


TvTTr.h's  III'  ^':\  J/-  KAyi>Aa. 


■8 


i 


II 


lifo  liad  <lopnrtC(l,  but  when  on  the  4t'i  ol  March,  1858,  thcro 
fihonld  havo  been  an  aHsembly  of  the  K>giHlatiire,  no  quorutn 
could  bo  prociin'il.  'Plii!  loading  minds  wero  busy  in  roconsiruct- 
ing  their  altered  force  under  belter  auspices,  ko  that  there  re- 
mained nothing  for  the  dying  govorment  but  to  abandon  powera 
that  had  never  been  truly  and  efficiently  exercised. 

The  constitutional  convention,  which  assembled  at  Mineola  on 
the  23(1  of  Marcl),  had  in  it  more  vim  and  liberality  than  re- 
inained  in  the  Topeka  party,  but  the  people  had  no  faith  in  its 
legal  anthori/ation,  hence  no  popular  enthusiasm  waited  upon  its 
decisions.  There  was  a  constitution  framed  better  than  that  of 
Topeka,  y)ccausc  it  did  not  continue  the  negro  disability  as  to  res- 
idence, and  it  ojiencd  schools  to  the  children  regardless  of  color. 
There  were  other  features  equally  good,  but  the  minds  of  the  com- 
munity were  not  interested.  The  nomination  of  a  convention  to 
prepare  a  state  ticket  was  duly  ordered,  and  there  was  vigor  in 
the  convention  thus  as.sqmbled  ;  but  neither  the  ticket  oHered  nor 
the  resolution  to  oppose  the  Lccompton  constitution  by  force  of 
arms,  if  necessary,  roused  the  people  to  action.  The  nominees  of 
the  convention  only  obtained  8,000  votes,  1,000  voting  on  the 
other  side,  but  generally  men  would  not  cast  a  ballot ;  and  in 
January,  1859,  there  was  no  grief  when  the  measure  died  of  neg- 
lect in  congress. 

The  vote  on  the  Lecompton  constitution,  on  the  2d  of  August, 
1858,  occasioned  a  much  larger  manifestation  of  zeal,  no  less  than 
18,088  votes  being  cast  on  that  iss.ue,  with  a  majority  of  9,512 
against  its  adoption,  although  there  had  been  such  inducements 
ofTered  by  the  pro-slavery  party  under  tlie  English  bill.  The 
new  territorial  legislature  was  chosen  under  many  disadvantages, 
in  consequence  of  the  stupidity  that  marked  the  action  of  its 
predecessor;  but,  in  spite  of  the  old  and  unjust  apportionment, 
which  had  not  been  changed  by  the  men  just  relieved  of  legisla- 
tive  labor,  there  was  a  much  better  set  of  men  elected  to  assume 
that  important  duty.  The  pro-slavery  section  of  the  Democratic 
party  was  now  all  but  lifeless  in  Kansas,  and  it  was  time  to  raise 
the  standards  of  the  national  organization  on  each  side.  The 
convention  held  at  Lawrence,  November  11,  1857,  was  so  clearly 
Bepublican  in  its  tone  that  Democratic  allies  were  repelled,  and 


Fsit  OF  Civ  1 1.  SrniFt:. 


435 


,  1808,  tliero 
no  (luoruin 
I  roooiisinict- 
mt  there  re- 
itulon  powura 

t  Mincolii  on 
lity  than  ro- 
f)  faith  in  its 
ited  upon  its 
than  that  of 
lity  as  torcs- 
lless  of  color. 
h  of  the  corn- 
convention  to 
was  vigor  in 
et  offered  nor 
')n  by  force  of 
e  nominees  of 
noting  on  the 
)allot ;  and  in 
!  died  of  neg- 

Id  of  August, 
1,  no  less  than 
ority  of  9,512 

inducements 
sh  bill.  The 
lisadvantages, 

action  of  its 
pportionment, 
red  of  legisla- 
ted to  assume 
he  Democratic 
i  time  to  raise 
jh  side.  The 
was  so  clearly 

repelled,  and 


the  old  party  deprecated  an  uburulonment  of  its  war  cry  before 
Kansas  had  bceu  adiiiittod  as  a  free  state;  but,  for  all  prmticul 
purpoHCS  the  orii^inal  (luarrcl  had  come  to  an  « nd.  Thorcuiiou 
the  Douiocrata  tried  to  fashion  a  j)latform  on  the  2-4th  of  tho 
Bume  month,  at  TiCavenworth,  that  would  enable  free  atate  nict>  to 
unite  with  tho  pro-slavery  parly  for  national  and  territorial  pur- 
poses. It  was  somewhat  dill'icult  to  make  terms  between  the  op- 
posing sections,  but  at  length  a  noncommittal  policy  was  agreed 
uj)oii,  with  vigorous  metital  reservations,  that  served  for  a  time. 
The  convention  at  Big  Springs,  to  renew  tho  life  of  tho  old  frco 
state  party,  May  12, 1859,  was  a  reupcctablo  failure;  tho  purposes 
of  that  organization  were  now  safe  in  other  hands,  and  tho  conven- 
tion was  almost  a  funeral.  One  week  later,  tho  Kepublicana 
completed  their  party  organization  at  Ossawatomio,  when  Horace 
Greeley  was  the  lion  of  the  hour  on  the  ground  made  classic  by 
the  heroism  of  Old  John  Brown  a  few  months  later.  The  Demo- 
crats completed  their  organization  the  day  before  tho  Big  Springs 
convention. 

The  actual  government  of  Kansas  was  now  vested  in  the  now 
territorial  legislature,  which  assembled  on  tho  8d  of  January, 
1859,  and  tho  work  devolving  upon  that  body  was  well  done. 
After  meeting  at  Locompton,  the  legislature  at  once  adjourned  to 
the  more  congenial  atmosphere  of  Lawrence,  and  the  statutes 
v-hich  had  too  long  disgraced  the  community  were  repealed  or 
amended  as  public  opinion  seemed  to  demand.  The  end  of  Gov- 
ernor Denver's  administration  had,  before  this,  arrived,  and  his 
departure  was  regretted  by  the  people,  but  his  masterly  conduct 
in  tho  matter  of  the  treaty  at  Fort  Scott  in  the  spring  led  to  such 
representations  at  Washington  on  the  part  of  tho  Democrats  that 
ruled  Buchanan,  that  his  name  was  added  to  the  list  of  sacrifices 
by  his  resignation  in  October,  1858.  Governors  henceforth  were 
of  so  little  moment  in  Kansas  affairs,  comparing  them  and  their 
action  with  the  eventful  times  and  the  men  that  governed,  from 
1854  to  the  end  of  1858,  that  it  will  suffice  to  say  here,  that  Gov- 
ernor Medary  was  in  due  time  succeeded  by  Governor  Stanton, 
whose  rule  ended  upon  the  inauguration  of  the  state  govern- 
ment in  1861. 

The  cost  of  all  this  turmoil  had  now  to  be  estimated  in  the 


: 


'«-|IL.f l»<l#    ''I' 


^0  Tuttle's  HisTonr  of  Kansas. 

hope  that  congress  would  bear  its  proper  share  in  the  outlay,  but 
it  was  difficult  even  to  procure  an  audit  commission.     Ex-1:tov- 
ernor  Shannon  would  not  serve,  but  the  Hon.  J.  H.  Stnckler  ac- 
cepted the  position,  and,  as  the  rusult  of  his  labors,  it  appeared 
that  $301,225  had  been  claimed,  and  $254,279  allowed  by J.^mon 
three  hundred  and  fifty  applications.     The  operation  of  the  audit 
had    however,  been  abridged  by  numerous  circumstances,  and 
another  commission,  with  larger  powers,  came  into  existence  to 
examine  into  all  claims  for  damages  sustained  m  the  territorial 
troubles  from  1855  to  1856,  an  attorney  being  appointed  to  ex- 
amine more  ellectively  into  the  hona  fides  of  ^Pplicants      rhere 
was  a  much  larger  total  now  presented,  no  less  than  $454,000  be- 
ing allowed  by  the  commission,  and  it  was  estimated  that  other 
valid  claims  could  be  made  out  raising  the  aggregate  to  half  a 
million  of  dollars.      Congress,  ruled  to  a  large   extent  by  the 
Democratic  party,  would  not  make  an  appropriation  to  cover  the 
loss,  and  in 'consequence  there  was  a  vqry  heavy  embarrassment 
thrown  upon  the  legislature  which  hud,  in  part,  taken  upon  itself 
the  liability  recognized  by  the  commirsion.     The  time  of  private 
sacrifices  for  the  public  good  had  come  to  an  end,  and  the  losses 
now  incurred  could  only  be  carried  to  the  same  list  with  the  out- 
lay incurred  in  sustaining  the  first  Topeka  government,  and  the 
efficient  executive  committee  that  organized  the  territory  to  fight 
the  battle  commenced  in  1855. 

The  English  bill  provided  that  in  the  event  of  the  Lecompton 
constitution  being  negatived  by  the  people,  there  should  be  an 
election  held  to  determine  whether  a  state  government  was  desired 
by  the  territory,  and  if  desired,  a  convention  to  frame  a  constitu- 
tion should  be  chosen.    Pursuant  to  that  diriction,  the  convention 
was  elected  in  June,  1859,  and  14,000  votes  were  cast  in  the  elec- 
tion- the  largest  ever  at  that  time  honestly  polled  in  Kansas. 
The 'assembly  took  place  on  the  5th  of  July,  at  Wyandotte,  and, 
under  the  baton  of  President  Winchell,  one  of  the  most  import- 
ant bodies  ever  convened  during  the  days  of  our  territorial  exist- 
ence carried  into  form  the  will  of  the  people.     The  constitution 
framed  at  Wyandotte  became  the  basis  of  our  admission  as  a 
state,  and  the  men  engaged  in  framing  its  provisions  had,  in  ^eir 
ranks,  some  of  the  brightest  and  most  powerful  intellects  in  Kan- 


--  ■^ajflUi.tJ-lli.ltg 


EsD  OF  Civil  Stsife. 


437 


iitlay,  but 

Ex-Gov- 
rickler  ac- 

appearrd 
by  iiimon 

the  audit 
inces,  and 
istence  to 

territorial 
;ed  to  ex- 
ts.  There 
54,000  be- 
that  other 

to  half  a 
nt  by  the 
)  cover  the 
arrassment 
upon  itself 

of  private 
[  the  losses 
th  the  out- 
\f,  and  the 
)ry  to  fight 

Lecompton 
3uld  be  an 
was  desired 
a  constitu- 
convention 
in  the  elec- 
in  Kansas, 
adotte,  and, 
lost  import- 
torial  exist- 
constitutiou 
lission  as  a 
nad,  in  their 
3Cts  in  Kan- 


sas Woman's  rights  procured  an  interesting  debate,  but  the  con- 
stitution fell  short  of  conferring  the  suffrage.  Attempts  to  ex- 
elude  negroes  from  the  territory  were  lost,  and  the  color  Ime, 
which  would  have  shut  out  negro  children  from  common  schools, 
was  also  defeated;  but  negroes  were  not  allowed  to  vote.  The 
fucritive  slave  law  was  not  indorsed,  and  slavery  was  forbidden 
in'the  state,  all  but  unanimously.  Topeka  secured  a  nomination 
as  the  temporary  capital  of  the  state,  but  provision  was  made  for 
submitting  the  appoii.tment  to  popular  ratification,  before  a  per- 
manent location  could  have  force.  When  the  work  was  com- 
pleted, on  the  28th  of  July,  the  democrats  opposed  the  constitu- 
tion as  a  whole,  but  the  republican  majority  was  sufficient  to 
carry  the  measure.     The  people  ratified  the  constitution  by  10,- 

421  against  5,530. 

The  election  of  state  officers  under  the  constitution,  ready  for 
the  possible  passage  of  the  bill  through  congress,  resulted,  on  the 
6th  of  December,  1859,  in  the  choice  of  Dr.  Eobinson  as  governor ; 
Joseph  P.  Boot,  lieut  governor;  J.  W.  Eobinson,  secretary  of 
state;    Wm.  Tholan,  treasurer;   G.  S.   Hillyer,  auditor;   W.  R. 
Griffith,  superintendent  of  public  instruction ;  Thos.  Ewing,  Jr., 
chief  justice ;  S.  A.  Kingman  and  L.  D.  Bailey,  associate  justices ; 
B.  F.  Simpson,  adjutant  general,  and  M.  F.  Conway,  member  of 
congress.     The  highest  vote  cast  was  for  the  chief  justice,  8,010 ; 
and  the  highest  vote  on  the  democratic  ticket  was  5,567,  for  the 
congression°al   representative.      The   senate   was    republican  by 
twenty-two  to  three,  and  the  house  by  fourteen  to  eleven.     The 
census  was  taken  at  this  time  in  a  very  incomplete  and  unsatis- 
factory  way,  as,  while  the  population  was  nearly.100,000,  the  re- 
turns only  showed  a  little  more  than  70,000;  and  this  faulty 
enumeration  was  made  a  pretext  for  further  delay  in  the  desired 

admission.  i     tt  • 

Thus  had  another  state  arrived  at  the  threshold  of  the  Union, 
thirty-fourth  in  the  list  of  actual  admissions,  thirty-second  in 
order  of  application  ;  as  Minnesota  and  Oregon  were  both  admit- 
ted after  Kansas  had  formed  a  state  organization.  The  order  and 
regularity  with  which  this  nation  grows  is  a  new  feature  in  the 
art  of  government.  The  Indian  population  gradually  retiring 
before  the  more  civilized  races,  leaves  a  tract  of  country  but  par- 


I 


MwMUiWiikMaMWMte 


AattMai9m^^^^9Ulr»tarti  ■■ 


438  Tur  tie's  History  of  K ass  as. 

tially  occupied,  and  settlers  establish  colonies  in  all  parts  of  the 
territory  at  their  discretion,  exerting  the  powers  of  local  govern- 
ment from  the  first.     The  number  within  the  territory  having  be- 
come suflicient  for  the  purpose,  organization  is  permitted  in  duo 
time,  the  state  succeeds  the  territorial  regime,  and  the  nation  is 
greater  by  one  individual  in  its  federative  unity.     The  conditions 
under  which  Kansas  fought  her  way  to  the  front  have  no  paralle 
in  the  Union,  because  of  the  crisis  in  the  peculiar  institution  of 
the  south,  which  was  being  reached  just  as  the  settlement  of  the 
territory  was  commencing;  but  there  are  many  instances  in  which 
states  have  Embodied  a  great  principle  in  their  foundation  and 
growth,  and  the  success  which  has  been  attained  by  peoples  so 
established  may  be  accepted  as  arguing  for  Kansas  a   special 
greatness  in  the  future.     The  name  of  John  Car.er  is  not  more 
intimately  associated  with  the  government  that  originated  in  the 
Mayflower,  nor  Koger  Williams  with  Khode  Island,  nor  Lord 
Baltimore  with  Maryland,  nor  William  Penn  with  Pennsylvania 
than  is  the  soul  of  brave  John  Brown  with  the  territory  in  wnich 
two  of  his  sons  were  sufferers,  and  to  which  he  devoted  the  last 
years  of  his  eventful  career  on  earth.     The  stiugg  e  that  was 
inade  to  plant   slavery  in  Kansas  was  largely  repe.led  by  the 
abolitionist  principle  for  which  he  died,  and  which  triumphed 
•  over  secession  when  Lee  surrendered  to  Grant  at  Appomattox. 
It  will  always  be  a  source  of  pride  for  Kansas,  that  such  men 
as  Lincoln,  Greeley  and  Seward  aided  in  the  struggles  by  which 
she  became  one  of  the  constituent  states  in  the  greatest  nation 
that  the  world  has  ever  seen,  and  that  the  war  for  liberty  for  the 
white  s  ave  owner,  as  well  as  for  the  African  in  bondage,  com- 
mencea  upon  this  soil.     The  earlier  records  of  our  visitations 
have  been  given  on  other  pages,  and  we  can  claim  a  remote 
antiquity  for  a  territory  on  this  continent,  in  the  fact,  that  before 
Mai-quette  and  La  Salle  had  in  succession  found  the  Mississippi, 
this  re<^ion  of  Kansas  had  been  opened  up  by  De  Solo,  under  a 
commission  from  Pizarro,  and   had   been  traversed  north  and 
south  by  his  comrade,  Coronoda,  before  the  year  lolO.     The 
heart  of  North  America,  its  very  center,  lies  within  oui  state,  and 
its  central  position  cannot  fail  at  some  period  in  its  career  largely 
and  beneficially  to  affect  its  destiny. 


-rsMESMBBSer 


iK»i«,a'i»<nu»»wwMw>*iwi"'i'' 


EsD  OF  Civil  Strife. 


439 


irts  of  the 
il  govern- 
laving  be- 
;ed  in  due 
i  nation  is 
conditions 
10  parallel 
jtitution  of 
lent  of  the 
s  in  which 
lation  and 
peoples  so 

a  special 
is  not  more 
xted  in  the 
,  nor  Lord 
nnsylvania, 
-y  in  which 
Led  tlie  last 
,e  that  was 
led  by  the 

triumphed 
omattox. 
,t  such  men 
IS  by  which 
itest  nation 
erty  for  the 
ndage,  com- 
r  visitations 
m  a  remote 
,  that  before 
Mississippi, 
:)to,  under  a 
I  north  and 

1510.  The 
av  state,  and 
areer  largely 


The  social  basis  upon  which  Kansas  was  founded  gave  little 
promise  of  the  great   position   since  attaine.1.      A  few  traders 
Indian  agents  and  missionaries,  and  a  few  Frenclunen,  who    by 
lone,  consorting  with  the  tribes,  were  almost  as  Indian  as  them- 
selv°es  in  tastes  and  manners,  constituted  for  many  years  the 
whole  white  population  ;  and  amongst  these  the  custom  of  hold- 
inc  ne^^ro  slaves  had  become  so  much  a  custom,  that  the  Indmns 
adopted  the  practice  and  retained  it  for  a  considerable  time     ihe 
purchase  of  Louisiana  from  Napoleon,  the  cession  of  F  onda  by 
Spain,  the  Seminole  war,  and  all  the  incidents  of  warlike  adven- 
ture therewith  connected,  are  twice  told  tales ;  but  there  are  few 
citizens  that  have  ascertained  by  their  own  reading  and  observa- 
tion, that  all  those  events  contributed  to  establish  the  basis  for 
our  social  edifice.      Mexico  contributed  at  a  later  date  toward 
our  extent  of  territory,  that  portion  east  of  the  23d  meredian 
and  north  of  the  Arkansas  river,  having  been  acquired  from  that 
power  in  the  war  of  18i6-7.     When  congress,  after  much  debate, 
extending  over  two  years,  consented  to  admit  Missoun  to  the 
Union  as  a  slave  state,  the  questions  then  raised  contained  Kansas 
and  its  difneulties,  as  the  acorn  contains  the  oak,  and  the  com- 
promise then  made,  to  be  so  often  broken  and  violated  before  it 
was  at  last  repealed,  enunciated  the  first  syllables  of  the  com- 
pleted sentence  which  was  fulminated  by  Kansas  against  slavery, 
in  the  long  struggle  beginning  in  1854  and  concluding  in  I860 

The  commerce  of  the  plains  began  with  a  wagon  track  that 
passed  through  Kansas,  from  just  across  the  Missouri  border,  in 
1823    and   tbe   traffic  from  Independence   to  Santa  Fe  may  be 
.   almost  said  to  have  revolutionized  South  America,  as  well  as  to 
have  led  to  the  redemption  of  California  from  the  miserable  con- 
dition in  which  the  half  Indian-Spaniard  lived  under  the  curse  of 
Spanish  institutions,  surrounded  in  pride  and  laziness,  with  a 
-   squalor  that  especially  belongs  to  that  nation.     For  many  years 
■     this  region  was  preserved  as  the  home  of  the  Indian  tribes  mov- 
ing west  before  the  tide  of  settlement  that  was  slowly  covering 
the  eastern  sections  of  the  territory  purchased  from  Napoleon  ;• 
but  before  that  policy  was  yet  matured,  one  of  the  most  .harm- 
^     ing  writers  of  this  century,  Washington  Irving,  in  his      Tour  on 
the  Prairies,"  had  published  to  the  world  a  pen  picture  of  our 


I  I 


1 


i 


tuhimJmim»li^^- 


440 


Tuttlk's  History  of  Kaxsas. 


scenery,  such  as  might  have  seemed  a  charming  panorama  im- 
magincd  by  the  novelist ;  but  which  we  know  to  be  true  in  its 
every  feature  to  our  beautiful  country.  Our  grassy  plains,  inter- 
spersed with  forests  and  groves,  dotted  here  and  there  with  park- 
like  lawns  and  clumps  of  trees,  formed  under  his  pencil  an  ever- 
changing  loveliness,  as  it  is,  in  the  bounty  of  nature  around  us, 
whenever  and  wherever  the  rivers  and  streams  are  refreshed  by 
the  wise  handiwork  of  man,  and  the  soil  opened  to  the  generous 
raindrops.  Irving  wrote  after  having  visited  the  region  watered 
by  the  Arkansas,  the  Grand  Canadian,  the  Red  River  and  their 
tributaries  in  1832,  just  at  the  time  when  the  several  missions  at 
Wiandotte  and  Shawnee  were  being  established  ;  five  years  after 
the  first  fort  was  built  at  Leavenworth,  and  when  the  trade  over 
the  Santa  Fe  trail  had  already  become  a  large  item  along  the 
borders  of  Missouri.  "  The  fertile  and  verdant  waste,"  of  which 
he  wrote,  were  popularly  supposed  to  be  deserts,  and  were 
described  as  part  of  "  The  Great  American  Desert "  by  map 
makers  and  geographers  years  after  his  visit,  although  every 
writer  and  traveler  spoke  of  the  elk,  buffalo  and  wild  horse  as 
abounding  here  in  good  condition,  such  as  few  animals  would  be 
likely  to  maintain  in  an  arid  and  desert  land ;  but  when  a  mis- 
apprehension has  once  become  master  of  the  public,  it  is  a  long 
and  tiresome  task  to  root  out  the  misleading  thought  or  fiction. 
The  Arkansas  was  spf^cially  described  by  Irving,  and  he  fairly 
revelled  in  its  beauty,  which  need  have  no  higher  praise  than 
to  have  been  thought  worthy  of  his  pen. 

Two  years  ai  p*-  Irving's  vis-it  there  was  a  printing  press  at  work 
in  Kansas,  at  tV  :  Ottawa  Baptist  mission,  and  the  speedy  increase 
of  missions  which  fallowed  the  transportation  of  Indian  tribes  to 
this  country  must  have  had  an  effect  in  count<^-;acting  the  preva- . 
lent  mistake  as  to  the  condition  of  the  soil.  Col.  Fremont  pass- 
ed through  this  country  on  his  way  to  Oregon  over  the  Rocky 
Mountains  in  1842,  repassing  on  several  occasions,  after  the  ex- 
ploration of  the  South  Pass,  to  examine  the  Great  Salt  lake,  and 
•the  grand  features  of  Alta  California,  as  well  as  eventually  to 
aid  in  the  punishment  of  the  Spanish  authorities,  whose  churlish- 
ness to  our  countrymen  cost  them  very  properly  the  country 
Y'hich  they  were  not  worth;,^  tc  retain.     Tue  selection  of  the  site 


!i!WtWf»^ivwaBiiatinap 


sgj^sss^asasae^i^Hw*'^ 


anorama  itn- 
e  true  in  its 
plains,  inter- 
•e  with  park- 
!ncil  an  ever- 
3  around  us, 
refreshed  by 
the  generous 
gion  watered 
er  and  their 
1  missions  at 
.'6  years  after 
he  trade  over 
m  along  the 
;e,"  of  which 
;s,  and  were 
rt "  by  map 
hough  every 
vild  horse  as 
lals  would  be 
t  when  a  mis- 
c,  it  is  a  long 
;ht  or  fiction, 
uid  he  fairly 
r  praise  than 

press  at  work 
)eedy  increase 
dian  tribes  fo 
ng  the  preva- . 
Fremont  pass- 
er the  Rocky 

after  the  ex- 
5alt   lake,  and 

eventually  to 
hose  churlish- 
■f  the  country 
on  of  the  site 


EsD  OF  Civil  Stkife. 


441 


of  Fort  Scott  as  a  military  post,  waa  not  long  afterwards  fol- 
lowed  by  the  Mormon  exodus  across  the  plains,  the  Mexican  , 
war,  the  gold  discoveries  in  California,  and   the  passage  of  the 
Kansas-Nebraska  act,   under  which  the  territory  was  organized 

in  1854-5.  . 

It  was  an  act  of  cowardice  on  the  part  of  congress  that  remit- 
ted to  the  people,  who  were  then  about  to  settle  in  Kansas,  the 
question,  "  shall  this  state  go  for  slavery  or  for  freedom?  "  but  in 
the  hands  of  the  Great  Ruler,  even  cowardice  is  not  without  its 
uses.     The  people  were  equal  to  the  emergency  to  which  they 
were  called,  and  the  answer  of  squatter  Fovereignty,  given  by 
less  than  one  hundred  thousand   people,  has  since  been  indorsed 
by  forty  millions.     What  was  indeed  meant  as  a  trap  into  which 
Kansas  was  to  fall,  as  of  her  own  free  will,  became  the  means  for 
the  emancipation  of  four  million  slaves.     Still  the  combat  of  so 
few  against  so  many  of  disunited  settlers  scattered  over  the  coun- 
try  engaged  in  building  up  their  homes  against  an  organized 
government,  moved  from  headquarters  to  concentrate  every  en- 
ergy upon  the  establishment  of  slavery,  and  assisted  by  troops, 
as"well  as  by  ruffian  hordes,  was  a  cruel  attempt  to  enslave  a  lib- 
erty loving  community,  and  the  conduct  of  Presidents  Pierce  and 
Buchanan  cannot  be  too  highly  reprehended.     Briefly  we  may 
be  permitted  to  review  the  story  of  that  momentous  straggle. 

Every  governor  was  appointed  in  the  hope  that  he  would  serve 
the  mistaken  purpose  of  his  party,  and  from  Reeder  to  Denver, 
every  man  \vas  plotted  against  if  not  removed  as  soon  as  he  failed 
to  carry  out  or  to  help  their  designs.     Every  judge  and  territorial 
appointee  was  made  right  for  slavery  at  the  outset,  or  was  remov- 
ed until  p-oslavery  men  were  secured.     The  laws  as  well  as  the 
legislature  were  foisted  upon  the  people  by  organized   and  inso- 
lent fraud,  which  hardly  designed  to  be  hypocritical,  so  certain 
were  the  manipulators  that  they  could  ride  rough  shod  over  the 
free  settlers,  or  compel  them  to  abandon  their  claims.     With  law 
and  by  it,  or  against  law  and  in  spite  of  its   provisions,  slavery 
.,   must  needs  be  made  a  pari  of  the  institutions  of  Kansas,  and  the 
Dracoian  will  of  Missouri  was  to  be  written  in  blood.     At  that 
pomt  commenced  the  contest  between  north  and  south,  which 
should  possess  the  land,  and  the  densely  peopled  north  could 


I 


^  ri'vTTLhfs  lilSTOUY  OF  KANSAS. 

send  hundreds  of  l.cr  teeming  population  more  easily  than  the 
Bouth  could  send  its  tens.     The  lir.t  advantages  were  won  by 
Missouri,  because  she  was  ready  to  begin  inmiediately ;  the  act 
was  passed,  whereas  the  free  state  men  were  obliged  to  travel  im- 
mense distances,  only  to  reach  the  debatable  land,  but  in  the  end 
ri.ht  triumphed,  although  the  battle  had  cos;  hundreds  of  human 
lives  and  at  the  very  least  $2,000,000  before  Abraham  Lincoln  s 
election  ended  that  contest  to  commence  another  on  the  same 
issue  extended  and  largely  improved. 

Leavenworth   was  a  fort  before  the  days  of  settlement,  and 
around  that  point  the  Missouri  men  established  one  of  their  earli- 
est towns,  with  a  mixture  of  the  free  state  element  in  smal    pro- 
portions.     Atchi.son  was  a  proslavery  scttlemeni  almost  entirely, 
and  at  one  time  it  was  dangerou.^  for  a  free  state  sett  er,  or  ti-av- 
el-r  to  express  hi«  views  concenm.g  slavery  within  the  linnts  ot 
the 'village,  but  it  has  entirely  outgrown  that  unhappy  condition, 
and  is  now  largely  indebted  to  the  once  objectionable  element  for 
the  con<lition  of  prosperity  to  which  it  has  attained,  as  one  of  the 
chief    commercial   towns  in  the  state.     Lawrence  and    iopeka 
owed  their  existence  from  the  beginning  to  free  state  enterprise, 
the  first  being  the  great  center  of  the  struggling  settlei-s  when  the 
mobs  came  over  from  Missouri  and  the  armed  bands  from  the  ^ar 
south  to  overawe  the  opposition  which  could  not  be  argued  down 
Topeka  was  the  seat  of  the  first  attempt  at  a  state  government, 
and  it  is  now  the  capital  of  the  state  which  its  courage  greatly 
helped  to  form.     When  the  first  legislature,  after  its  removal  to 
Shawnee,  made  infamous  laws  against  the  liberty  of  the  press, 
a-^ainst  free  speech,  and  against  common  sense  restrictmg  even 
trial  by  jury,  .ntil  it  became  a  tyranny  instead  of  a  defense,  those 
owns  aid  a  few  oatlying    settlements  fought  the  good   fight 
aoainst  organized  anarchy,  and  won  the  battle,  although  it  was 
^  ■     --psisted  upon  that  to  refuse  obedience  to  the  enactments  of  the 
Shawnee  legislature  was  treason  against  the  United  States  and 
equivalen.  ^o  a  levying  of  war.     The  laws  made  by  an  dien 
legislature  were  administered  by  alien  officials  without  regard  to 
honor  or  justice.     Murder  v  as  not  an  oilense  if  a  free  settler  was 
the  victim,  but  a  whispered  word  would  suffice  to  arm  the  shenfl 
v^ith  a  hundred  writs  against  men  suspected  of  abolition  senti- 


,.<,w.,«i.,«''»'«'"i  I'l!  'J  .'  ■-""":"  J"". ' '" 


than  the 

)  won  by 

';  the  act 

travel  im- 

n  the  end, 

,  of  human 
Lincoln's 
the  same 

iment,  and 
their  earli- 
small  pro- 
ist  entirely, 
ler,  or  trav- 
he  limits  of 
\}  condition,  : 
element  for 
s  one  of  the 
nd   Topeka 
3  enterprise, 
jrs  when  the 
from  the  ^ar 
rgued  down, 
government, 
rage  greatly 
3  removal  to 
of  the  press, 
itrictlng  even 
lefense,  those 
J  good   fight 
:iough  it  was 
;ments  of  the 
d  States  and 
!  by  an  alien 
lOUt  regard  to 
ee  settler  was 
rm  the  sheriff 
volition  senti- 


Esi)  OF  Civil  Stiufe. 


413 


„,ent,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  a  shorilT's  posse  might  cons.st  of  two 
^.ouLnd  seven  hundred  men.     A  combination  of  the  sheriff  .uul 
the  marshal  outnumbered  the  law  and  the  I'-l'^f  Jj  ;";| J^^ 
Judges  were  men  who  thought  it  no  d.sgrace  to  read  th     ta  utes 
n  t?.e  angry  eyes  of  their  partisan  leaders   and  their  follower 
The  record  of  Kansas  during  the  internecine  strife  by  which  it 
.vas  torn  and  sundered,  and  the  still  grander  showing  that  she 
made  durit.g  the  civil  war  that  saved  the  Union,  are  matters  that 
W  been  i^i  part  dealt  with  already,  and  for  the  rest  wil   be  pre- 
sented  in  pro^'r  form  elsewhere;  saffrce  ^^  only  to  say  that  dung 
her  troubles  in  the  past  there  is  no  page  of  which  Kansas,  as  a 
whole,  has  cause  to  be  ashamed.  _ 

The  adjournment  of  the  territorial  legislature  from  Lecomptoa 
to  Lawrence  on  the  6th  of  January,  1860,  only  four  days  after 
tlie  assembly,  gave  needless  oilense  to  the  governor,  and  some 
kX  en  utd,  but  after  some  little  time  had  been  useless^ 
1     n^uarrels  the  legislation  demanded  in  the  interests  o    the 
p'eo  1  was  undertaken."  An  event  of  much  greater  importance 
E  any  code  that  was  ever  framed  by  mortal  was  1-t  desc^nd" 
inc  as  with  the  impetus  of  desolation,  upon  the  territory.     Kan- 
afws  decimated  by  famine.     For  seven  months  hardly  any  ram 
ell  in  the  territory,  certainly  not  enough  to  enable  the  earth  to 
L  forth  its  abundance,  and  at  the  first  glance  this  will  seem  to 
Lebeen  an  event  against  which  human  f-S^^  J^J^^  ^^ 
could  avail  nothing  ;  but,  as  has  been  proved  f--^«f , -\  ^^ 
demonstration  certainly,  but  in  a  manner  that  leaves  butte 
margin  for  doubt,   much  has  been  done  in  many  co-tnes  to 
make  rain  more  plentiful,  and  in  the  same  ratio  to  aff-   th    fer 
tility  of  the  soil,  consequently  more  yet  may  be  aecompl  shed  m 
heLe  direction.     Countries  tl.at  were  arid  and  ^^-^fy^^^' 
able,  while  t.-eeless,  have  been  changed  into  fertile  and  d  hgl^^ 
ful  homes,  for  a  people  blessed  with  plenty,  by  ti.e  p  anti^,  x- 
such  sites  as  were  best  adapted  to  increase  the  ^'^-^'^        ^^^  ^ 
calities  to  be  aflected.     The  deposition  of  mois  ure  speed^^  nour 
ished  the  grasses  that  were  struggling  and  sapless,  ana  the  earth 
could  once  more  feed  its  springs,  so  there  comes  in  -any  anj  va^ 
rious  ways  an  answer  to  the  prayer  for  ram  that  is  presented  by 
every  leaf  that  lifts  its  face  towards  Heaven. 


I 

\ 


a?ait>iiyfiifc'inrlfTii»anr<riiJ«nii'i''iri'''*ii' 


■  1 ' -.  ^fi;'.lrli[,.  I."     ''    "''*"    'i"T'*'^i    ''"'* 


wm.  wj^H'WD'-nr^f^^'^*^-'**^'* 


I     • 


444 


Tci'TLffs  History  of  Kansas. 


Kansas  had  been  cursed  by  internecine  strife  for  so  long  a 
period  that  settlers  could  not  carry  out  improvements  upon  their 
farms ;  or,  if  they  liad  time  to  attempt  such  works,  there  was  an 
ever  present  doubt  as  to  the  ownership  and  title  to  their  claims,  so 
that  a  makeshift  policy  prevailed  all  over  the  country.     Men  did 
not  sink  wells  in  many  cases,  where  no  other  resource   could 
possibly  supply  their  families  with  wholesome  water  during  the 
year,  and  much  sickness  resulted  from  the  use  of  surftice  water, 
more  or  less  stagnant,  and  impregnated  with  the  saline  properties 
that  abound  in  Kansas  soil.     During  the  winter  of  lSo9-60,  theio 
were  only  two  falls  of  snow  in  the  territory,  and  those  were  so  light 
that  the  ground  was  not  entirely  covered,  and  the  rains  that  came 
at  long  intervals  hardly  moistened  the  parched  surface  of  the 
land.     The  winter  is  very  brief,  seldom  commencing  before  De- 
cember or  lastingbeyond  January,  and  when  the  heats  of  summer 
commenced,  the  ground  cracked  and  yawned  in  great  fissures. 
The  grass  had  long  ceased  to  be  green,  and  was  now  converted 
into  hay  just  at  the  season  when  it  should  be  full  of  sap ;  still,  it 
served  as  food  for  the  cattle,  but  the  difficulty  was  to  supply  them 
with  water.     In  many  parts  of  the  country  there  was  hardly 
enough  for  human  consumption,  and  the  winds,  blowing  like  hot 
blasts  from  a  vast  furnace,  increased  the  thirst  of  every  living 
thing.     Under  such  circumstances  it  was  inevitable  that  the  crops 
shoiTld  fail,  and  the  people,  impoverished  by  long  continued  war 
and  strategy,  were  not  prepared  to  endure  this  new  affliction. 
Famines  were   once  very  commonplace  events;    now  we  may 
thank  God  that  they  are  more  rare. 

The  snow,  lying  and  melting  upon  the  ground,  served  to 
moisten  the  soil,  so  that  the  fall  and  winter  wheat  appeared  irx 
due  season,  and  there  was  hope  in  every  green  blade ;  but  unfor- 
tunately no  rain  came  to  raise  the  crop  beyond  its  earliest 
promise,  and  over  a  large  area  of  country  there  was  not  half  a 
bushel  per  acre  raised  on  land  that  had  been  noted  for  its  fertility. 
It  was  a  rare  event  to  find  a  county  that  averaged  one  bushel  to 
the  acre,  and  in  many  jwrts  there  was  not  more  than  an  eighth  of 
a  bushel.  The  other  crops  failed  for  the  same  reason.  In  Shaw- 
nee county  there  were  only  ten  bushels  of  potatoes  raised  from 
two  hundred  and  seventy-nine  acres.     Corn  averaged  about  one- 


HUMWyjfcM'ggS'" 


r  so  long  a 
s  upon  their 
iliere  wns  an 
eir  claims,  so 
T.     Men  did 
ource   could 
■  during  the 
rftice  water, 
16  properties 
159-60,  theio 
were  so  light 
ns  that  caine 
irface  of  the 
I  before  Be- 
ts of  summer 
;reat  fissures. 
)W  converted 
sap ;  still,  it 
supply  them 
!  was  hardly 
wing  like  hot 
every  living 
that  the  crops 
ontinued  war 
lew  affliction, 
low  we  may 

d,  served  to 
appeared  in 
e ;  but  unfor- 
i  its  earliest 
raa  not  half  a 
or  its  fertility. 
)ne  bushel  to 
a  an  eighth  of 
>n.  In  Shaw- 
3  raised  from 
ed  about  one- 


ExD  OF  Civil  Strive. 


445 


third  of  a  crop  on  tho  bottom  lands,  and  elsewhere,  notlnng. 
Over  a  large  area  of  thousands  of  aero.,  corn  only  averaged  one 
bushel  and  one-third  to  the  acre.  Timothy  and  clover  failed  en- 
tirely.  The  native  grasses  held  out  better,  a.ul  when  withered  on 
the  stalk  were  still  good  feed.  Wells  gave  out,  that  had  been  an 
unfailing  source  of  supply  until  now;  springs  and  creeks  had 
"ong  be£re  dried  up.  Those  who  had  been  unable  to  dig  wells 
were  destitute  much  earlier,  and  in  the  greater  part  of  the  country 

suEEering  was  intense.  .       ,        ,  „«  v^orl 

There  were  parts  of  Kansas  where  the  drouth  was  no,  so  bad, 
as  for  instance  in  the  Kaw  or  Kansas  Valley  and  along  the  Mis- 
souri in  the  low  lying  lands  about  two-thirds  of  a  crop  of  corn 
was  obtained,  but  there  was  no  surplus  anywhere  to  relieve  the 
want  that  afflicted  the  larger  part  of  the  territory.     The  settlers 
v^ere  generally  in  very  needy  circumstances  m  ^^"^^y;";^  "^  ^ 
losses  and  idleness  enforced   upon   them   during  o5-6-7,   and 
many  had  gone  into  debt  for  the  means  that  prepared  for  the  crop 
now  ruined      Those  who  could  raise  the  wherewithal  abandoned 
the  territory,  and  fully   thirty  thousand  left  ^or  the  northern 
states;  but  many  were  at  death's  door  for  lack  of  food  and  had 
no  means  to  procure  a  supply.     They  had  come  into  Kansas  m 
the  hope  chat  labor  would  be  in  demand,  and  that  with  their 
earnings  they  would  speedily  be  enabled  to  take  up  c  aims ;  in- 
stead of  which  they  found  the  wealthier  settlers  barely  able  to 
preserve  their  households  from  starvation,  the  more  needy  not 
free  from  the  ravages  of  hunger.     There  was  nothing  possible  for 
such  poor  families  but  to  succumb  to  want,  unless  benevolence 
came  to  the  rescue  ;  but  to  the  honor  of  humanity  it  may  be  said 
that  as  soon  as  the  tidings  reached  the  eastern  and  northern  cities 
of  the  union,  there  was  a  response  ample  to  cover  the  demands  o 
th.  most  necessitous,  and  for  all  that  sought  such  aid,  seed  wheat 
was  sent  in  abundance.     Committees  were  formed  to  spread  the 
contributions  of  the  north  over  the  are-  of  suffering  in  the  manner 
most  likely  to  give  relief,  and  thousands  who  were  strangers  to  a 
full  meal  for  months,  had  so  much  manly  pride  that  they  de- 
scribed the  sufferings  of  their  neighbors  who  were  fit  subjects  for 
relief,  but  there  came  from  them  no  murmur  as  to  their  own 
wants. 


446  .  Tl'TTUi's   UtSTORY  OF  KaSSAS. 

New  York,  t]>e  largest  and  wcultl.ics  city  in  tl.o  umor,  wn« 
one  of  the  first  to  respond  to  th.  cry  for  aid,  as  Mr.  UuulynH 
Ilyutt  of  that  city  had  Imnself  vl.ited  the  territory  and  coul.  cer- 
tify  fro.n  per-nal  observutlo.  u-e  fearful  -f^^^"^^;;;^^ 
p^ndation  was  borne  down.  Soon  every  « -^-^V"  nl  tt  o  b 
fo    receiving  contributions,  merchants  establ.shed  organuat.onB 

0  the  sanre  purpose;  those  who  were  unable  to  Bp.-e  money 
sent  provisions  or  clothes,  and  committees  assumed  th  <  ty  of 
forwLing  to  the  proper  quarters  all  such  ^«  P  - -"  ^J^^^^^^^ 
cured.  The  legislature  at  Albany  interpreted  the  desire  of  New 
Yorl-  State  by  voting  <;oO,000  towards  supplying  Kansas  wi  h 

1  d  wh  t  a.l  Wisc°on;in  was  similarly  liberal  through  the  Ic^s- 
ZL  at  Madison,  while  her  citi.ens  individually  were  as^n^  - 
ous  in  their  donations  as  their  means  would  permit.  HI  no.s, 
never  slow  to  answer  a  claim  on  her  benevolence  was  not  out 
dolebv  the  liberality  of  other  states,  and  Indiana,  Ohio  and  other 
sections  of  the  union  made  a  handsome  series  of  remittance. 

The  worst  result  for  Kansas,  from  the  time  of  sufTering  now 
aeJeribrd,  consisted  in  the  fact  tl.at  hundreds  of  thousands  wer 
influenced  by  this  disaster  into  believing  that  all  the  old  storiea  , 
abou     he  GiL  American  Desert  were  true,  and  in  consequent 
the  population  that  was  increasing  rapidly  up  to  this   ime  in  sp.  e 
S?ar'andits  privations  suffered  --ere  arre.t  and  continuo  .    . 
diminution,  which  for  several  years  injured  the  state,     ihir  y 
ulsand  persons  who  left  Kansas  in  the  year  1  HO,  -me  o   t  e 
after  a  very  brief  stay,  readily  concurred  in  such  views,  and  then 
came   he  w'ar  with  L  excitements  day  after  day  to  preven   a  ro- 
Ton'ideration  of  the  facts,  until  the  error  became  Bohdihcd  an 
Tmrnonly  accepted  as  a  truth.     The  relief  funds  ot^  north, 
states  continued  to  arrive  until  far  on -m  March,  1861  when  the 
territory  had  become  a  state,  and  the  great  president  had  been 
"atcd,  and  the  south  had  drawn  off  to  n.ake  ready  for  Us 
ter  ble  striL,  before  .hich  all  the  wrongs  of  Kan.sas  seemed  as 
nothing,  and  the  worst  suffering  here  but  as  a  tale  of  yesterday 
:  Before  dealing  with  the  history  of  the  state  .t  may  be  well  a 

this  point  to  say  that  with  increasing  cultivation  all  over  the 
country  there  ha's  been  an  improving  average  of  rain,  and  violent 
Storms  have  become  more  uncommon.     The  mean  annual  temper- 


^nJIB!»<M»WBieW9W*ftW""'  * 


Esii  OF  Civil  Stuifk. 


417 


union,  wnB 
r.  Tliailyiirt 
I  conl<l  cer- 
r  wbitili  tiio 
med  its  day 
rganizati()i\8 
pare  money 
the  (Uity  of 
oukl  be  pro- 
sire  of  New 
Kansas  with 
igh  the  Icgia- 
ere  ns  gener- 
lit.     Illinois, 
was  not  out- 
liio  and  other 
littances. 
mffering  now 
ousands  wero 
be  old  storiert 
1  consequence 
,  time  in  spite 
id  continuous 
state.     Thirty 
some  of  theia 
ews,  and  then 
>  prevent  a  re- 
solidified and 
if  the  northern 
861,  when  the 
dent  had  been 
:e  ready  for  its 
nsas  seemed  as 
e  of  yesterday, 
may  be  well  at 
(1  all  over  the 
lin,  and  violent 
annual  temper- 


ature  at  Lawrence,  ealoulatcd  for  seven  years,  ^'^ «  ^    "  f  J^  ; 
ranging  fr.,m  108  >  at  the  topmost  of  .ts  sununcr  heat  to  3    bohnv 
ero  i' winter.     Burlinga.ne,  in  Osago  county  ranges  f.n,       0 
ubove  to  6"  below.     I  eavenworth  fro.n    .<,)    '^^--to  20    blow 
and  Manhattan  fro.n  03"  above  to  12"  below  g.v>ng  52   81         t^ 
loan  for  twenty  years.     The  rainfall  in   Kansas  .s  registered  .n 
I  e  belts,  the  eastern  boU  including  Fort  Leavenworth,  Olathe, 
S^dlr^  Lawrence,  and  Baxter  ^I'--^^. -tl-lt.J-  --;||;;;^ 
from  850  to  HOC  feet  above  the  sea,  and  .n  th.s  b       the 
rainfall  of  the  year  as  shown  by  the  records  of  nine  and  ten  >c.   s 
aroul  to  37^7  inches,  b.-ing  divided  into  4.92  .n  wmter,  ..UO 
rautumn  U.26  in   summer,  and  9.99  in  spring.     In  the  second 
or  mddle  belt,  ^         ling  Fort   lliley,   Fort  llarker,   and   l;ort 
Ln  d     he  mein        afaUfor  the  year  is  23.61,  the  propor  Uons 
Iwin  r  a  less  disparity  between  summer  and  sprmg  ;  and  n  the 
wesl   n  belt,  including  Fort  Dodge,  Fort  Atki,>son.  Fort  Wa  lac 
r,  d  Fort  Lyon,  the  mean  for  the  year  is  19.48,  beu.g  ealculatc.1 
?  om  four  year   in  one  station,  three  in  another,  and  .n  the  rem  m- 
der  onlye'r  only.     It  will  be  seen  that  there  is  no  cause  for   . 
in  a  eouLy  well  ^P^^^d  with  nve.  w^.e.  ju^-^^ 
am-d  and  where  wells  seldom  fail,     ilie  warmm  u 
n^t  oppressive,  because  the  cool  bree.e  every  night  gives    e  lef^ 

^  million,  are  quite  as  encouraging  as  can  be  found  m  any  state 
*  the  Union  of  the  same  age. 


liffeMtWy '■^*"""'  ''  •"-"■11"  .■  "■""'  •'•- 


arai»i»e'»iS»i*'S'M 


448 


Tittle's  IIistohy  of  KxysAS, 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

STATE  IIISTOUV      FIGHTING  FOU  THE  UNION- 1«01-05. 

Will-  K.cnid  —  Govfvnor  Robinson—  HiuhiimmV  Logiicy-  Const itntli.nnl 
Hiile-  rirst  Shot  — Smnnionlns  VoluntcL-rs—  Kiinsiw  UcspomU—  First 
Itt'-inipnt- I)i'll/,l.T's  lJrii{ml.i- Wilsons  Cruel; -  Lyon's  Di'Utli-  Hiiril 
Fighting- Willi  Grunt— Iklori!  VUksburj;- Yazoo  Ulver  —  Second 
KunMis  — Dug  Si)rlnKS- Heavy  Losses—  Ueorgani/.ation-Lexington  — 

JJ.itlery   Cai.ture.l  -  IJoonsboro- Prairie   Grove -Fort  Smilli Ihtrilu- 

uollt,  —  Slight  Mistake— Uarkers  Springs  —  General  Steele  -  Ivirby 
Smith  -  Jenkins  Ferry  -  Uoseville  -  Little  Hock  -  Fil'lli  Ka.,  ^aa  — 
Colonel  Johnson  ■  Clayton's  Connuand  —  Carthage  Guerillas  —  Salem 
Fight  —  Ulaek  \{\\  ■■:■•  -  Major  Walker  —  Marnuuluke—  Arkansas  Post- 
Mount  Elba- Warren  Cross  Uoails- Sixth  Cavalry—  Drywood  -  Quau- 
trdl  —  Jacknian- Pursuing  Cooper— Coon  Creek— ^'.vtonil( -Old 
Port  Wayne  —  IJoston  Mountains  — Van  Buren—  Carney's  Fears  —  Prai- 
rie de  Anne- Seventh  Cavalry  -  Shiloh- Buzzard  Koost  Station - 
Tallahatchie  -  Florence  —  Veteran  Volunteers  -  Tupelo  -  Eighth  Kan- 
BUB  -    Nashville  —  Perry svillu  —  Lancaster  —  Quaulrell  —  Murfroesboro. 

i'HO ,;  this  point  the  liistory  of  Kansas  becomes  larger  in  its 
character;  it  censed  to  be  a  territory,  struggling  for  recognition, 
and  challenged  respect  as  a  component  of  the  Union,  doing  its 
devoir  to  maintain,  on  a  broader  scale,  the  principles  for  which  it 
had  so  long  borne  an  unequal  struggle.  No  other  state  in  the 
Union  sent  so  large  a  proportion  of  its  population  to  the  front  as 
did  Kansas,  during  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  and  in  consequence 
we  may  be  excused  if,  from  the  commencement  of  hostilities,  we 
turn  the  major  part  of  our  attention  away  from  local  politics  and 
politicians,  to  notice  the  larger  issues  of  the  time.  Before  Pres- 
ident Buchanan  retired  into  private  life,  hostilities  had  actually 
commenced  against  the  United  States  under  the  orders  and  mach- 
inations of  Jeflferson  Davis,  but  the  predecessor  of  Abraham  Lin- 
coln lacked  the  inclination  to  protect  the  general  government 
from  outrage.  Edwin  Stanton,  his  attorney  general,  urged  ^fr. 
Buchanan  to  send  supplies  and  reinforcements  to  Fort  Sumter^ 
but  without  success,  at  the  time  that  Kansas  was  being  admitted, 


mui-05. 

)i)stitiUii<nnl 
Diids—  First 
until— Hard 
VY  —  Si'coiul 
[it^\illgtl)u  — 
iili  Diirclo- 
L'lc  •  -  Ivirby 
li  Kiiii^iia  — 
hts  —  f'lili-m 

IU1HH8  l'l)8t  — 

ood  —  CJimn- 
itDiiin  —  Old 
'ciira  ~-  Pnil- 
st  Station  — 
Eighth  lum- 
[urfi'oesboro. 

xiger  in  its 
ecognition, 
1,  doing  its 
or  which  it 
jtate  in  the 
he  front  as 
onsequence 
stilities,  we 
politics  and 
;efore  Prcs- 
ad  actually 
i  and  mach- 
iraham  Lin- 
government 
,  urged  Mr. 
brt  Sun^ter 
ig  admitted, 


«#«!? 


-V; 


1 


r 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-S) 


ti 
^ 


A 


A 


f/. 


^ 


^ 


|I.O 

1^  12.8     ||2.5 

1^  1^    III  2.2 
ui    KA 

Mull 

JA  l|i6 

I.I 

1.25 

^_ ^ ■ — 

6"     

^ 

J^  'J* 


y 


*•»>!?!-»"■ 


HioiDgraphic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


■^ 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


BiSSl^^i 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  IVIicroreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


„.i^.--..  ■*. .— — 


w 


State  IIistoiiy —  ISO  1-5. 


UO 


after  tlie  proslavery  party  had  practically  abandoned  the  strngglo 
in  the  senate  at  Washington,  and  stood  committed  to  deadlier 
eilorts. 

Gov.  liobinson's  term  in  oDSce  was  very  brief,  and  the  war 
record  mainly  arose  during  the  rule  of  his  successor,  Gov.  Thomas 
Carney.  The  struggle  for  election  after  the  state  had  been  ad- 
mitted, would  furnish  an  inviting  theme  for  the  historian,  under 
other  circumstances;  but  already  tlie  alarm  had  been  sounded, 
and,  while  the  people  were  mustering  their  forces  for  war,  the 
civil  and  legal  contest  would  prove  comparatively  tame.  Robin- 
son failed  to  win  again  the  honorable  eminence  to  which  he  could 
present  valid  claims;  but  there  was  nothing  in  the  conflict  and 
the  triumph  to  remind  one  of  the  darker  days  through  which 
Kansas  had  passed.  The  people  were  being  governed  under  their 
own  laws,  and  a  constitution  framed  by  themselves,  so  that  the 
successes  and  reverses  of  party  combinations  were  in  no  sense  ex- 
ceptional. The  governor  chosen  in  1861  served  until  the  rebels 
had  been  finally  beaten  at  llichmond,  and  had  surrendered  their 
last  valid  hope  with  Lee  at  Appomattox. 

The  first  shot  was  fired  by  the  secessionists  against  Fort  Sumter 
on  the  12th  of  April,  1861,  and  the  month  of  May  was  signalized 
by  the  call  for  400,000  volunteers  to  defend  the  Union,  to  recover 
the  properties  and  possessions  seized  by  the  rebels,  peaceably  if 
possible ;  but  to  recover  them  at  all  hazards.  Between  the  20th 
day  of  May  and  the  3d  of  June,  Kansas  raised  her  first  regiment, 
and  the  commissions  were  issued  by  Gov.  Charles  Robinson. 
Circumstances  so  narrowed  the  time  for  recruiting  that  it  may  be 
said  that  nearly  the  whole  work  of  enlistment  and  organization 
was  effected  within  one  week.  The  men  who  rendezvoused  at 
Camp  Lincoln,  near  Fort  Leavenworth,  were  solicitous  to  move 
at  once  to  the  front,  and  it  was  not  long  before  their  qualities 
were  tested  under  fire.  Col.  Deitzler,  of  Lawrence,  was  a  maa 
in  whom  the  regiment  reposed  full  trust,  and  he  proved  himself 
worthy  of  their  confidence.  He  was  ably  seconded  by  officers 
and  men.  The  regiment,  although  newly  formed,  contained  many 
who  had  served  their  apprenticeship  to  war,  since  their  first  ad- 
vent on  the  soil  of  Kansas,  and  the  necessity  for  rigorous  drill 
was  understood  from  the  beginning. 


i    ;.i 


!         I 


! 


TZ^^^M^^^^^^^ 


TtMii^^Si^l 


450 


TcTTf.ij's  IfisToar  of  /v'.i.vs-.i.'^. 


Tn  tlic  village  of  T;it;in,  across  tlic  border  in  ■N[i??oari,  about 
eight  miles  above  Kort  i.cavenworth,  a  rebel  ensign  bad  been  dis- 
played, and  a  force  (^f  six  men  under  Sergeant  Drenning  pro- 
ceeded witbont  orders,  to  haul  down  the  insolent  flag.  Three  oi 
the  six  men  were  wonnded,  on  the  5th  of  June,  but  they  brought 
away  the  flag  as  a  trophy.  That  was  the  only  sign  of  insubordi- 
nation that  challenged  notice  during  the  brief  era  of  camp  life. 
Moving  shortly  after  to  Wyandotte,  and  thence  to  Kansas  City, 
the  troops  were  soon  placed  where  blows  fell  thickly,  but  they 
were  capable  of  playing  their  parts  like  men.  Soon  after  Gen. 
Lyon  had  broken  up  the  rebel  camp  at  Booneville,  in  June,  the 
first  regiment,  joined  by  Maj.  Sturgis  with  a  battalion  of  U.  S. 
infantry  and  two  companies  of  U.  S.  cavalry,  moved  towards 
Grand  lliver,  where  a  junction  was  efTccted  with  Gen.  T-yon's 
force,  on  the  7th  of  July.  Many  skirmishes  occurred  almost 
every  day  for  some  time,  and  it  became  evident  that  the  enemy, 
under  Gens.  Price  and  McCuUoch,  were  concentrating  their  for- 
ces on  Wilson's  Creek,  in  the  hope  that  the  army  under  Lyon, 
unsupported  and  cut  oflf,  would  be  compelled  to  surrender,  or  at 
least  to  fight  under  every  disadvantage  except  want  of  courage. 
The  battle"  at  Wilson's  Creek,  on  the  10th  of  August,  was  the 
best  proof  of  the  spirit  that  animated  our  men,  when  4,500  troops, 
mainly  volunteers,  attacked  a  strong  camp  held  by  25,000  men, 
four-fifths  of  whom  were  effectives,  and  compelled  the  foe  to  re- 
tire. Gen.  Lyon  fell  in  the  conflict,  much  lamented,  but  the 
boys  of  Kansas  won  high  praise.  Maj.  Sturgis,  who  took  part 
in  many  a  well  fought  battle  during  the  war,  said  at  a  much 
later  date:  "For  downright  hard,  persistent  fighting,  Wilson's 
Creek  beat  them  all." 

The  army  evacuated  Springfield  the  next  morning,  and 
marched  without  impediment  to  RoUa,  ten  days  journey,  from 
which  place  the  wounded  were  sent  id  St.  Louis,  and  soon  after- 
wards the  troops  themselves  followed.  The  march  to  Rolla,  from 
Springfield,  Mo.,  was  through  a  line  of  country  well  adapted  for 
harassing  operations,  if  the  enemy  had  not  been  thoroughly  dis- 
heartened; but  no  movement  of  the  kind  was  attempted.  The 
forces  under  Lvon  fought  for  a  safe  retreat,  and  they  achieved 
their  purpose,   in  the   face   of  an  army   largely   outnumbering 


'n 


S  T.  I TI-:  II IS  Tun  Y  — 1861-5. 


451 


iri,  about 

been  (lis- 
uing  pro- 

Tliree  oi 
y  brought 
insubonli- 
carnp  life, 
nsas  City, 

but  they 
after  Gen. 
June,  the 
I  of  IT.  S. 
[  towards 
?n.  r,yon'3 
3cl  almost 
he  enemy, 
their  for- 
:ler  Lyon, 
ider,  or  at 
f  courage. 
t,  was  the 
lOO  troops, 
»,000  men, 

foe  to  re- 
1,  but  the 
took  part 
t  a  much 

Wilson's 

ning,  and 
rney,  from 
!oon  after- 
lolla,  from 
lapted  for 
ughly  dis- 
>ted.  The 
'  achieved 
numbering 


themselves,  carrying  awa^'  their  baggage  undisturbed,  and 
$250,000  besides,  which  would  have  proved  invaluable  to  Price 
or  ^MeCullocli. 

The  movements  of  the  first  Kan.sas  regiment  were  multifarious 
from  this  time.  They  were  ordered  to  Pittsburg  Landing  in  ^fay, 
18G2,  where  Grant  had  won  the  battle  of  Shiloh  on  the  7th  of  April, 
with  an  army  that  had  been  surprised  and  all  but  defeatdl  on  the 
6th,  in  his  absence,  but  the  retreat  of  Beauregard  from  Corinth, 
previous  to  their  arrival,  rendered  reinforcements  at  that  place  un- 
necessary to  Gen.  Ilalleck,  and  they  were  dispatclied  to  Columbus, 
Ky.  The  i-egiment  led  the  pursuit  of  the  rebels,  as  part  of  Gen. 
McPherson's  brigade,  after  the  battles  of  the  3d  and  4th  of  Oct., 
18G2,  at  Corinth,  when  the  enemy  under  Van  Dorn  and  Price 
were  compelled  to  retire  precipitately  to  Ripley,  Miss.,  by  the 
determitied  valor  of  the  troops  under  Rosecrans.  The  retreat  of 
fifty  miles  was  marked  by  many  vigorous  encounters  with  the 
rebel  forces.  Tlie  confederates  fought  well.  When  Grant  con- 
cluded on  making  his  first  advance  upon  Vicksburg,  and  moved 
towards  that  destination,  the  first  Kansas  regiment,  forming  part 
of  Gen.  Deitzler's  brigade,  was  generally  in  advance,  and  marched 
through  Holly  Springs,  Abbeyville  and  Oxford,  compelling  the 
enemy  to  retreat  at  every  step. 

The  surrender  of  Gen.  Grant's  base  of  supplies,  at  Holly 
Springs,  by  Col.  Murphy,  rendered  it  necessary  for  the  campaign 
against  Vicksburg  to  be  abandoned,  and  the  first  Kansas  regi- 
ment, now  fifty  miles  in  advance  of  the  surrendered  post,  was 
ordered  to  march  on  Holly  Springs  to  prevent  the  escape  of  Gen. 
Van  Dorn.  The  Kansas  boys  were  just  arriving  'in  camp  when 
the  order  arrived,  but  they,  with  the  seventh  regiment  from  their 
own  state,  were  the  first  to  reach  the  position,  and  although  the 
brigade  and  forces  under  Deitzler  were  unable  to  capture  the  gal- 
lant leader  of  cavalry,  they  succeeded  in  taking  a  portion  of  his 
rear  guard,  the  rest  being  saved  by  a  precipitate  retreat.  The 
movements  against  Vicksburg,  under  Gen.  Grant,  which  contin- 
ued from  Jan.,  1863,  to  the  4th  of  July,  when  that  fortress  was 
compelled  to  surrender,  were  participated  in  largely  by  the  Kan- 
sas First. 

-After  the  beginning  of  Feb.,  1863,  Gen.  Grant  employed  this 


""?JS^S8 


462  Tuttle's  History  of  Kassas. 

rciment  as  mounted  infantry  for  eighteen  n.onths.     Tl,e  aecisivo 
ami  brilliant  aetions  in  which  Grant   clefeated  n.  sucees.cn,  the 
Zo  hostile  armies  under  Pemberton  and  Johnston  at  For   G  b- 
son,  at  Jackson,  at  Champion  Hills  and  at  Bhack  IW  Bndg 
.vh  n  Pemberton  was  forced  to  take  refuge  m  A  icksburg,  on  the 
18th  of  May,  afforded  the  Kansas  First  excellent  opportunmes  to 
'idi  tincti;n,  and  their  record  was  never  dimmed  by  one  ma.^ 
o     ndeeision.     After  the  fall  of  V.cksburg  and  the  surrender  of 
Pembe.^on   on   the   ^th  of  July,  the   regiment   was  ordered   to 

Natchez.  Miss.,  to  hold  the  post. 

.t:;skirn;ishes  and  heavier  engagements  followed  the  occu- 
pation of  Natchez,  and  in  October  the  regiment  returned  o  Vicks- 
C.  being  stationed  as  an  outpost  on  Black  R.ver  Bridge  with 
p  ek;t  posrs  on  both  sides  of  the  riven     When  ^en.  McAnhur 
moved  up  the  Yazoo  River,  the  Kansas  first  formed  part  of  the  ex- 
pedition,'and  there  was  some  good  fighting  «"  both  sides.     The 
time  of  service  having  expired  on  the  1st  of  June,  1861,  the  le- 
Tlt  of  the  regimint,  except  two  companies  of  veterans  was 
Zbarked  on  transports  for  Fort  Leavenworth  to  be  mustered  out 
a^d  the  vessels  wei.  cannonaded  on  the  followmgday  byane.gh 
In  battery  near  Columbia,  Arkansas,  with  some  loss  to  the  hrst 
fansas,  aJd  very  considerable  damage  to  ^-^^^^^ 
The  battery  was  planted  at  the  point  named  by  Gen.  Magiuder. 
T  e  veterans  already  named  continued  to  serve  m  Mississippi, 
Louiliana  Arkansas  and  Texas  until  the  rebellion  was  put  down 
and  tTey^vere  mustered  out  at  Little  Rock,  Arkansas,  on  theSOth 

"'  TlXcond  Kansas  regiment  was  raised  in  May,  1861,  and  having 
rendezvoused  at  Lawrence,  was  mustered  into  the  service  o    the 
un  on  on  the  20th  of  June  following.     The  second  regiment  was 
"  t  of  the  force  commanded  by  Maj.  Sturg.s  at  Chnton,  Mo 
and   formed   one  brigade  with  the   first    regiment   under  Col 
De hz  er,     The  second  came  under  fire  at  Forsvthe,  40  mde 
southeast  of  Springfield,  Mo.,  for  the  first  t.me,  on  t^.e  22d  o 
July    1861,  and  the  men  behaved  gallantly.     The  skirmish  at 
Dug  Springs  proved  a  more  serious  engagement  than  was  intended, 
but  the  en°emy  was  compelled  to  retreat.     The  movements  of    he. 
rebels  after  Dug  Springs  showed  a  determination  to  cut  off  the 


H 


Stati:  I  [  is  Toll  1  —  isOl-'). 


453 


;  decisivo 
ssion,  the 
I'ort  Gib- 
r  Bridge, 
g,  on  the 
tunities  to 
one  mark 
rreader  of 
rdcred   to 

the  occu- 
\  to  Vicks- 
■idge,  with 
McArthur 
,  of  the  ex- 
ides.     The 
56i,  the  re- 
terans,  was 
istered  out, 
by  an  eight 

to  the  first 
)rt  Arthur. 
.  Magruder. 
Mississippi, 
3  put  down, 

on  the  30th 

,  and  having 

irvice  of  the 

egiraent  was 

Hinton,  Mo., 

under  Col. 

le,  40  miles 

the  22d  of 

skirmish  at 

^'as  intended, 

ments  of  the 

)  cut  oflE  the 


r.'troat  of  the  force  of  Goii.  Lyon,  and  made  it  necessary  for  tlie 
lililc  army  of  4,r)00  to  engage  2r),()()0  men,  but  the  result  of  the 
buttle  at  Wilson's  Creek,  although  only  intended  to  secure  a  re- 
treat from  an  untenable  position,  had  all  the  effects  of  a  decisivo 
victory,  the  movement  to  Holla  being  as  unimpeded  and  orderly 
as  could  be  desired.  The  brunt  of  the  battle  fell  u[)()n  men  but 
recently  called  from  peaceful  pursuits,  yet  they  behaved  like  vei- 
eran  troops.  The  second  regiment  was  making  its  admirable  ad- 
vance on  the  crest  of  the  hill  on  the  front  center,  when  Gen.  Lyon 
marching  at  its  head,  fell  mortally  wounded,  Col.  Mitchell  com- 
manding the  regiment  being  disabled  at  the  same  time ;  but  the 
hill  was°carried,  and  the  success  of  that  maneuver  compelled  the 
enemy  to  retire  in  confusion.  The  hill  was  held  by  the  first  and 
second  Kansas  regiments  against  several  attempts  to  recapture  the 
position,  and  the  troops  well  deserved  the  high  commendation 
bestowed  upon  them  after  the  splendidly  won  victory.  The  rebel 
generals  claimed  to  have  won  the  fight  at  Wilson's  Creek,  but  if 
they  really  deserved  that  credit,  they  were  entitled  to  still  higher 
praise  for  their  politeness  in  allowing  the  small  force  under  the 
command  of  Maj.  Sturgis,  all  the  honors  and  immunities  usually 
attendant  upon  success,  in  the  privilege  of  continuing  their  line  of 
march  unimpeded  with  their  baggage  and  their  wounded  undis- 
turbed, through  difficult  country  to  the  railroad  at  Rolla. 

One-third  of  the  second  Kansas  regiment  was  lost  in  the  Wil- 
son's Creek  engagement,  but  the  men  never  flinched  from  their 
position.  After  Wilson's  Creek,  the  second  regiment  accompa- 
nied the  troops  marching  to  Rolla  and  to  St.  Louis,  but  from  that 
point  returned  to  Kansas  for  muster  out  and  reorganization  as  a 
cavalry  regiment,  having  in  the  meantime  been  engaged  in  four 
sharp  fights,  at  Paris,  Mo.,  on  the  2d  of  September;  at  Shelbina 
on  the  4th,  when  600  men  held  in  check  3,500  with  a  strong  bat- 
tery under  the  command  of  Gen.  Green  ;  at  St.  Joseph,  where  the 
rebels  were  surprised  by  night  and  defeated  with  great  loss :  and 
at  Litan,  where  a  large  force  was  dispersed.  Price  had  captured 
Lexington  for  the  south,  with  a  confederate  force  25,000  strong, 
on  the  20th  of  September,  and  as  he  was  threatening  Kansas,  the 
second  regiment  was  ordered  to  Wyandotte  to  resist  his  onset,  but 
on  the  16th  of  October  Maj.  White  recaptured  the  town,  taking 


454  Trrn.h's  IfisTonr  of  Kassas. 

oomc  of  tlic  confcaemtes  prisoners,  the  (Uity  devolvit.o;  upon  the 
second  came  to  u  bloodless  end.  The  regiment  was  nmstcrcd  out 
on  the  yist  of  October,  1801. 

I'ursna.it  to  the  understanding  already  arrived  at,  the  second 
^vas  immediately  reorganized,  with  necessary  changes  as  a  cavalry 
regiment,  known  as  the  twelfth  Kansas  volunteers,  on  the  8th  of 
November,  18(51,  the  rendezvous  being  established  at  l-ort  Leav- 
enworth.    Companies  were  organized  in  successio>i  during  the  re- 
mainder of  November,  December  and  January,  and  ui  Deceinber 
the  governor  added  four  companies  of  Nugent's  regiment  of  Mis- 
Bouri  iiome  guards.     The  conduct  of  this  body  of  men  won  honora- 
ble mention  on  many  sanguinary  fields.     The  name  of  the  regiment 
was  afterwards  (March  27th)  changed  to  the  second  Kansas  cav- 
alry.    The  duties  and  exploits  of  the  troops  were  so  various  that 
it  is  found  impossible  even  to  review  them  in  detad,  conseiiuent  y 
only  some  few  leading  events  can  be  noticed  in  this  record.     1  he 
re"iment  did  much  hard  service  and  good  fighting,  and  was  noted 
for  being  always  in  position  obedient  to  the  call  of  duty.     It  is 
worthy  of  special  mention  that  the  second   Kansas  cavalry  is  the 
only  regiment  of  horse  in  the  west  that  captured  a  battery  during 
the  war.     llollister's  battery,  a  force  of  150  noncommissioned  of- 
fleers  and  privates,  was  formed  from  this  regiment,  and  their  six 
ten-pounder  Farrott  guns  did  excellent  service  on  many  occasions. 
Kebcl  raiding  parties  were  frequently  pursued  and  chastised  by 
this  mounted  force ;  a  service  of  this  kind  was  very  elTectively 
performed  on  the  25th  of  August,  1862,  the  rebels  being  under 
the  command  of  Col.  Shelby.     On  the  fourth  of  October  the  re- 
girnent  was  dispatched  to  Newtoiiia,  to  reinforce  Br.g.-Gen.  balo- 
Lu,  who  was  menaced  by  a  superior  force,  and  their  presence 
caused  the  enemy  to  decamp.     The  regiment  did  good  service  at 
Pea  llidge  on  the  20th  of  October,  18G2,  and  continuing  on  duty 
in  Arkansas  there  was  to  have  been  a  night  attack  on  the  enemy 
in  Marysville,  but  owing  to  a  failure  to  connect  on  tne  part  of 
o^e  of  the  troops  which  should  have  cooperated,   the  rebels 
escaped.     There  was  no  blame  attached  to  the  Kansas  second,  as 
in  the  enc^agement  that  followed,  that  regiment,  unsupported  car- 
^^ed  the  Confederate  position  and  eai-ried  off  the  ^^^y^ 
guns.     The  conduct  of    the   second  was  superb,  the  attacking 


Sr.iTi:-  IfisTonr  —  I'^Ol- 


455 


upon  the 
noi'cd  out 

10  second 
a  cavalry 
the  8th  of 
ort  Leav- 
iig  the  re- 
December 
at  of  Mis- 
)n  honora- 
e  regiment 
ansas  cav- 
irioua  that 
isequently 
ord.     The 
was  noted 
iity.     It  is 
airy  is  the 
,ery  during 
ssioned  of- 
d  their  six 
f  occasions. 
:iaslised  by 
elleetively 
eing  under 
jber  the  re- 
Gen.  Salo- 
ir  presence 
d  service  at 
ng  on  duty 

the  enemy 
the  part  of 

the  rebels 
s  second,  as 
)ported,  car- 
tery  of  four 
e  attacking 


force  being  only  197   n.en  and   the   rebels,  stn.ngly  posted,  we  o 
4  000  strong.     When   reinforcements  came  up  on  the  1  nion  s.do 
the  rc.bcls  were  completely  routed  and  driven  in  great  disorder. 
The  battery  captured  by  the  serond  was  organi/.cd  and  n.anncd 
being  thereafter  known  as  Hopkins'  battery,  but  continued  to  act 

Willi  the  regiment.  , 

The  engagement  near  Rhea's  Mills  resulted  in  another  rout  o 
the  rebels  on  the  7th  of  November,  when  a  (lag  was  ••aptured 
and  the  enemy  driven  ten  miles  towards  Van  Buren.     Many  pris- 
oners were  taken.     Gen.   Marmaduke,  with  a  force  cstmmtcd  at 
6  000,  was  encountered  near  Boonsboro  on  the  2Sth  of  Novem- 
ber, and  so  unfortunately  were  the  troops  placed,  if  the  genera 
had  made  a  bold  movement  he  might  have  captured  or  killed 
every  man,  and  secured  a  battery;  but  temporary  indecision  los 
the  opportunity,  and  the  attack  made  by  the  Union_  force  about 
noon  proved  irresistible.     The  second  led  the  pursuit  of  the  fly- 
inc'  enemy,  which  continued  until  the  evening,  with  continuous 
Bklrmishing  and  much  execution,  after  which  the  force  encamped 

at  Boonsboro.  ,    ,    ,  n 

An  outpost  was  driven  in  by  a  strong  rebel  force  on  Cove 
Creek,  where  the  roads  from  Fayctteville  and  Cane  lIiU  join,  on 
the  6th  of  December,  1862,  and  by  successive  attacks,  the  picket 
not  having  been  reinforced  as  quickly  as  could  be  desired,  the 
enemy  gained  some  advantages,  but  the  battle  being  continued 
durin-  that  day  and  on  the  7th,  the  ground  was  eventually  re- 
gained, the  enemy  retreating  before  the  army  of  the  frontier  with 
great  celerity  and  some  loss.  The  conduct  of  the  second  in  this 
series  of  battles  won  much  praise,  as  during  part  of  the  Uh  they 
dismounted  and  served  as  infantry  when  their  services  as  horse- 
men would  have  been  of  less  value,  and  immediately  that  line  of 
duty  had  been  accomplished,  they  mounted  once  more  and  rea- 
dered  great  assistance  in  retrieving  the  fortunes  of  tlie  day.     ' 

The  Second  Kansas  bore  a  prominent  part  in  the  expedition, 
which,  on  the  23d  of  August,  1863,  crossed  the  Arkansas  river 
to  Honey  Springs  in  the  Creek  Indian  territory,  traversed  the 
country,  destroying  the  enemy's  supplies  at  Terry  villo,  capturing 
money,  mules  and  stores  of  great  value,  drove  Gen.  Cooper  with 
a  lar-e  force  of  Confederates,  captured  Fort  Smith  and  cleared 


450 


TL'TTIE's    lIlSTollY  OF   K.iSSAS. 


tho  coutitry  of  iclwl  fnivc,-;.  >f()viii<,'  fmin  l-'nrt  Sriiitli  on  tlio 
first  of  Sci)tciiibei',  llu'  it'L'itiuMit  wiis  in  ndvniico  wlicii,  at  back- 
bone mountain,  a  foivo  umlor  Oen.  Cabbell  was  overtaken  and 
routed  after  sonio  lioiirs'  sliarp  fij,'lifin^.  'I'lu;  cnomy  was  cm- 
countcix'd  with  siiniliir  fortune  at  Dardancllc,  Arkansas,  later  in 
Septendjcr,  about  eighty  niiles  above  Little  Hoek.  It  wa.<  con- 
sidered advisable,  in  November,  to  station  a  company  of  tiio 
Second  Kansas  at  Dardancllc  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  a  rally 
in  that  region. 

An  impetuous  charge  of  fifty  men  under  Capt.  fiardner  of  tho 
Second  Kansa.s,  on  the  loth  of  November,  broke  the  lines  of  the 
enemy  at  Booneville,  600  strong,  under  the  command  of  Col. 
Brooks,  but  unfortunately,  .some  of  the  brave  fellows,  who  dis- 
covered too  late  tiie  strengtli  of  the  force  attacked,  found  it  im- 
possible to  charge  through  the  lines  again,  and  were  killed  or 
captured.  The  major  part  of  the  nttaeking  force  escaped  with 
little  injury.  The  same  officer  was  surprised  in  camp  on  the  27th 
of  December,  near  Dalla.s,  where  his  company  was  engaged  in 
outpo.st  duty,  and  it  was  with  .';ome  difficulty  that  the  sleeping 
soldiery  could  be  rallied  in  the  bitter  cold  of  that  season,  yet  the 
assault  was  repulsed  and  the  rebel  commander  killed.  The 
pickets,  well  posted  to  avoid  surprise,  had  in  some  way  been 
evaded,  and  no  fault  was  imputed  to  the  commander  of  the  out- 
post. The  winter  quarters  of  the  enemy  at  Barker's  Springs, 
eighty  miles  from  Waldron,  being  assailed  by  a  strong  scouting 
party  of  the  Second,  on  the  night  of  the  20th  of  January,  1864, 
many  prisoners  were  taken  and  'the  encampment  destroyed,  the 
rashness  of  the  exploit  being,  perhaps,  the  main  cause  of  its 
comp]"te  success!  The  Second  Kansas  Cavalry  brought  their 
prisoners  into  camp. 

Gen.  Marmaduke  was  menaced  by  the  Seventh  Army  Corps, 
frontier  division,  under  Gen.  Steele,  at  Prairie  de  Anne,  on  the 
12th  of  April.  The  Second  Kansas  was  with  Gen.  Steele,  and 
the  movement  was  intended  to  cooperate  in  a  grand  assault  upon 
Shreveport  under  Gen.  Banks,  w'ho  was  to  lead  an  expedition  up 
Eed  river.  Banks  was  too  late  in  every  attempt  that  he  made, 
and  his  part  of  the  stratagem  terminated  most  unsuccessfully. 
Marmaduke  was  to  delay  Steele's  advance  until  Banks  could  be 


Sr.i  TE  llisTon  r  — 1801-5. 


467 


itii  on  tlio 
1,  nt  llack- 
•takeii  and 
y  was  en- 
as,  later  in 
t  wa.A  cou- 
ny  of  tlu; 
of  a  rally 

iicr  of  tlio 
nca  of  the 
1(1  of  Col. 
,  who  (lis- 
mid  it  im- 
killed  or 
ia[)ed  with 
n  the  27t]i 
niraged  in 
3  sleeping 
•n,  yet  tlie 
led.  The 
way  been 
f  the  out- 
!  Springs, 
:  scouting 
^vy,  1861, 
'oyed,  the 
Lise  of  its 
ight  their 

ny  Corps, 
e,  on  the 
teele,  and 
mlt  upon 
dition  up 
he  made, 
cessfnlly. 
could  be 


defcntccl  by  Kirliy  Siaitli,  aii<l  tlu-ii  the  two  forces  woro  to  combino 
with  (iiMi.  l'ri<'e  to  c-rush  the  Union  force  under  Steele.  Tlie  dila- 
toriness  of  Hanks'  own  movements  defeated  hirn,  as  certainly 
na  did  the  army  under  Kirby  Smith,  on  the  7th  of  April  and  the 
two  followiiit,'  days,  so  that  the  roniainder  of  the  scheme  of  the 
enemy  couM  now  be  brought  into  opcratiDii.  There  was  a  great 
race  now  for  the  fortified  town  of  Camden,  which  was  held  by 
the  rebels,  and  Steele,  having  outgeneraled  his  adversaries,  took 
the  lead.  Marmadnk(!  attacked  the  frontier  division  on  the  loth, 
three  miles  east  of  I'rairic  de  Anne,  and  the  Second  (!avalry 
won  laurels  by  their  conduct  on  that  occasion,  as  Marmaduko 
was  forced  to  retire,  and  (icn.  Steele  still  maintained  his  advan- 
tage in  being  ahead  of  Price. 

The  rii.sr  by  which  ^fannadiike  was  deceived  and  frustrated  by 
Maj.  Fisk  and  the  Kansas  Second  was  entirely  successful,  and,  on 
the  Kith  of  April,  Steele  with  all  his  force  had  taken  possession 
of  the  fortifications  prepared  by  the  rebels  at  Camden.  Stedo 
remained  at  Camden  until  April  27th,  when  he  moved  towards 
Little  liock,  110  miles  to  the  northeast.  Kirby  Smith,  with  a 
large  body  of  rebels,  attacked  his  rear  at  the  Saline  river,  on  the 
29th,  and  a  severe  engagement  at  Jenkins'  Ferry  followed  on  the 
80th,  but  the  Union  force  made  good  its  passage  of  the  river,  in 
spite  of  superior  numbers  and  the  best  ground  being  in  the  hands 
of  the  assailants.  There  was  no  recourse  but  retreat,  as  there 
were  only  two  days'  provisions  in  the  commissariat  when  Steele 
evacuated  Camden  for  his  supplies  at  Little  Hock. 

Fort  Smith  was  several  times  assailed  by  rebel  forces,  but  Capt. 
Gardner  and  the  Kansas  Second  could  not  be  driven  out,  and 
their  assailants  suffered  severely.  The  war  was  drawing  towards 
a  close,  and  while  the  Union  forces  were,  as  a  rule,  well  fed  and 
well  armed,  fhe  rebels  were  becoming  more  and  more  dilapidated, 
hence  the  movements  on  the  side  of  the  union  could,  as  a  rule,  be 
carried  out  with  much  greater  spirit  and  success  than  those  of  the 
enemy,  although  the  confederates  were  certainly  courageous  and 
fought  admirably.  Many  companies  were  now  being  mustered 
out,  their  time  of  service  having  expired,  but  recruits  were  still 
coming  in,  and  the  veterans  still  remained  on  duty,  determine! 
to  see  the  war  to  an  end  before  they  would  relinquish  their  exer- 
tions. 


45S 


Tt  rri.i:'K  Ilisroin'  of  Iv.iss.is. 


Kurly   in   January,  180.'.  Lt.  Col.  l^ussott,  with  a  .•onsi.l.MMhlo 
force   Irft  Fort   Smith   for   Little,  H.  rk,  on   tho  stcanihoal  Ani.m 
JucobH.     'I'l.ieo  oilier  Louts  wimo  procooiling  at  the  mitno  time ;  and 
at  H.wovillc,  Nvhero  thclucobsslopiu-a  D  take  in  w.khI,  oiuj  of  tl.o 
otluM-  bo^tlH   i-assod  ahou.1.     Sl.orlly  after,  when  M.  Col.  Ha.Hsctt 
reHuino.l  his  voyaye,  ho  found  tho  boat  that  ha.l  proocchHl  hini  ly- 
i„„  by  tho  river  bank  and  ou  lire.     The  si-eed   of  tho  Anmo 
Jacobs  being  increased,  it  was  found,  when  only  half  a  nule  from 
tho  burning  vessel,  that  there  was  u  strong  rebel  foree  with  a  bat- 
tery in  position,  and  the  guns  opouod  lire  upon  the  little  .squad- 
ron.    The  boats  were  run  agrouud  on  the  sandbanks  where  the 
men  eould  land  just  before  tho  steamers  were  disabled.      Tho 
tr(K;ps  and  refugees  on  board  tho  several  steamers  escaped  eap- 
turc,  and  but  few  lives  were  lost.     After  a  delay   of  two  days, 
Bas.sett  and  his  eommand  proceeded  to  Little  lloek,  and  were   m 
duo  eourso  mustered  oiU,  tho  time  of  service    having  expireil. 
One  of  the  troopers  in  the  Kansas  Second  deserves  special  men- 
tion for  courage,  where  all  behaved  well,  and  the  name  of  Vin- 
cent Osborne  will   long  be  remembered  by  his  comrades  for  his 
conduct  near  Roseville. 

Captain  Stover,  of  the  Kansas  Second,  with  a  four  gun  battery, 
distinguished  himself  und  his  corps  by  the  defeat  of  Col.  Broolcs, 
with  a  rebel  force  of  800  men  at  Dardanelle,  on  tho  loth  of  Jan- 
uary, 1805.     The  force  routed  by  Sto.ver  took  their  revenge  upon 
the  dcfen.seloss  boats  loaded  mainly  with  noncombatants  after 
wards  cannonaded  near  lloseville.     The  war  was  now  practically 
ended  ;  tho  Kansas  Second  was  mustered  out  at  Lawrence  on  the 
the  l-'th  of  August,  1865,  and  the  honorable  record  won  by  the 
troops  in  service  has,  in  the  main,  being  followed  up  by  lives  as  cre- 
ditable in  the  peaceful  business  of  home  industries  and  enterprise. 
The  Fifth  Kansas  Cavalry  corps  commenced  active  service  on 
tho  17th  of  July,  1861,  when  two  companies  took  their  departure 
from  Port  Leavenworth  for  Kansas  City.     The  first  engagement 
was  at  Ilarrisonville,  Missouri,  where  the   rebels  were  attacked 
and  driven  frc     Vac  town.     The  rebels  were  only  forty -five  miles 
from  the  boruors  of  Kansas,  but  the   loyal   party   was   strong 
enou-h  in  Missouri  to  prevent  the  governor  and  the  disaffected 
from°carrying  out  their  designs,  so  that  Kansas  was  largely  spared 


Stath  Ifisronr—  M"/-.*). 


450 


isidtM'iiblo 
oal  Aiinio 
time;  and 
3I1U  of  tlio 
)1.  Uiissott 
i!(l  him  ly- 
tho  Aniiio 
i  mile  from 
.vitli  !i  bat- 
Lilt!  .si[ii;ul- 
where  the 
led.      The 
leaped  eap- 
twi)  days, 
id  were  in 
ig  expireil. 
pecial  men- 
mo  of  Vin- 
ftdea  for  his 

;un  battery, 
lol.  Brooks, 
!5th  of  Jan- 
ivcnge  upon 
itants  afler- 
r  praetieally 
rence  on  the 
won  by  the 

lives  as  cre- 
d  enterprise. 
re  service  on 
ir  departure 
engagement 
ere  attacked 
ty-fivc  miles 

was  strong 
le  disaflected 
irgely  spared 


from  lioHtik  visitations.     The  battle  <.f  Drywood   wu^  f-u^ht  o„ 
the  2d  of  Sei.lember,  and  Homo  of  the  men  were  woundcl ;  nn.l 
on  the  17th  a  rebel   ivgimont  was  attaekr.l  at  Morrist..vvn,  where 
Col.   Johnson  fell   n...rtally  woundcl.     The  enemy   was  routed 
with  great  Ions  of  men  and  camp  ciuipage;  and  the  Fifth  kansa.s 
lu'xt  distinguished  itself  by   its  imi)etuous  onset  on  tlie   .-.a-  .,t 
(Icn.  I'riee's  retreating  army  near  O.sceola.     When    rriro,    rem- 
forced  strongly,  had  captured  Col.  Mulligan's  command  at   Lcx- 
in.'ttm,  Missouri,  the  regiment  was  stationed  at   Kansas  City,  l)iit 
the  attack  expected  at  that  time  was  averted  by  other  operations. 
When  Cieii.  Fremont  rai.sed  an  army  in  Missouri  the  tlfth  was  in- 
cluded, but  the  operations  of  the  gallant  commander  were  cut 
short  by  the  orders  of  (icn.  Hunter,  and  the  fifth  had  no  fnrlher 
adventures  of  moment  beloro  retiring  to  winter  <iuarters  at  Camp 

^^^"^■^''■-  ,      />i.i         re       1 

After  the  fall  of  Col.  Johnson,  ut  Morristown,  the  fifth  sullcrcd 

from  incompetent  commanders  until  February,  18(;2,  when   Lt. 
Col.  Clayton  became  colonel,  and   under  his  direction  the  regi 
mcnt  achieved  a  great  repute.     On  the  19lh  of  March,  the  fifth 
made  valuable  captures  at  Carthage,  Mo.,  where  a  guerrilla  cora- 
pany,  in  course  of  formation,  was  taken  by  a  brilliant  charge  under 
Capt.  Crict/.     Oth(;r  advantages  of  a  strategic  nature  and  vast 
gains  to  the  commissariat  were  reaped  by  the  proceedings  of  the 
fifth    under  Col.  Clayton.     There  was   full   employment   every 
hour  in  perfecting  the  drill  of  the  troops,  when  they  were  not  un- 
der fire  or  en<^aged  on  commissariat  or  other  duty.     The  guerrilla 
band  commanded  by  Coleman  was  driven  out  of  the  country  near 
Houston  by  the  regiment,  and  had  afterwards,  during  June  and 
July,  opportunities  iov  gaining  distinction   at  Salem,  Arkansa.s, 
and  at  the  Black  Kiver,  near  Jacksonport,  routing  in  the  iirst 
action  an  Arkansas  regiment  of  cavalry,  and  in  the  latter,  routing 
a  strong  force  of  Texan  rangers,  who  tried  to  capture  the  baggage 
train      The  detachment  that  won  the  two  victories  named  was 
under  the  command  of  Capt.  Crietz.     The  capture  of  guerrilla 
troops,  of  greater  and  less  extent,  was  a  matter  of  almost  daily 
occurrence,  and  in  spite  of  pursuers,  more  numerous  than  nis  own 
force  thrice  toM,  in  many  directions,  Crictz  carried  his  little  force 
to  the  main  body  without  loss.     Maj.  Walker,  long  since  favora- 


i»«WJ^^w»«M!S^^W^sa' 


460 


Tvrrr.KS  HisToitr  of  Kaxsas. 


If' 


bly  known  in  Kauritis,  was  in  his  element  as  tlic  .scourge  of  guer- 
rillas.    The  expedition  against  St.  Charles  and  Little  Eock  gave 
the  fifth  good  openings  for  pluck  and  daring,  although  the  enemy 
had  evacuated  the  position  at  St.  Charles.     The  pursuit  of  Col. 
Dobbins,  and  the  light  with  Gen.  Marinaduke's  force,  won  great 
praise  for  Col.  Jenkins  and  his  command,  during  an  expedition 
from  Helena.     Col.  Clayton  developed  brilliant  qualities  in  the 
field,  and  his  troops  sustained  him  with  the  bravery  of  veterans. 
The  battle  of  Helena  was  a  great  victory  for  our  arms,  opposed  to 
vastly  superior  nirmber.s,  under  Marmaduke.     The  fifth  accom- 
panied Gen.  Steele  in  his  advance  toward  Shreveport,  which  failed 
only  because  of  the  slowness  or  incompetency  of  Banks,  and  boro 
their  share  in  the  masterly  strategy  that  prevented  a  crushing  .le- 
feat  of  the  union  forces  in  that  quarter.     The  capture  of  Little 
Eock  was  an  admirable  movement,  at  once  smart  and  effective. 
The  rout  of  Marmaduke's  forces  at  Tupelo,  and  the  capture  of  the 
camp  equipage  complete,  as  well  as  the  position,  was  a  feat   en- 
tirely due  to  the  Kansas  Fifth  and  their  colonel,  moving  from  Pine 
BMl  on  the  night  of  October  1,  1868. 

The  fifth  had  their  next  great  encounter  on  the  25th  of  the 
same  month,  when  Marmaduke  with  3,000  men  and  twelve  pieces 
of  artillery  attacked  Clayton's  position,  where  there  were  only 
600  men  well  placed  to  repel  the  assault.     There  was  hard  fight- 
ing i-n-  about  six  hours  from  nine  A.  M.,  and  thirty-seven  of  our 
gallant  fellows  were  slain,  but  the  loss  on  the  other  side  was  four 
times  as  great,  and  the  Union  arms  were  victorious.     Marmaduke 
was  very  confident  that  he  must  carry  the  works,  and  the  repulse 
was  on  that  account  more  severe  and  bloody.     The  defeat  of  Shel- 
by's forces  at.  ''^-inchville  followed  in  their  record  on  the  19th  of 
January,  1864,  and  the  fifth  under  Col.  Clayton  were  on  the  Cam- 
den road  on  the  21st.     The  fortunes  of  the  expedition  toward 
Shreveport  have  already  been  generally  described  in  naming  the 
exploits  of  the  second  cavalry.     The  fifth  were  at  Montieello  giv- 
ing battle  to  Gen.  Dockery  when  Steele  was  near  Camden.     Clay- 
ton's force  of  all  arms  was  about  1,000  strong,  but  he  manoeuvered 
in  such  a  way  as  to  deceive  Dockery  into  the  belief  that  he  was 
all  but  surrounded  by  an  overpowering  combination,  his  aim 
being  to  drive  the  rebels  out  of  the  country  from  Bayou  Barthol- 


k 


S  TA  TIC  His  tou  r  —  M'>l-5. 


461 


c  of  micr- 
Liock  gave 
;lic  cnoiny 
it  of  Col. 
won  great 
3xpc(lition 
iies  ill  the 
;  veterans, 
opposed  to 
[th  accoin- 
hich  failed 
3,  and  bore 
'usbing  de- 
3  of  Little 
.  effective, 
ture  of  the 
a  feat   en- 
;  from  Pine 

25th  of  the 
elve  pieces 
were  only 
hard  fight- 
even  of  our 
ie  was  four 
^larmaduke 
the  repulse 
:eat  of  Shel- 
the  19th  of 
)n  the  Cam- 
tion  toward 
naming  the 
nticello  giv- 
den,  Clay- 
lanceuvered 
that  he  was 
m,  his  aim 
ou  Barthol- 


omew to  the  Saline.     Night  marches  and  picket  fires  were  the 
nu'iins  employed.      On   the  next  day  Shelby   fell   back  toward 
Princeton,  and  on  the  30th  there  was  smart  fighting  near  Mount 
Flluiford,  the  chief  command  on  our  side  being  assumed  by  Col. 
Jenkins.     Dockery's  force,  far  outnumbering  our  own,  were  the 
assailants,  but  they  were  met  with  a  terrific  lire  at  less  than  sev- 
enty-five yards,  the  howitzers  pouring  canister  and  shrapnel  into 
their  ranks,  and  the  rifies  of  our  men  being  handled  splendidly. 
Tlie  confederates  held  their  advance  well,  but  bravery  availed 
nothing  against  a  fire  so  fearfully  intense  and  well  directed  ;  they 
were  broken  and  :.rced  to  run  at  last,  pursued  by  the  fifth  Kan- 
sas for  a  considerable  distance.     Ten  miles  from  ^[ount  Elbaford 
the  fifth  met  Col.  Clayton  commanding  the  first  Indiana  and  sev- 
enth Missouri,  and  Clayton  led  a  charge  of  his  old  regiment 
Once  more  the  discomfiture  of  the  rebels  was  complete,  although 
they  fought  admirably.     They  were  driven  five  miles  further, 
when  the  chase  was  abandoned.     Dockery's  wagon  train  was  cap- 
tured and  manv  prisoners  taken,  and  his  troops  driven  from  the 
country  until  Banks'  disastrous  campaign  reopened  the  territory 
to  their  operations.     The  fifth  was  with  Steele  at  Marks  Mills 
when  the  enemy  captured  the  baggage  train,  and  some  few  of 
ours  were  made  prisoners.     On  the  17th  of  September,  at_  Warren 
Cross  Roads,  there  was  a  bard  fight  and  part  of  the  Union  force 
scattered,  but  the  fifth  Kansas  with  the  first  Indiana  and  seventh 
Missouri  repelled  the  enemy  and  saved  the  artillery  ^^d^ch  was 
at  one  time  in  great  danger.     Lieut.  Jenkins,  of  the  fifth,  with  a 
small  command,  was  cut  off  from  the  main  force  in  that  engage- 
ment, but  a  dashing  charge  brought  him  through  the  lines  of  the 
foe  back  to  his  comrades.     The  remainder  of  the  services  of  the 
fifth  were  matters  of  routine  until  the  end  of  the  war.  _        _ 

The  sixth  regiment  consisted  of  cavalry,  and  was  organized  in 
the  month  of  July,  immediately  before  the  battle  at  Wilson's 
Creek  They  were  enrolled  mainly  for  the  defense  of  the  south- 
eastern portion  of  Kansas.  Three  companies  of  infantry,  known 
as  the  Home  Guards,  developed  under  the  advancing  necessities 
of  the  time  to  much  larger  proportions  and  a  Complete  change  of 
seivice.  Garrison  duty  was  the  first  work  devolving  upon  the 
sixth,  with  occasional  scouting  expeditions.     The  battle  of  Dry- 


_  .,!,t3^^mt0iasEis^mmiim<imam'*i'n- 


atfi^mmmmggfsns^SfK 


I  . 


Hi 

II 


462  TuTTLhfs  History  of  Kansas. 

wood  was  commenced  by  a  company  of  this  regiment ;  but  in  the 
sprin.'  oC  1802  it  was  found   necessary  to  reorganize  with  better 
system  and  efTect.     Soon  after  the  reorgani/.ation,  when  the  Ilomc 
Guard  was  mustered  out  of  the  service,  and  its  members  rcenbsoed 
for  ■  :.neral  duty,  the  regiment  was  engaged  in  breaking  up  small 
companies  of  guerrillas  under  the  notorious  Quantrei.,  Si.  Gordon 
and  rp  Hayes,  in  Missouri,  and  a  successful  raid  having  similar 
'purposes  was  made  as  far  as  the  Sni.  Hills,  during  which  no  less 
than  ei-ht  camps  of  bushwhackers  were  broken  up,  and  over  sev- 
enty killed  and  wounded.     Those  operations  gave  peace  and  pro- 
tecti.m  to  a  wide  range  of  country  for  three  months,  until  the 
rebel  Gen.  Jackman  marched  into  this  section  of  Missouri  with  a 
large  force,  and  all  the  powers  of  evil  were  once  more  let  loose 

upon  society. 

In  June,  1862,  the  sixth  under  Col.  Doubleday,  took  part  in 
the  battle  of  Coroskin  Prairie,  and  won  distinction,  which  was 
more  tl.an  sustained  on  the  4th  of  July  in  the  Cherokee  country, 
when  Col.  Clarkson  and  a  considerable  force  of  rebels  were  cap- 
tvi-ed,  the  remainder  of  his  command  being  pursued  by  the  Kan- 
sas rcoiment.     There  was  a  brillant attack  on  the  same  day,  upon 
a  rebel  encampment  at  Stan.  Waite's  Mills,  when  the  enemy  was 
routed  by  two  companies  of  the  sixth,  and  vast  plunder  procured 
for  the  commissariat.     Scouting  service  now  mainly  fell  upon  the 
sixth,  extending  beyond  the  Arkansas  river  with  occasional  ski r- 
mishcs  of  some  moment.     Operations  against  the  Cherokee  Chief, 
John  Ross,  were  conducted  with  success,  by  Capt.   Greno  of  the 
sixth  and  a  detachment  of  sixty  men,  in  July,  1862,  resulting  in 
the  capture  of  Ross  and  other  officers  of  the  rebel  army,  a  move- 
ment that  largely  determined  the  subsequent  action  of  the  Chero- 
kee nation.     The  danger  of  a  surprise  being  attempted  on  Fort 
Scott  caused  a  retrograde  movement,  during]  which  a  rebel  party 
at  Maysville  was  captured,  and  information  obtained  which  alter- 
ed the  plans  of  the  union  commanders  materially.     In  all  those 
movements  the  sixth  bore  a  conspicuous  part.     In  August,  the 
whole  force  proceeded  towards  the  Missouri  river,  in  pursuit  of 
Gen  Cooper  and  five  thousand  rebels,  which  were  overtaken  and 
defeated  at  Osage  river,  the  routed  force  being  pursued  until 
nicrhttall.     The  enemy  got  off  during  the  night  with  only  a  wreck 


S T.  1 77;  Ills TOll  Y  —  ISGl-i). 


463 


but  in  tlie 
rith  better 
the  Ilonio 
rci'iilisted 
^  up  small 
Si.  Gordon 
iiig  similar 
licli  no  less 
I  over  sev- 
ce  and  pro- 
5,  until  the 
ouri  with  a 
ire  let  loose 

)ok  part  in 
which  was 
;ee  country, 
s  were  cap- 
ly  the  Kan-  ' 
3  day,  upon 
enemy  was 
ler  procured 
ell  upon  the 
asional  skir- 
rokee  Chief, 
jreno  of  the 
resulting  in 
my,  a  move- 
)f  the  Chero- 
)ted  on  Fort 
I  rebel  party 
which  alter- 
In  all  those 
August,  the 
in  pursuit  of 
vertaken  and 
ursued  until 
only  a  wreck 


of  his  command.  The  action  at  Coon  Creek,  where  Lieut.  Col. 
Bassett  was  repulsed  by  an  outnumbering  force  of  the  eoiifedor- 
ates  under  Shelby,  was  in  every  way  honorable  to  the  ,si.\th,  as 
the  attack  was  sustained  by  them  with  great  courage,  and  the  re- 
treat to  Lamar  was  conducted  in  perfect  order.  ^ 

The  concentration  of  union  forces  at  Co.Kie's  Creek  gave  the 
sixth  constant  exercise,  as  there  was  no  other  body  of  cavalry  in 
the  brigade  which  kept  open  the  communications  with  Cen.  Tol- 
ten  nea°  Springfield  and  Mount  Vernon.  Many  brilliant  engage- 
ments of  skirmishing  parties  relieved  the  tedium  of  outpo.^t  duty. 
The  attack  on  Newtonia  was  a  much  more  considerable  operation, 
and  the  30th  of  September,  1862,  will  be  remembered  for  life  by 
many  a  gallant  fellow,  as  the  hard  fought  field  was  prolific  in 
wounds  and  death.  The  enemy  were  routed  in  the  field,  but  tak- 
ing refuge  in  the  town,  where  there  were  strong  reinforcements 
and  heavy  guns,  they  could  not  be  dislodged,  and  the  sixth  had 
assigned  to  it  the  honorable  duty  of  covering  the  retirement  of 

the  assailants. 

On  the  4th  of  the  following  month,  the  attack  upon  Newtonia 
was  renewed,   and  this  time   with  complete  success,  the  rebels 
bein-r  driven  with  much  slaughter  until  the  pursuers  desisted  in 
consequence  of  fatigue.     On  the  22d  of  October,  our  men  attack- 
ed Cxen.  Cooper  at  old  Fort  Wayne,  and  were  as  succesful  as 
could  be  desired,  dislodging  and  driving  a  force  of  3,000  rebels 
with  a  loss  of  the  battery  —  captured  by  the  Kansas  second  — 
battle  flag,  artillery,  horses  and  the  baggage  train  taken  in  pur- 
suit by  the  sixth.     The  union  force  encamped  at  old  Fort  Wayno 
after  this  victory,  but  scouting  parties  were  in  the  sadde  incessant- 
ly.    Gen.  Marmaduke  was  dislodged  from  Cane  Hill  by  the  army 
of  the  frontier  on  the  28th  of  October,  and  pursued  to  a  sj>ur  of 
the  ::oston  mountains,  where  a  desperate  effort  was  made  by  the 
rebels  to  hold  a  position,  but  in  spite  of  some  very  gallant  fighting 
the  union  force  prevailed,  driving  the  rebels  across  the  mountains 
with  great  precipitation.     Several  times  when  a  strong  position 
afforded  an  opportunity,  picked  ^orps  of  the  enemy  made  a  stand, 
attempting  to  cover  the  retreat  of  their  comrades,  if  not  to  repel 
the  advance,  but  no  substantial  success  attended  their  efforts  until 
night  gave  them  a  respite,  and  they  returned  under  shelter  of  the 


I 


s^^m^' 


'i  u 


464 


TrTTi.i:'s  llisronv  of  Kaxsas. 


darkness.     There  was  much  loss  on  our  side,  but  on  the  other  it 
must  have  been  terribly  severe. 

Prairie  Grove,  on   the  7ih  of  December,  was  a  great  light, 
brouglit  on  by  the  courage  ami  enterprise  o£  our  men.     T!ie 
fight'^coniinue.i  al!  through  the  day,  and  until  darkness  rcpdered 
furtlier  operations  irniM).<sible,  when  arrangements  were  made  to 
resume  at  daylight,  but  the  enemy  escaped  during  the  night, 
having  mulUetl  their  artillery  wheels  to  secure  silence,  and  in  the 
morning  Gen.  llindman  procured  a  personal  interview  with  Gen. 
Blount  to  secure  a  longer  start  for  his  demoralized  forces.     This 
battle  opened  under  many  disadvantages  for  the  union  men,  but 
the  victory  was  complete.     There  was  an  interval  of  comparative 
rest  for  a'few  days,  but  on  the  27th  of  December,  Blount's  com- 
mand, including  the  Sixth  and  Second  Kansas,  were  near  Van 
Buren,  in  Arkansas,  routing  Texas  troops,  capturing  their  camp 
equipage  and  train,  and  driving  the  enemy  in  confusion.     Van 
Buren  was   entered  immediately  afterwards,   and   commissariat 
stores  of  great  value,  with  four  steamboats,  were  secured.     Fort 
Gibson  and  Fort  Davis  were  taken  by  a  detachment  of  the  Sixth 
during  the  same  campaign,  and  the  force  returned  to  Missouri  to 
winter  quarters. 

Eecruiting  operations  were  prosecuted  during  the  winter,  but 
Gov.  Carney  feared  that  the  drain  upon  the  resources  of  Kansas 
would  be  too  great  if  the  farming  community  should  be  further 
depleted.     Ceritainly,    the  state  had  done  wonders  in  the  prose- 
cution of  the  war,  but  the  people  were  not  tired  nor  willing  to 
allow  anything  to  stand  in  the  way  of  oomplete  success.     The 
Sixth  was  under  fire  at  Honey  Springs  on    the  17th  of  Jiily, 
1868,  and  the  union  men  there  engaged  drove  ba  k  the  enemy 
with  great  loss,  and  after  a  hard  fought  battle  added  another  to 
their  long  list  of  victories.     Scouting  operations  with  varied  but 
general  successes  occupied    the  time   after  the   engagernent  at 
Honey  Springs  until  the  Sixth  joined  the  army  of  the  Frontier, 
First  Division,  en  route   toward  Shreveport,    to  cooperate  with 
Gens.  Steele  and  Banks,  taking  part  in  memorable  Camden  expe- 
dition. 

The  regiment  was  in  the  skirmish  at  Prairie  de  Anne  on  the 
10th  of  April  and  two  following  days,  and  repulsed  an  attack  on 


he  other  it 

;reat  fight, 
men.  The 
I.S  rcpdercd 
1-0  made  to 

the  night, 

and  in  the 
r  with  Gen. 
irces.  Tills 
n  men,  but 
jompurative 
ount's  com- 
e  near  Van 

tlieir  camp 
ision.  Van 
ommissariat 
nred.  Fort 
)f  tiie  Sixth 

Missouri  to 

winter,  but 
;s  of  Kansas 
d  be  further 
n  the  prose- 
)r  willing  to 
lecess.  The 
rth  of  J*uly, 
k  the  enemy 
d  another  to 
h  varied  but 
gagement  at 
the  Frontier, 
operate  with 
lamden  expe- 

Anne  on  the 
an  attack  on 


State  Histouy— 1801-5. 


465 


the  13th.  Throughout  the  whole  of  the  Camden  movements, 
rendered  necessary  by  Banks'  failure,  the  Si.vth  did  its  duty  with 
groat  clTect,  except  in  repelling  the  attack  on  the  ford  at  Sabino 
river,  when  the  regiment  was  detailed  iu  other  directions.  The 
march  to  Little  Hock,  the  affair  at  Uardanelle  on  the  9th  o£ 
May,  and  the  occupation  of  Fort  Smith,  have  been  described 
elsewhere.  Muzzard  Prairie,  ou  the  2(jth  of  June,  was  the  scene 
of  a  conflict  with  bushwhackers,  and  on  the  following  day  a 
battalion,  under  Maj.  Meflord,  was  surprised  and  attacjked  by 
2,000  rebels,  the  force,  lU  men,  being  forced  to  surrender  after  a 
gallant  resistance. 

The  Sixth  had  no  further  striking  opportunity  for  the  disj)lay 
of  its  excellent  qualities  before  the  war  came  to  an  end.  The 
affair  at  Cabin  creek  on  the  IDth  of  September,  1864,  was  the 
latest  heavy  lighting,  but  numerous  small  engagements  followed 
in  rapid  succession,  until  hostilities  having  ceased  the  battalion 
WHS  honorably  discharged  at  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  on  the  21sc 
of  August,  1865.  The  losses  of  the  Sixth,  in  the  period  of 
service,  amounted  to  nearly  80  per  1,000  of  the  whole  number, 
the  average  loss  of  the  state  being  only  about  61  per  1,000,  and 
that  largely  in  excess  of  the  average  loss  of  the  army. 

The  Seventh  Cavalry  was  organized  on  the  28th  of  October, 
1861,  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  and  was  seat  into  tlie  field  at  once, 
being  engaged  on  the  11th  November  with  rebels  under  Up. 
Hayes.  The  rebels  outnumbered  our  men  largely,  but  they  were 
driven  from  then  position  and  the  camp  destroyed.  All  the 
horses  were  captured.  There  were  expectations  of  a  march  to 
New  Mexico,  but  orders  were  countermanded,  and  later,  in  1862, 
the  regiment  was  sent  to  Pittsburg  Landing,  but  the  rebels, 
under  Beauregard,  having  retired  from  Corinth,  after  Grant's 
battle  of  Shiloh,  Gen.  Ilalleck  caused  the  Seventh,  with  other 
troops,  to  be  disembarked  at  Columbus,  Kentucky.  Cavalry  skir- 
mishes were  continuous  in  the  movements  of  the  regiment  to 
Corinth,  Jacinto  and  Ilienzi,  where  the  Seventh  was  incorporated 
in  Sheridan  s  command,  and  remained  until  September,  1862. 

The  battle  of  luka  was  participated  in  by  part  of  the  seventh, 
on  the  18th  of  September,  and  on  the  4th  of  October  at  Corinth, 
as  well  as  in  the  pursuit  of  the  enemy  to  Eipley  after  the  defeat^ 
80 


m 


4QQ  TvTTLifs  UiftTonr  of  Kaksas. 

the  re-iment  was  conspicuous  for  bnvvcry  and  cmcicncy.     Kc- 
turnin^  to  Corinth  after  il.c  pursuit,  the  seventh  was  d.spatchccl 
into  Alabama,  with  a  hxrgc  command,  which  drove  the  rcbok 
from  Bu/.zard  Roost  station,  and  took  many  prisoners,      rhence 
the  rc-imcnt  proceeded  to  Grand  Junction,  Tennessee,  and  joined 
Gen  Grant's  armv,  which  was  intended  to  capture  V.eksburg. 
Pembert.>n  was  encamped  at  Holly  Springs  with  a  rebe    army, 
which  was  afterward  beaten  and  captured  by  Grant  nt\  icksburg. 
Gen.  Jackson,  well  known  all  over  the  union  as  an  impetuous 
and  successful  chief  of  cavalry,  met  the  seventh  near  Lamar,  on 
the  8th  of  November,  with  a  column  6,000  strong,  and  the  pro- 
ceedings of  that  day  caused  the  force  under  Pemberton  to  retire 
from  Holly  Springs,  from  which  the  rebel  garrison  was  routed  on 
the  28th  of  the  montli  by  Col.  Lea,  the  Kansas  seventh  being  m 

tlip  idvincc 

The  advance  to  Tallahatchie  from  Holly  Springs  was  a  suc- 
cession of  skirmishes,  in  whieh  the  seventh  was  specially  distin- 
guished. When  Van  Dorn  swooped  down  upon  the  supplies  a 
Holly  Springs,  the  seventh  was  ordered  out  in  pursuit,  but  could 
not  reach  the  point  of  attack  before  Col  Murphy  surrendered  and 
was  cashiered  in  consequence.  The  further  pursuit  of  A  un  Doin 
was  continued  through  Tennessee  and  to  Pontotoc,  Miss. 

The  next  action  in  which  the  seventh  took  part  was  at  lus- 
cumbia,  Ala.,  where  the  rebel  brigade  under  Gen.  Roddy  wa^ 
driven  irom  the  town  on  the  24th  of  April,  1863,  and  the  great 
cavalry  battle  of  Leighton  followed,  a  few  miles  beyond  Tuscum- 
bia     -Roddy  had  been  largely  reinforced,  but  our  men,  under  the 
command  of  Col.  Cornyn,  of  the  Tenth  Missouri  Cavalry,  drove 
him  from  the  field  with  great  slaughter.     Three  days  later,  at 
Town  Creek,  there  was  another  great  battle,  when  the  enemy  was 
driven  from  a  strong  position  with   much  loss.     The  eavalry 
moved  south  from  Burnsville  after  this  action,  as  a  feint  to  dis- 
tract the  attention  of  the  confederates  while  Col.  Grierson  njade 
his  celebrated  raid  through  Mississippi,  and  won  honors  which 
have  never  been  dimmed.     There  was  substantial  work  effected 
by  the  seventh  during  this  march,  and  skirmishes  were  a  ways 
active     At  Tupelo,  on  the  5tli  of  May,  the  rebels  were  driven 
from  the  town  and  the  place  occupied,  and  when  attempts  were 


ncy.     Kc- 
lispatcbcd 
;he  rebels 
Tlicnce 
vnd  joined 
/"icksburg. 
bel  army, 
ricksburg. 
impetuous 
Lamar,  on 
[1  the  pro- 
)n  to  retire 
;  routed  on 
h  being  in 

was  a  suc- 
ally  distin- 
supplies  at 
,  but  could 
ndered,  and 
:  A^an  Dora 
iss. 

vas  at  Tus- 
Koddy  wag 
d  tbe  great 
nd  Tuscum- 
n,  under  the 
valry,  drove 
ays  later,  at 
B  enemy  was 
rhe  cavalry 
feint  to  dis- 
ierson  made 
lonors  which 
rork  effected 
were  always 
were  driven 
.ttempts  were 


.S'  r.  I TH   Ills  TOH  Y  —  ISGl-i). 


467 


made  to  recapture  Tupelo  by  a  large  rebel  army  under  Gen. 
Gholson,  the  Seventh  Kansas,  cooperating  with  the  Tenth  Mis- 
souri, repulsed  and  demoralized  the  enemy,  driving  him  from  the 
field  and  cai)tunng  many  prisoners.  The  fighting  on  this  occasion 
was  brilliant  and  long  continued. 

Ten  miles  from  Florence,  Ala.,  a  rebel  force  was  encountered 
by  the  Seventh  Kansas  and  otlier  troops,  on  the  2fith  of  May,  and 
the  enemy  driven  to  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  where  a  strong 
position  was  occnpied  by  a  much  larger  body  of  troops,  assisted 
by  a  battery,  posted  on  a  hill  which  commanded  the  advance. 
Against  all  those  advantages  the  cavalry  force  pursued  the  pur- 
pole   upon  which  it  had  been  dispatched,  driving  the  enemy 
through  Florence,  capturing  the  town  and  procuring  a  vast  quan- 
tity of  stores  and  ammunition.     Moving  toward  Hamburg,  on  the 
Tennessee,    there   were   many   severe   skirmishes,  usually   with 
severe  loss  to  the  rebels,  and  an  attack  on  the  rear  of  our  com- 
mand, while  crossing  the  river  at  Hamburg,  was  repulsed  with 
great  slaughter.     The  regiment  marched  night  and  day  for  six 
days  in  siujcession,  on  this  raid,  and  returned  to  Corinth  on  the 

81st  of  May,  1863. 

Skirmishing  was  now  the  order  of  the  day.  There  was  a  smart 
cavalry  engag°ement  at  luka  on  the  9th  of  July,  when  Cornyn'a 
brigade  defeated  Gen.  Koddy  with  very  great  loss.  Swallows 
Bluff  on  the  Tennessee,  on  the  30th  of  September,  was  signal- 
ized by  a  battle  between  two  companies  of  the  Seventh,  which 
attacked  the  rear  guard  of  a  rebel  force  and  succeeded  in  cap- 
turing a  great  number  of  the  enemy.  Byhalia  and  Wyatt, 
Miss.°  on  the  12th  of  October,  was  the  scene  of  a  heavy  fight, 
when'  Gen.  N.  B.  Forrest,  with  a  large  rebel  army,  was  attached 
and  defeatad  by  the  cavalry  division  under  Col.  Hatch.  For- 
rest was  driven  across  the  Tallahatchie  in  great  confusion,  with 
much  loss.  The  losses  on  our  o^'ii  side  were  also  considerable. 
There  was  another  battle  with  the  troops  under  Forrest  at  Rip- 
ley, on  the  1st  of  December,  when  that  oHicer  was  moving  to- 
wards the  Memphis  and  Charleston  Railroad,  and  the  main  pur- 
pose sought  by  the  attack,  the  retardation  of  the  rebel  advance, 
was  gained.  The  Seventh  was  much  praised  for  its  conduct  on 
this  occasion.     A  detachment  of  the  army  under  Forrest  was 


^.OT»s«iasiS»es!geBssaww9Kt«6^f*S^- 


.^ 


m 


Tvttle's  History  of  Kassas. 


again  encounlcrc-r and  clefoatoJ  by  a  battahon  of  the  Seventh^ 
near  Jack's  Creek,  Tennessee,  on  the  24tU  of  December  Ihe 
troops  on  both  «ides  ^ouaht  well,  but  the  victory  was  won  by  the 

Seventh.  .     ,      ■,.  .  ■  ^    i  rt7-„„». 

Tl>c  tirst  icgiment  to  rccnlist  as  veterans,  m  the  district  of  West 
Tennessee,  was  the  Seventh  Kansas  Cavalry,  on  the  1st  of  Janu- 
ary.  lbC4,  while  bivouacked  at  La  Grange,  Tenn    with   hardly 
anv  shelter   from  the  severe  wintry  weather,  and  nmny  of  the 
men  sulTering  severely  from  frozen  feet;  but  they  w-e  not  going 
home  until  the  war  should  end  in  victory  for  the  north.     There 
was  a  brief  furlough  of  thirty  days  after  reenhstment  and  the 
re-nment  was  equipped,  after  which  we  find  the  Seventh  protect- 
in^  working  parties  engaged  in  the  repair  of  the  Memphis  and 
Charleston  Kailroad  in  June.     Early  in  July,  it  moved  in  ad- 
vance of  Gen.  A.  J.  Smith's  infantry  column  to  attack  Gen.  l^or- 
rest.     The  movement  continued  in  this  order,  other  cavalry  be- 
inc.  on  the  flanks,  to   Cherry  creek,  where  Forrest  was  strongly 
entrenched,  six  miles  below  Tupelo.     Making  a  feint  of  intend- 
in.r  to  attack  the  entrenchments.  Smith  turned  suddenly  toward 
Tupelo,  on  the  12th  of  July,  and  the  Seventh  Cavalry  became 
the  rear  guard,  having  to  sustain  the  whole  force  of  Forrest  s  ad- 
vance in  his  eager  desire  to  protect  the  town.     The  battle  eontin- 
ued  in  this  way  from  five  in  the  morning  of  the  13th,  unt.    eight 
at  ni-ht     The  battle  of  Tupelo  followed  on  the  two  following 
days,°and  when,  on  the  16th,  Gen.  Smith  returned  to  La  Grange 
the  Seventh,  still  doing  duty  as  rear  guard,  fought  the  Second 
Missouri  Rebel  Cavalry,  at  Ellistown,  winning  honor  at  the  cost 

of  heavy  losses. 

Gen  Smith  advancing  from  La  Grange  once  more,  on  the  1st 
of  Auoust,  to  attack  Forrest,  the  Seventh  Regiment  bore  a  con- 
spicuous part  in  all  the  principal  actions  of  the  campaign,  having 
been  enc^aged  at  the  Tallahatchie  when  the  river  was  crossed,  on 
the  8th  Tin  the  capture  of  Oxford,  on  the  9th;  and,  seven  days 
later,  in  the  great  cavalry  battle  at  Hurricane  creek,  sustaining 
the  honor  of  the  Union  in  every  conflict  When  Gen  Smiths 
expedition  returned  to  Memphis,  the  Seventh,  under  orders  from 
Gen.  Rosecrans,  reported  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  on  the  17th  of  Sep- 
tember. 


State  IfisTonr—l'^Ol-o. 


469 


Seventh, 
3er.  The 
ju  by  tho 

t  of  West 
,  of  Janu- 
th  hardly 
,ny  of  the 
not  going 
h.     There 
t,  and  the 
,h  protect- 
mphis  and 
ired  in  ad- 
Gen.  For- 
javah'y  be- 
,s  strongly 
of  intend- 
nly  toward 
Iry  became 
orrest's  ad- 
ttle  contin- 
until  eight 
)  following 
La  Grange, 
the  Second 
at  the  cost 

on  the  1st 
bore  a  con- 
lign,  having 
crossed,  oa 
seven  days 
:,  sustaining 
ren.  Smith's 
orders  from 
7th  of  Sep- 


The  remainder  of  the  rcbol  forces  were  now  being  takon  in  do- 
tail  while  Grant  dealt  with   the  main  body  at  Kidummd,  and 
there  were  but  few  events  worthy  of  special  mention   unul  tlie 
end  of  the  war.     Under  Lieut.  Col.  Malone,  the  Scvonlh  took 
part  in  the   campaign   against   Price   in   Missouri,    and    fougiit 
wherever  it  was  necessary  to  uphold  the  honor  of  tho  Unu)ii  by 
such  means.     Their  charge  at  Lidependence,  against  a  force  supe- 
rior  in  numbers,  which  was  broken  and  dispersed  by  their  im- 
pact, proved  that  thev  were  indeed  veterans  in  the  field.     Two 
pieces  of  ordnance  were  captured  at  Lidependence,  and  the  cam- 
paign, if  not  the  war,  was  ended.     The  remainder  of  their  term 
'  of  service  was  employed  in  subduing  guerrilla  parties,  which, 
until  far  on  in  July,  continued  to  infest  Missouri.     From  the  bt 
Louis  district  to  Omaha  City,  from  thence  to  Fort  Kearney,  and 
from  that  point  to  Fort  Leavenworth,  their  last  march  as  a  regi- 
ment had  been  made ;  they  had  marched,  exclusive  of  carriage  by 
rail  and  by  transport,  12,050  miles  in  the  service  of  their  country 
and  they  were  now  mustered  out  free  to  pursue  their  individual 
profit,  rewarded  with  the  thanks  of  the  nation. 

Kansas  was  persistently  called  upon  during  the  war,  and  at  , 
everv  epoch  there  was  a  fitting  response.     The  state  had  gone 
through  a  long  apprenticeship  to  war,  and  there  were  earnest 
souls  In  the  population  that  could  not  rest  at  home  as  long  as  the 
battles  of  the  Union  were  to  be  fought  and  won.     The  Eighth 
Kansas  was  a  regiment  of  infantry,  organized  in  August,  1861, 
under  orders  received  by  Gov.  Robinson  late  in  July.     The  first 
intention  was  to  organize  only  for  home  service,  because  it  was 
anticipated  that  the  state  would  be  invaded  by  the  rebels,  who 
had  long  since  learned  to  consider  Kansas  as  their  special  prey. 
In  the  long  run  it  began  to  appear  that  the  rebel  party  had  pro- 
cured so  n°any  lessons  of  defeat  on  Kansas  territory  that  they  had 
no  wish  to  increase  the  record.     Expecting  to  operate  in  a  sphere 
so  limited,  it  was  thought  expedient  to  raise  a  regiment  consisting 
of  eight  companies  of  infantry  and  two  of  cavalry.     The  savages 
and  the  rebels  could  both  be  held  in  cheek  by  a  force  so  com- 
pounded, and  on  that  basis  the  regiment  was  raised.     There  were 
already  six  regiments  in  the  field,  sent  to  the  front  by  Kansas, 
and  the  seventh  was  being  formed ;  hence  the  present  was  nom- 


aeWHUJwJ'Bs***'^ 


470  Tvttlk's  IfisTonr  of  Kaxsas. 

inatcd  tho  cightk  Uocruits  came  in  rapidly,  nc.twitl.stan.ling  tho 
inultinlicity  of  doinaiuls,  and  before  tl.e  o.ul  of  Soplciubcr,  six 
full  co.npa.,ieH  had  been  ..n.slcroa  in.  Major  Wcs-sels  was  ap- 
pointed  colonel,  and  he  brought  to  his  task  the  advantages  of 
traini.ig  at  West  Point,  as  well  as  many  years  of  active  service  in 
Florida,  Mexico,  and  on  the  plains.  The  appointment  was  fortu- 
nate for  the  regiment,  and  was  very  generally  approved. 

The  work  of  preparation  commenced  in  October,  when  Lol. 
Wessels  assutned  the  command.     Lawrence  was  the  hcad.iuarters 
of  the  regiment,  pending  orders,  and  tho  organization  was  com- 
pleted  in  November.     Col.  Wesscls  was  renu)ved  in  l-cbruary  by 
orders  from  Washington,  which  called  him  t(,  his  duty   in  tho 
regular  army,  and  his  departure  was  much  regretted  by  his  com- 
ra.les  in  arms,  who  had  learned  to  appreciate  very  highly   tho 
qualities  which  won  for  hira  undying  distinction.     Lieut    U.I. 
Martin  assumed  the  command  of  the  regiment  on  the  8th  o    l^cb- 
ruary.     The  winter  was  spent  upon  the  border,  and  the  cold  was 
very  severe  in  the  early  months  of  1862.     The  headquarters  of 
the  ei-luh  were  fixed  at  Ossawatomie  for  some  time,  and  scouts 
werp  sent  in  all  directions,  to  Missouri  more  freciuently  than  in 
any  other  direction,  as  the  border  counties  of  that  state  wero 
known  to  be  disloyal,  and  it  was  found  necessary  to  guard  against 
the  formation  of  rebel  companies  to  cooperate  with  confederate 
troops,  known  to  be  hovering  about  the  state.     The  monotony  of 
camp  life,  unbroken  bv  incidents  out  of  the  groove  of  mere  routine, 
became  exceedingly  tiresome  before  orders  arrived  to  give  a  new 
current  to  events.     That  long  looked  for  relief  came  when  the 
month  of  May  was  nearly  spent 

Pittsburg  Landing  was  the  objective  point  when  the  route  ar- 
rived Gen.  llalleck  was  to  be  reinforced,  anticipating  an  attack 
from  the  forces  under  Beauregard,  but  before  the  eighth  and 
other  Kannsas  troops  could  reach  their  destination,  instructions 
were  received  deflecting  them  to  Columbus,  Ky.  Corinth  had 
been  evacuated  by  the  southern  general  in  consequence  of  the 
defeat  suffered  by  his  troops  on  the  second  day  at  ShUoh.  ihe 
regiment,  with  others,  went  into  camp  on  the  2d  of  June  1862, 
on  a  commanding  bluff  at  Columbus,  just  outside  the  rebel  forti- 
fications recently  abandoned.     Gen.  Mitchell's  command  moved 


Stath  IlisTour—  l^iiU-^t. 


•17i 


mding  tlio 
jmbcr,  six 
la  was  up- 
aiiliigcs  o£ 
service  in 
was  fortu- 

when  Col. 
aili  quarters 

was  com- 
.'bi'uary  by 
ity  in  tlio 
y  his  coin- 
liighly  tho 
liieut.  Col. 
ilh  o£  Fcb- 
le  colli  was 
Ljuarters  of 
and  scouts 
tly  than  in 

state  were 
lard  against 
oontederate 
lonotony  of 
lere  routine, 

give  a  new 
le  when  tbe 

be  route  ar- 
ig  an  attack 
eighth  and 
instructions 
Corinth  had 
lence  of  the 
;hiloh.  The 
June,  1862, 
e  rebel  forti- 
aand  moved 


,outh  on  the  8th,  through  Clinton  an.l  Moscow,  Ky,  to  T,  mdu 
City,  in  Tonnossoo.  From  thence  tlioro  was  a  fonH-<l  niarch  to 
Tri'nton,  where  the  rebels  were  expected  to  make  an  attack  in 
force.  I'robably  the  rapidity  with  which  reinfurcetnenta  were 
iiushed  forward  prevented  tlie  attack ;  at  any  rate  no  assault  waa 
made.  Moving  from  Trenton,  under  orders  the  eighth  was  at- 
taelied  to  the  connnand  of  (Jen.  Uosccrans,  and  was  almost  inline- 
diiitely  afterwards  reported  against  as  being  mutinous  and  demor- 
alized. 

Kansas  held  stronger  view.<»  on  the  slavery  question  than  any 
other  western  .state,  and  while  the  troops  marched  through  Ken- 
tucky and  Tennessee,   they  had  not  hesitated  to  give  protection 
to  any  slave  that  was  willing  to  remove  from  the  area  of  boiulagc. 
Gen.   Butler  had  declared  slaves  "  contraband  of  war,"  and  tho 
Kansas  boys  were  acting  on  the  same  principle;  butCen.  Quinby, 
an  ofRcer  of  the  union  forces,  commanding  in  the  district  through 
which  the  Eighth  had  marclicd,  reported  that  body  of  men  as 
•'  mutinous  and  demoralized."     Gen.  Quinby  was  a  war  democrat 
with  strong  proclivities  for  slavery,  and  his  rage  against  the  Eighth 
induced  him  to  threateii  that  he  w.^nld  muster  them  out  of  the 
service,  because  they  couhl  see  a  trillo  further  ahead  than  him- 
self    Rosecrans  would  not  allow  himself  to  be  prejudiced  against 
the  men  without  full  inquiry,  and  in  consequence  the  regiment 
was  put  through  a  course  of  inspection  within  twenty-four  hours 
after  their  arrival  in  camp.     The  Eighth  was  pronounced  a  lirst 
class  body  of  men  after  the  fullest  examination,  and  Gen.  Ciuinby 
was  discounted.     While  the  regiment  remained  under  the  imme- 
diate inspection  of  Gen.  Koseerans,  many  advantages  v^ere  enjoyed 
which  had  not  been  possible  before,  and  the  Eighth  omitted  no 
opportunity  to  become  thoroughly  versed  in  the  details  of  a  sol- 

dier's  life.  nni    t  r  ^ 

From  Corinth  the  Eighth  moved  to  Jacinto  on  the  22d  of  July, 
and  on  the  2d  of  the  following  month  proceeded  to  Eastport.  This 
tQwn  contained  a  depot  for  commissary  and  quartermaster's  sup- 
plies, and  it  was  threatened  by  guerrillas  in  large  force.  The 
re-imcnt  occupied  the  town  for  fourteen  days,  scouting  the  coun- 
try  in  all  directions,  breaking  up  every  guerrilla  force  large  or 
fimall  that  could  be  found,  as  well  as  procuring  supplies  of  van 


473 


Tt'TTI.E'K  lllsroUY  1)1'  Kassas. 


; 


11 


f 


oua  1<in(l-i  that  lia.l  »uvii  Hti)l(<ii  from  union  .sfttlor.-?  or  ^maj^'gU-l 
throiigli  our  lines  fur  llio  iho  of  tlio  oncMiiy.     Mfiny  priaomTK  wero 
nlso  tnkrii,  atwl   niunitionH  of  wnr  to  (luito  n  largo  rKtent.     Flor- 
ence, Aliil)aniiv,  wns  r-mchod  on  tlio  2kl\  of   August,  nn<l  it  was 
tli(>n  nuule  known  tliat  tin-  oomman.l  under  (Icn.  MitclioU  w.-tx  to 
reinforce  Ooii.    Huell,  wlio  was  tlireat.Mied  hy  two  urrnics  under 
V>nvj<i  and  Kirliy  Smith,  the  first  of  whr»m  had  crossed  the  Ton- 
nesseeat  llarriscmaboveCliattanooj^a  and  traversed  the  Se(niateliie 
Valley,  while  the  other  had  i)ushed  forward  tliron-jrh  (!nml)orland 
(lap,  hotli  forces  to  unite  in  Louisville  or  Cincinnati,     'riiere  was 
not  a  moment  to  he  lost,  and  from   Kloronce  the  troops  went  for- 
ward in  liglit  marching  order  carrying  nothing  that  could  bo  dis- 
pensed with  witlumt  decreasing  the  immcdit.tc  eirectivencss  of  the 
nrniy.     The  march  coiniriencod  at  two  A.  ^^.  on  the  2fitl\  of  Au- 
gust, and  the  troop,s  wero  rapidly  initiated  into  all  tlic  hardships 
nttendant  on  forced   marches,  half  rations,  little  water  and  that 
poor,  the  sun  shining  as  hot  as  flro  upon  the  shoulders  of  the 
inarching  regiments,  and  the  clouds  of  dust  rendering  the  air  all 
but  unbroatheable.     To  many  of  the  men  these  were  new  experi- 
onoes,  but  there  was  no  murmuring  at  what  was  known  to  be  in- 
evitable.    When  hard  bread  gave  out  there  was  flour,  and  every 
man  contrived  to  get  cooked  as  much  as  would  ward  ofT  absolute 
starvation  ;  b>U  it  is  a  puzzle  now  to  know  how  time  or  means 
were  fouml  for  sncb  ends,  when  it  is  borne  in  mind  thattiiere  was 
a  march  of  from  twenty  to  twenty-four  miles  every  day,  and  pick- 
ets to  bo  maintained. 

The  march  into  Nashville,  a  route  of  nearly  forty  miles,  was 
commenced  at  four  in  the  evening  of  the  3d  of  September,  and 
the  troops,  stragglers  excepted,  were  in  Nashville  the  next  fore- 
noon at  eleven  ;  the  Eighth  being  specially  noticed  for  their  solid- 
ity and  rapidity  on  the  march.  The  next  march  after  leaving 
Nashville  was  lengthened  by  countermands  and  returns,  until  a 
distance  of  47  miles  occupied  43  hoursalmost  incessantly  moving. 
From  Bowling  Green  the  troops  moved  at  six  A.  M.  on  the  17th, 
hoping  to  overtake  Bragg  just  ahead.  Just  such  experiences  day 
after  day,  and  Bragg  always  contriving  to  escape,  while  the  troops 
that  followed  were  almost  starving  because  they  were  temporarily 
unable  to  reach  their  commissariat,  and  could  not  pause  lest  the 


r  ii 


*^*»'"fr'*W"»B*t^iv  -- 


lOTK'M  were 
ent.  Fl<jf- 
sitiil  it  wna 
iioll  w.'i.x  to 
nicrt  unilor 
(I  the  TtMl- 
Scipiatcliifl 
!miil)orliUi>l 

'I'llOrO  \V!13 

•H  went  for- 
)uUl  bo  (lis- 

iMlCSH  ot  tllO 

»fitli  of  Au- 
c  li!inlsliii>3 
•r  and  tlmt 
lers  of  tlio 
f  tlio  air  all 
new  expcri- 
?n  to  be  in- 
,  and  every 
ofT  absolnto 
ne  or  moans 
at  tliere  was 
,y,  and  pick- 

f  miles,  was 
tcinber,  and 
e  next  fore- 
r  their  aolid- 
[ter  leaving 
irns,  until  a 
itly  moving, 
on  the  17th, 
eriences  day 
le  the  troops 
temporuriiy 
ause  lest  the 


.<fT,i/r  UisTonr—ISCtl-S. 


473 


cnomy  hIiouM  nnally  osoapo.  Hig  l^arrft.  River  was  forded,  and 
a  divnching  ruin  followed  tinring  a  march  of  eighteen  miles,  tho 
rain  oontimiing  through  the  who!.-  night  while  the  troops  tried  to 
Hlecp  without  shelter  or  food.  Similar  hardshii'S,  varying  in  do- 
tail  one  day  after  another,  and  still  tho  ene-ny  only  ju.st  ahead, 
on.-  smart  bit  of  fighting  between  Hragg's  roar  guard  and  Wood's 
division  alono  varying  tho  monotony,  and  tliat  for  only  a  vry 
few  hours,  before  l^ragg  ha-l  safely  --rossed  (Ireen  Uiver  and  was 
safe  fnnn  pursuit.  The  army  reaehed  Louisville  at  la.st,  and  was 
received  with  enthusiasm  by  the  citi/ons,  but  ev.'u  tlie  Hight  of 
provisions  in  plenty  could  hardly  prevent  the  eyes  of  the  troops 
closing  in  slumber  while  the  apeeclies  of  tho  grateful  people  were 
ringing  in  their  ears. 

Hard  marebing  had  cfTeeted  the  rescue,  just  as  completely  as 
hard  fighting  could  have  done,  and  perhaps  more  so,  but  tho 
ordeal  was  terrific  and  long  continued.  During  nine  marching 
days,  the  troops  had  averaged  twenty-two  miles  per  day,  to  reach 
Nashville,  and  then  from  Nashville,  Teun.,  to  Louisville,  Ky., 
during  thirteen  marching  days  an  average  of  sixteen  miles  per 
day,  one  day  of  nineteen  hours  covering  thirty  nine  miles,  and 
other  davs  making  ordy  from  four  to  to.,  miles.  The  manage- 
ment wa.s  certaiidy  as  bad  as  it  could  be,  but  the  endurance  of 
the  men  was  beyond  praise. 

Four  days  rest  in  Louisville,  and  tho  army  was  once  more  in 
motion   on   the   tirst  of  October,  marching   towards   Banlstown, 
where  the  rebels  were  supposed  to  bo  in   force.     On  the  morning 
of  tho  7th.  Bragg's  army  was  found  deployed  to  the  north  and 
west  of  rcrryville,  in  an  admirable  position,  one  of  the  best  that 
could  be  desired.     During  the  remainder  of  that  day  there  was 
but  little  other  than  an  artillery  duel  between  the  two  armies, 
althouMi  there  was  some  skirmishing  also.     The  men  slept  on 
their  Trms  that  night.     The  second  day's  fighting  •  commenced 
with  daylight,  but  it  was  not  vigorously  prosecuted,  as  for  some 
reason  it  was  thought  undesirable  to  bring  on  a  general  engage- 
ment.     The  second  day  closed  with  some  advantages  gained  by 
the  union  forces,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  i)th,  when  the  troops 
advanced  to  the  attack  once  more,  it  became  evident  that  Bragg 
was  retreating,  leaving  only  his  rear  guard  to  keep  up  appear- 
ances,  while  the  army  made  its  escape. 


474 


Tcttle's  HisTortv  of  KaiXSAs. 


Tlic  assailants  bivouacked  on  the  third  night  with  some  ap- 
proach to  comfort,  on  the  field  which  they  had  won.  Perrysville 
was  the  first  great  battle  field  in  which  the  eighth  bore  a  part, 
and  the  courage  and  endurance  of  the  troops  merited  commenda- 
tion, more  especially  wlien  it  is  considered  that  the  army  was 
not,  as  a  whole,  weil  handled  on  that  occasion.  Good  general- 
ship, sucli  as  Grant  could  have  shown  on  such  a  field,'  would 
have  left  no  wreck  of  Bragg  nor  of  his  army,  but  the  men  were 
sound  to  the  core,  and  the  fault  complained  of  was  attached  to 
few,  but  thpy  were  in  a  position  where  their  want  of  energy  al- 
lowed a  first  class  opportunity  to  pass  by  half  improved.  The 
The  eighth  could  and  would  have  done  much  more  under  proper 
leading,  and  so  would  every  regiment  in  that  three  days'  fight, 
could  their  officers  only  have  obtained  permission  to  go  ahead. 

The  troops  marched  on  the  night  of  the  10th  to  Nevada  Sta- 
tion, remaining  there  until  next  night,  when  another  march  com- 
menced, towards  Ilarrodsburg,  changing  from  time  to  time,  the 
enemy  was  once  more  in  our  power  on  the  1-ith,  at  Lancaster,  but 
just  as  Gen.  Mitchell  had  brought  his  forces  into  position,  he  was 
restrained  by  positive  orders  "  not  to  bring  on  a  general  engage- 
ment ; "  precisely  the  same  policy  that  robbed  the  union  of  half 
the  victory  that  was  reluctantly  grasped  at  Perrysville.  The 
enemy  escaped  through  Lancaster,  carrying  an  immense  traiuof 
bao-gage,  part  of  which  consisted  of  plunder,  and  none  of  which 
would  have  escaped,  if  a  vigorous  attack  had  been  made  as  soon 
as  Gen.  Mitchell  formed  our  troops. 

Lancaster  was  entered  on  the  morning  of  the  15th,  much  to  the 
delight  of  the  inhabitants,  and  some  smart  fighting  w'th  the  rear 
guard  of  the  enemy  ensued,  many  prisoners  being  ta'  ;en.  Kose- 
crans  assumed  the  chief  command  on  the  3d  of  November,  and 
his  coming  was  taken  as  an  earnest  that  the  deeds  o<"  luka  and 
Corinth  woulii  be  repeated,  carrying  destruction  into  tht,  mnks  of 
the  rebels.  Other  changes  made  at  the  same  time  were  just  as 
cheering  to  the  men,  and  all  that  was  now  wanted  was  the  enemy. 
Eeconnoisances  were  made  from  time  to  time,  the  eighth  being 
often  employed  as  skirmishers,  with  excellent  effect  in  such  expe- 
ditions, but'the  close  of  the  year  saw  the  brave  fellows  back  in 
Nashville,  acting  as  provost  guards,  and  looking  anxiously  for- 


^»A^.w^.i.  jamajM-t-.t-iH-ii »'  '■ 


State  IIistou r  —  ISOl-o. 


475 


h  some  ap- 
L'errysville 
)ove  a  part, 
omtnencla- 

army  was 
1(1  gcneral- 
eld,'  would 
;  men  were 
attached  to 

energy  al- 
)vea. "  The 
idcr  proper 
lays'  fight, 
;o  ahead, 
[evada  Sta- 
march  com- 
,0  time,  the 
ncaster,  but 
ion,  he  was 
ral  engage - 
lion  of  half 
iville.     The 
nse  train  of 
ne  of  which 
lade  as  soon 

much  to  the 
rth  the  rear 
;en.  Kose- 
vember,  and 
of  luka  and 
tht  ranks  of 
were  just  as 
s  the  enemy, 
eighth  being 
a  such  expe- 
3WS  back  in 
iixiously  for- 


,ard  to  more  active  duty.  The  battalion  m  Kansas,  dunng  o 
year  just  dosing,  had  engaged  in  many  expeditions,  pui.u  ng 
^^Jrell  and  o^er  guerrilla  leaders,  having  ^^^^^^^ 
a  force  under  Cofley,  Cockrill  and  Quantrell,  on  the  18th  ot 
li;:;  tl.  resuU  being  the  com^^ete  defeat  and  t-F-  ; 
,     ,    1  ,      Otliov   Qiifh   cnr'a'i'ements,   on  a  smaiiLi 

i-.ovanl  of  the   cnemv-     Utnoi    suou   i^n^^^a^'         i  .  •        c 

efwtbtushwhalkers,  gave  the  troops  many  opportunities  o 
uthlir   s,  but  they  naturally  looked  with  much  desire  toward 
•  I  ^Le'r  fields  I  which  their  --des  were  winning  g  or  , 
fi.htin.^  the  battles  of  the  union  with  more  effect     He  e.     th 
b  o  d°as  well  as  at  home,  had  proved  the  possession  of  soldieily 
nullities  such  as  the  nation  at  that  time  especially  rieeded. 
^  K^   hvi  le  was  just  then  the  abode  of  some  of  the  nK^st  aban- 
donJ^  L-acters  that  could  be  found  on  this  oont-n^and  the 
duty  assigned  to  the  eighth  regiment  was  delicate  -"^  7;^^^^^^^^^^ 
The  city  was  a  favorite  rendezvous  for  rebel  spies,  and  fully  three 
t^rt      of  the  population   sympathized  with  secession,  yet    or 
Xc.«.wasn.es.ry.^ 

dtrimhiate  between  the  lawless  classes,  whose  designs  were  m- 
toal  to  the  Union,  and  those  orderly  citizens  who  looked  to 
Wastinln  for  succor  in  their  need.     The  disciplineof  the  troop 
Wted  th°em  above  temptations  which  might  have  destroyed  some 
e^men     completely.     Theatres,  which  had  been  closed  becuuse 
of  d'orderly  scenes  continually  recurring,  were  reopened  soon 
after  te  eighth  assumed  provost  duty,  and  the  streets  became  as 
olrly  as  The  most  peace  loving  could  desire,     ^f^^l^^ 
as  its  most  worthy  citizens  were  concerned,  rejoiced  in    he  pres 
Tn  e  o    tie  li  htk     The  dutv  was  so  discharged  that  there  was 
Xay   a  pat  olt  thestreet^^^         men  being  relieved  every  two 
hours  and  a  strong  reserve  was  ready  whenever  called  upon  to 
act  ai  a  minute's  notice,  to  quell  any  disorder  that  might  ansa 
"immediately  after  the  eighth  assumed  ^^^y  as  describ^^^^^^^^^ 
Nashville  Murfreesboro  battle  was  fou„ht,  on  the  31st  December, 
fnd  flwfnl  days.     Rosecrans  had  followed   Bragg  as  fax-^as 
Stone    verhavinl  left  Nashville  on  the  26th  of  December,  when 
SrooHssurpHsed  and  routed  by  Hardee  under  Bragg,  who 


■--?r,S»o«^*««t»IWM«»MIWa*n*«^«*'«'»*»*»^^ 


476 


TrTTi.i:'!^  History'  or  Kaxsas. 


if 

If 
i  1 


^i3! 


'M 


It 
' '  V- 


1'  *,' 


f 


if' 

■i 

"  *i 

■  if 

m 


i  !l 


liad  been  reinfoired.  Tlie  center  and  left,  led  by  Rosecrans  and 
Thomas,  held  the  field  on  the  first  day  with  much  hard  fighting, 
and  on  the  succeeding  days  the  advantages  became  more  marked 
on  the  side  of  the  Union,  until  on  the  3d  of  January,  18fi3,  Bragg 
evacuated  Murfrecsboro  and  decamped  during  the  night.  Wlule 
the  battle  lasted  stragglers  were  steadily  drifting  into  Nashville, 
and  it  became  the  duty  of  the  eighth  to  send  deserters  under  a 
proper  guard  to  the  front.  Prisoners  taken  from  ]?ragg's  army 
by  Thomas,  afterwards  known  as  "  The  Kock  of  Chickamauga," 
and  by  Rosecrans  himself  to  the  number  of  over  2,500  men,  were 
all  provided  for  during  their  stay,  held  in  safe  custody  without 
any  of  the  brutalities  that  were  known  in  Andersonville,  and 
within  one  week  dispatched  to  the  prisons  in  the  north.  Some 
of  the  wounded  secessionist  prisoners  were  inquir«,'d  for  vyth  much 
anxiety  by  the  wealthier  secessionists  in  Nashville,  and  the  pro- 
vost guard  saw  an  excellent  opening  for  a  moral  lesson;  the 
wounded  rebels  were  billeted  upon  their  sympathisers,  and  from 
that  moment  the  urgency  of  their  pity  made  no  further  sound  in 
the  public  ears.     The  conversion  was  effected  on  both  sides. 

On  the  13th  of  April,  it  was  found  that  many  of  the  more 
prominent  citizens  of  Nashville  were  holding  communications 
with  the  rebels,  and  although  it  might  be  considered  quite  natural 
on  their  parts  to  do  so,  seeing  that  their  friends  and  their  interests 
also,  as  they  believed,  rested  with  secession,  it  would  have  been 
the  extreme  of  folly  for  the  United  States  authorities  to  allow 
such  conduct,  once  discovered,  tc  pass  unpunished.  All  right 
thinkers  agree  on  one  point,  that  the  first  duty  of  a  government 
is  to  maintain  its  own  existence,  although,  unfortunately,  as  long 
as  the  spirit  of  seces.*ion  remained  unquelled,  it  was  well  known 
that  traitors,  plotting  the  downfall  of  the  Union,  were  cherished 
in  the  very  heart  of  the  nation,  and  permitted  to  shape  its  policy. 
Gen.  Eosecrans,  having  reason  to  believe  that  there  were  traitors 
in  Nashville,  used  his  power  to  subdue  treason  by  ordering  the 
arrest  of  one  hundred  prominent  citizens.  The  provost  marshal 
and  the  eighth  regiment  carried  out  the  order.  The  men  might, 
some  of  them,  have  been  able  to  show  that  they  were  harshly 
dealt  with,  but  military  justice  cannot  afi'ord  to  go  slow,  stern 
necessity  imposes  upon  all  tribunals  of  the  nature  of  courts  mar- 


i 


S TA TE  HiSTOR Y  —  JSdl-'j. 


477 


)socrans  and 
\vd  fighting, 
inrc  marked 
1803,  Bragg 
rht.     Wliile 
•)  Nashville, 
ters  under  a 
Iragg's  army 
ickainanga," 
0  men,  were 
ody  without 
onvillc,   and 
Drth.     Some 
r  wyth  much 
and  the  pro- 
lesson  ;   the 
Ts,  and  from 
ber  sound  in 
h  sides. 
of  the  more 
imunications 
juite  natural 
heir  interests 
d  have  been 
ies  to  allow 
.     All  right 
government 
,tely,  as  long 
well  known 
ire  cherished 
pe  its  policy, 
were  traitors 
ordering  the 
ivost  marshal 
3  men  might, 
were  harshly 
o  slow,  stern 
f  courts  mar- 


tial speed  and  vigor  during  the  prevalence  of  war,  and  where  citi- 
/.ens  are  conHieling  with  the  safety  of  a  nation,  or  arc  assumed  to 
be,  there  is  less  consideration  than  for  a  suppc^sed  nulita.y  offender. 
Rosecrans  made  his  order,  the  arrests  were  ellectod,  and  one 
hundred  men  were  transferred  from  comfortable  homes  to  su- 
premely distasteful  prisons,  witli  hardly  more  clamor  than  might 
be  caused  in  ordinary  times  by  the  removal  of  an  oilicuil  from  a 
post  ollice.     Those  who  were  not  arrested  feared  that  then-  own 
turn  would  come  next,  and  alarm  was  deep  seated  among  those 
who  knew  that  they  had  behaved  disloyally.     Every  man  that 
was  not  menaced  was  suspected  by  his  disloyal   friends  of  having 
given  information  against  the  others.     Of  the  prisoners,  some  were 
sent  south  within  the  lines  of  the  rebels  with  whom  they  sym- 
pathized, some  were  sent  north  of  the  Ohio  and  there  set  at  lib- 
erty upon  parole,  and  others  were  confined  in  northern  pn-ns 
until  the  end  of  the  war.     Nine  days  later  an  order  was  made  o. 
Gen.  Mitchell  that  every  person  in  Nashville  over  18  years  of 
acre  should  take  the  oath  of  allegiance,  or  noncombatants'  parole  and 
crive  bonds,  or  be  escorted  south  of  the  lines.    The  provost's  office 
was  rushed  immediately  by   men  whose  every   word  had  until 
then  menaced  the  union,  and  it  was  found  necessary  to  extend  the 
ten  days  named  for  the  oath  or  bonds  to  twenty  days  to  permit  of 
the  requisite  papers  being  made  out.     Within  twenty  days  over 
fifteen  thousand  persons  took  the  oath,  or  gave  their  parole,  and 
bonds  were  taken,  varying  in  amount  from  $500  to  $20,000,  ac- 
cording to  the  requirements  of  each  case.    Two  hundred  persons, 
who  v\°ere  too  honest  or  to  obstinate  to  comply  with  those  con- 
ditions, were  sent  south  and  escorted  outside  our  military  lines  so 
that  they  could  no  longer  serve  the  enemy  within,  and  were  bound 
to  desire  the  speedy  settlement  of  the  quarrel  which  many  of  them 
had  helped  to  intensify.  ,       ■  wu 

Discharging  so  many  and  such  arduous  functions,  the  eighth 
had  won  good  wishes  of  all  loyal  souls  in  Nashville,  and  when  on 
the  evening  of  the  8th  of  June,  orders  arrived  for  the  regiment  to 
come  to  the  front  at  Murfreesboro,  there  was  a  series  of  protests 
by  telecrraph  from  all  the  authorities,  civil  as  well  as  military,  that 
the  eicrhth  were  indispensable  to  the  good  order  of  the  city;  but 
the  answer  speedilv  came,  that  the  men  were  wanted  at  Murfrees- 


^«^'* 


H  .'i 


]1i 


478 


Tuttlk's  History  or  Kansas. 


ST\TE  HISTORY - 


boro,  for  other  duties  not  less  important,  and  on  the  morning  of 
the  Otli  tlic  favorite  regiment  marchea  out  of  tlie  city  following 
its  band  to  the  fine  refrain  of  "John  Brown."  The  good  feeling 
of  tlie  loyal  portion  of  Nashville  could  not  have  been  manifested 
more  heartily  tliun  by  the  cheers  and  farewells  of  the  crowd  that 
filled  the  streets.  We  .shall  sec  in  our  next  chapter  to  what  du- 
ties and  high  responsibilities  the  loyal  eighth  were  called,  and 
how  bravely  they  did  their  devoir. 


CHAPTER   XXII'. 

-FIGHTING  FOU  THE  UNION- 18C1-18C5. 
IconUnued.) 


Wir  Record  -  Eighth  Kansas  -  Murfrccsboro  -  General  Rosccrnns  -  Gen- 
eral  Brae-'  -  Tulhvhoma  ^lenaced  -  Shelby  villc  -  Successful  Strategy  - 
Clearing  Tennessee -Liberty  Gap -Hoovers -Wading  to  Victory - 
General  Sheridan  -  Scattering  Guerrillas  -  Winchester  -  Georgia  - 
The  Tennessee -Evacuating  Chattanooga  -  Rosecrans  Concenli-ales - 
Ura-T's  Ueinl-orcements  -  Dead  Man's  River  -  Chiekamauga  -  Terrible 
C^irnage-  W..od's  Mistake  -  Longstreet's  Uash  -  Terrible  Alternatives - 
Slieridan's  Rally  -  Supporting  Thomas-  Holding  Chattanooga-  Regi- 
mental Spirit-  Rock  „f  Chiekamauga-  DcfeudiugChattanooga- Army 
of  the  Cumberland  -  Erecting  Forlilicutious  -  Starving  but  Merry-  Bad 
We'ither-Do-'  Feast— Unfailing  Humor  — Cannonade  — Hooker  Ail- 
vancin— General  Grant  -  Ros.'crans  Superseded  -  General  Thomas  - 
Liberaf  Rat  ions  -  General  Slierman  -  orchard  Knob  -  Desperate  Fight- 

iuK  _  Victory  Secured  -  Headquarters  -  Mission  Ridge  -  Lookout 
Mountain  -  Hooker's  Attack  -  Ciiarging  Chattanooga-  Awful  Cannon- 
ade  -  Hardee's  Corps  -  Bragg  Routed  -  First  Flag  -  Utter  Dcmoraliz- 
ation  -  Noble  Emulation  -  Counting  Spoils  -  Decisive  Victory  -  Com- 
manding Genius -Burnside- Eighth  at  Knoxville- Sheridan's  Com- 
mand -  Veterans  -  Resaca,  Altoona  Pass  -  Kenesaw  -  Atlanta  -  Mari- 
etta-Rocky Face  Kidge- Pulaski- Columbia -Frauklin  -Nash- 
villc  Victory -Crushing  Hood -Ninth  Kansas  -  Locust  Grove -Van 
Buren  -  Quantrell-  South  Kansas  -  Capturing  Clarkson  -  Bentonville 
-Eleventh  Kansas  -  Governor  Ignored -Night  Marches  -  Fighting 
Guerrillas -Indian  Warfare  -  Twelfth  Kansas  -  Teric  Nor  Swamp - 
Thirteenth  Kansas  -  Fourteenth  -  Moscow  -  Fifteenth  -  Sixteenth  - 
Seventeenth  -  Colored  Regiments  -  Batteries  -  Civil  Government  - 
Kansas  Prospects. 


'■,'ji!,,,,  ^^..uiUiwiiKm-i  iMiiw"'"'' 


le  morning  of 
;ity  following 
;  good  feeling 
en  manifested 
he  crovvd  that 
r  to  what  du- 
e  called,  and 


— 18C1-18C5. 


tosccrnns  —  Gen- 
."ssful  Strategy  — 
ig  to  Victory  — 
ter  —  Georgia  — 
1  Concenlnitcs  — 
uuigft  — Terrible 
lie  Alternatives  — 
ttttuooga— llegi- 
ttauoogii  —  Army 
but  Merry— Bud 
le  —  Hooker  Ail- 
■neral  Thomas — 
•  Desperate  Fight- 
iidge  —  Lookout 

—  Awful  Cannon- 
Utter  Dcmoraliz- 
B  Victory  —  Com- 

Sheridan's  Com- 

-  Atlanta  —  Mari- 
'rauklin  — Nasli- 
;ust  Grove  — Van 
sou-^  Bentonvillo 
irclies  —  Fighting 
re  Nor  Swamp  — 
ith  —  Sixteenth  — 
I     Government  — 


State  HisTonr— 1S01-'>. 


479 


WiiKV  the  Eighth  arrived  at  Murfreesboro  it  was  700  strong, 
and   within  a  tew  days  was  ready  as  ever  for   <lnty  in  the  field. 
Some  of  the  oniccrs  remained  in  Nashville  for  a  few  days  to  in- 
striiet  their  sueeessors  in  the  work  devolving  upon  provost  mar- 
shal   but  by  the  17th  of  June,  every  one  exeept  Capt.   Austin, 
who  was  detailed  for  a  further  stay  in   Nashville,  had  arrived  in 
camp      The  regiment  was  forty  men  stronger  than  it  ha.l  been  six 
months  before,  on  the  occasion  of  its  being  stationed  in  Nashville 
It  is  no  part  of  our  purpose  to  give  in  this  place  a  connected 
history  of  the  war;    but  in  order  to  present  a  reasonably  correct 
sketch  of  the  proceedings  of  Kansas  regiments,  it  is  necessary  to 
give  occasionally  some  details  of  general  proceedings.     The  army 
under  Eosecrans  had  not  been  idle  since  the  battle  of  Murfrees- 
boro,  which  concluded  on  the  3d  of  January,  1803,  with  the  re- 
treat of  Bragg ;  but  no  offensive  operations  had  bean  undertaken, 
as  h  was  claimed  that  reinforcements  and  supplies  were  necessary. 
Especially  was  it  said  that  he  lacked  cavalry  in  sufficient  num- 
bers for  the  work  before  him.     On  the  24th  of  June,  the  army 
advanced  from  Murfreesboro.     Bragg  occupied  a  strongly  fortified 
position  at  Tullaboma,  with  15,000  men,  and  P.ak's  corps   of 
18  000  was  at  Shelbyville,  besides  which  Hardee,  with  12.000 
men  was  at  Wartrace,  between  the  other  two  positions,     torty- 
five  thousand  men  so  placed,  with  the  advantages  possessed  by 
them  for  defensive  operations  demanded  a  large  disparity  m  the 
attacking  force,  or  some  stratagem  that  would  bring  the  enemy  out 
of  their  fastnesses.     The  plans  of  Rosecrans  had  evidently  been 
well  considered,  and  they  were  well  executed  in  every  particular ; 
but  one  point  had  not  been  thought  of,  and  precisely  that  point 
was  all  but  fatal  to  the  general  and  his  army.     Demonstrations 
were  made  by  the  general  against  roads  that  led  over  a  range  of 
mountains,  leading  through  Hoover,  Liberty  and   Guy  s  gaps. 
Some  of  the  demonstrations  were  feints  merely,  and  others  had  a 
direct  purpose  which  Bragg  could  not  immediately  divine ;  the 
result  was  as  Rosecrans  anticipated ;  the  intrenched  troops  were 
compelled  to  come  out  and  meet  him  on  more  equal  ground  in 
order  to  protect  their  communications.     Three  guns   and  five 
hundred  prisoners  were  taken  at  Shelbyville;  all  Middle  Tennes- 
see  was  cleared  of  armed  confederates.     Bragg,  sustaining  little 


■  «WWIJI-L'  ■•'  •  "T  "l"' '""  '-'■^'"' 


i\"mt^*^^ 


IB     \    . 
fr' 


i       •  1 1! , 


>    V    i|»'f. 


\  m- 


480 


TVTTLU's   IfjSTOIlY  Of  A'.l. V.S.I."?. 


I0S.S,  retrcatecl,  possibly  with  ulterior  Jesigtis,  as  move  than  once 
i„  Ins  n,ilitary  career  ho  turne.l  sudaenly  upon  his  pursuers  when 
thev  felt  thcni.selvcs  most  secure,  and  snalchea  a  victory  out  of 
tl,e\-ery  jau-s  of  defeat.  Bragg,  apparently  eompellecl  to  take 
such  action  bv  tl.e  pr-.eedure  oi  llosecrans,  who  had  crossed  the 
Te.uiessee  at  several  points,  abandoned  Chattanooga  without  hght- 
in",  and  was  now  in  full  retreat. 

The  ci"l.th  advan.;ed  with  the  division  to  which  it  was  at- 
tached, orT  the  2-lth  of  June,  toward   Shelbyvdle  six  miles  then 
crossing  the  conntrv  to  the  left  gained  the  Wartrace  road,  and 
camped  at  Old  Millensburg.     Tliere  was  continuous  skirmishing 
durincr  the  day,  and  Johnson's  division  made  a  spirited  attack  on 
Liberry  Gap,  which  was  carried  with  a  loss  of  sixty  men  knled 
and  wounded.     Attempts  to  recover  the  po.sition  were  unavailing, 
lloover-s  Gap  was  surprised  and  held  by  Wilder's  cavalry  until 
the  infantry  came  to  hold  the  pass,  so  that  the  enemy  had  lost 
two  of  the  three  strong  passes,  and  was  forced  back   to  his  in- 
trench ments.     The  weather  was  deplorable,  rain  descending  in  ■ 
torrents,  roads  impassable,  or  nearly  so.  artillery  could  be  nK>ved 
only  with  the  greatest  difficulty,  wagons  were  immovable  in  many 
places,  and  even  infantry  found  it  diflicult  to  proceed.     A  march 
of  twelve  miles  through  soil  where  men  sank  ankle  deep  at  every 
step,  and  oftentimes  even  knee  deep,  put  a  heavy  strain  upon  the 

attacking  force.  . 

]<:arly  on  the  morning  of  the  25th  the  Thirty-Fifth  Illinois  and 
Eicrhth'Kansas  were  detailed  to  protect  the  train,  a  duty  especial- 
ly "irksome  ander  the  circumstances.     The  wagons  were  parked  in 
a  plowed  field,  the  rain  still  falling  in  torrents,  and  it  required 
twenty-four  hours  patient  and  incessant  labor  to  get  the  train  up- 
on the  road.     Gen.  Carlin's  brigade  suffered  severely  on  the  after- 
noon of  the  26th.     The  following  day  the  rain  still  continued,  and 
although  the  men  were  ready  to  set  out  at   three  in  the  morning, 
no  movement  was  made  until  the  afternoon,  and  even  then  only  four 
miles  march  could  be  effected.     This  was  more  regretted  beciuse 
heavy  flrinc^  was  heard  ahead.     The  same  record  for  the  following 
day  a  march  of  eight  miles  to  Manchester  through  a  delugo  of 
rain  and  a  camping  place  three  inches  deep  in  water,  with  mud 
below  that,  yet  the   fatigue  so  complete  that  sleep  came  readily. 


y 


State  IIistouy—  1^01-'). 


481 


•I'c  than  once 
urrtucrs  when 
ictory  out  of 
>lloil  to  take 
I  crossed  the 
without  light- 

ch  it  was  at- 
X  mik'rf,  then 
!ice  road,  and 
18  skinnisliing 
itcd  attack  on 
;y  men  killed 
;re  unavailing. 
!  cavalry  until 
lemy  had  lost 
ick  to  his  in- 
descending  in  • 
uld  be  nn>ved 
vable  in  many 
led.     A  march 
5  deep  at  every 
strain  upon  the 

[th  Illinois  and 
,  duty  especial- 
were  parked  in 
nd  it  required 
et  the  train  up- 
ily  on  the  after- 
continued,  and 
in  the  morning, 
1  then  only  four 
sxretted  bec!  use 
ar  the  following 
igh  a  deluge,  of 
^atcr,  with  mud 
?p  came  readily. 


The  weather  already  discribed,  continued  until  the  ;JOth  of  June, 
but  on  the  firnt  of  July  there  ean.c  bnght  warm  weather,  and  the 
rebel  stronghold  at  TuUahoma,  evacuated  by  J?ragg,  was  entered 
by  tlie  eighth  and  otlicr  troops  at  midnight,  six  guns  und^consid- 
erable  supplies  being  captured.  ' 

The  success  of  the  movement  was  cotnplelo.     Slieridan  s  di- 
vision had  a  brush  with  the  enemy  ai  Klk  River  on  the  2d    but 
the  retreat  was  continued.     The  weather  alone  saved  llra-g  from 
a  worse  disaster  than  flight,  and  the  pursuit  was  ma.nuuued  wiUi 
some  eagerness,  wadi.ig  rivers  waist  deep  and  permitting  no  ob- 
stacle to  delay  the  advance.     Guerrilla  companies  were  destroyed 
or  scattered  by  scouting  parties,  stores  were  captured,  and,  gener- 
allv,  everything  went  well,  although  the  coininisanat  was  faulty 
in  the  last  degree,  the  men  were  shoeless,  and  shoddy  generally 
made  the  supplies  of  little  value.     The  campaign  had  been  suc- 
cessful, and  in  face  of  that  fact  all  the  troubles  of  the  march  were 
as  nothing.     The  enemy  had  been  driven  out,  1,700  prisoners 
taken,  and  the  conduct  and  bearing  of  the  Eighth  Kansas  was 
made  the  subject  of  circular  orders,  which  are  of  great  value, 
while  the  force  was  encamped  at  Winchester. 

The  division  broke  up  its  encampment  on  the  17th  of  August, 
and  crossing  the  Cumberland  Mountains  was  in  Stevenson,  Ala- 
bama on  the  2Uh.     The  route  traversed  was  full  of  peculiar  dif- 
ficulties, but  it   was  direct     The  army  was  to  ford  the  Tenne- 
see   at  Caperton's  Ferry  at   daylight  on  the  29th.     There  was 
preat  peril  in  the  attempt,  but  all  was  made  ready  for  the  service 
in  .^ood  time.     The  Eighth  Kansas  and  Fifteenth  Wisconsin  led 
cov^ered  by  heavy  batteries,  masked  by  the  foliage  on  the  bank  of 
the  stream;  but  after  the  passage  had  been  effected  it  was  found 
that  the  enemy  had  fled  panic  stricken  just  at  the  time  when  a 
determined  resistance  must  have  been  fatal  to  hundreds  and  might 
have  checked   the  progress  of  Kosecans  army  altogether.     Tlie 
gallant  conduct  of  the  eighth  and  the  other  troops  formmg  the  ad- 
vance elicited  much  praise  from  the  commander-in-chief  and  other 

officers 

The  troops  were  now  moved  towards  Chattanooga.     Two  di- 
visions had  crossed  at  Carpenter's  Ferry,  others  at  Shell  Mound, 
Bridge  Port  and  Battle  Creek;  Crittenden's  corps  had  moved  di- 
81 


i-.Wt»*P*»«**P" 


k-mm.XM.Iwt:'! 


.•■9 1  uir  ^**i^^ipsy^ 


n  "v 


.'!:' 


432  TvTTI.e's  IIlSTOllY  OF  K.iSSASi. 

rectonClmttanooga;  Tl.omas  had  pushed  over  Lookout  range 
nn.l  readied  MeLeniore's  Cove;  so  tliat  Bragg  was  driven  by  Ins 
fears  out  of  Cl.attanooga,  on  tlu;  fitli  and  8tl.  of  Srptend.er,  a'.d 
Crittenden  occupied  llie  position  on  the  9th,  advancing  soon  after- 
wards  to  Kinggokl,  Oa.  Tlic  several  movements  indicated  had 
broken  the  for^'cc  under  llosecrans  into  detached  parties,  an.l  had 
concentrated  Bragg's  command  completely,  besides  which  he  was 
now  daily  obtaining  reinforcements.  Buckner,  Johnston,  Long- 
street  were  at  hand  or  soon  arriving,  and  every  man  that  the  reb- 
els could  send  to  his  aid  was  being  sent  to  the  front  with  all  pos- 
sible speed. 

The  necessity  to  concentrate  the  scattered  forces  was  perceived, 
and  on  the  13th  movements  with  that  object  in  view  were  com- 
menced, but  the  enemy  just  as  persistently  strove  to  prevent  such 
a  consummation,  but  at  lengtli,  on  the  19th  of  September  the 
eighth  came  upon  the  field  at  Chickamauga  just  after  the  battle 
had  commenced.     Tlie  troops  were  about  equal  in  numbers,  prob- 
ably 55,000  on  either  side,  but  those  of  Kosecrans  hastily  coming 
up,\hose  of  Bra^gwell  in  hand  and  concentrated  to  deal  a  crush- 
ing blow.     Tlie  first  advance  of  the  rebels  won  some  trilling  suc- 
cesses against  Reynolds'  and  Van  Cleve's  divisions,  but  the  eighth 
and  the°division  with  which  it  was  operating  came  upon  the  run, 
formed  in  line  of  battle,  going  in  where  the  fight  was  hottest  and 
saved  the  fortunes  of  the  day.     There  was  terrible  fighting  on 
both  sides  and  the  carnage  was  awful.     The  fire  of  our  troops 
was  perfect,  being  delivered  with  great  precision,  and  every  volley 
cut  its  way  through  the  lines  of  the  foe.     The  brigades  that  were 
in  the  hottest  of  the  fight  on  the  first  day  lost  forty  per  cent,  in 
kUl'^d  and  wounded.     The  eighth  suffered  tremendously,  but  it 
m''  vred  with  the  precision  of  a  machine   and  never  gave  ground 
except  under  orders.     The  work  of  the  19th  had  been  fearful, 
but  the  result  was  indecisive  as  the  courage  of  our  men  could  not 
more  than  equal  the  courage  of  the  opposite  side,  and  their  troops 
were,  some  of  them,  quite  fresh  and  in  good  order.     Two  brigades 
of  Davis'  division  had  fought  two  full  divisions  and  had  not  been 
beaten,  still  the  battle  was  not  decided. 

The  next  morning  found  the  troops  on  both  sides  ready  to  re- 
new the  struggle,  and  the  battle  was  beginning  hotly,  when  Gen. 


STA  IK   UlSTOli Y  —  Mil-a. 


483 


vout  range 
ivcn  by  liis 
LMiibor,  avid 
soon  after- 
ioatcd  had 
38,  and  bad 
icb  bo  was 
;ton,  Long- 
lat  tbe  rcb- 
ith  all  pos- 

;  perceived, 
'  were  corn- 
revent  such 
tember  the 
!r  the  battle 
nber.s,  ])rob- 
itily  coining 
eal  a  crush- 
trilling  suc- 
it  the  eighth 
I  on  the  run, 
hottest  and 
fighting  on 
if  our  troops 
every  volley 
les  that  were 
per  cent,  in 
)usly,  but  it 
gave  ground 
been  fearful, 
en  could  not 
[  their  troops 
Pwo  brigades 
had  not  been 

3  ready  to  re- 
y,  when  Gen. 


\  x)d,  misunderstanding  an  order,  broke  the  union  lino  by  mov- 
ing to  support  Reynolds.  Tlie  gap  thus  made  was  turned  to  fatal 
ac°c.unt  by  Longstreot  with  liis  firsh  troops,  four  coluuuis  deep, 
coming  down  from  the  rising  ground  occupied  by  the  enemy. 
The  first  and  second  lines  of  the  rebel  advance  were  shattered  by 
the  fire  of  our  men,  so  that  there  seemed  to  bo  no  doubt  that  wo 
were  winning  the  day,  when  it  became  apparent  that  tlie  gap  liad 
been  peiietrat.'d,  and  the  right  and  center  had  to  choose  between 
three  alternatives,  all  terrible :  retreat,  annihilation,  or  surrender. 
The  wonder  is  that  one  man  should  have  escaped.  Everything 
that  courage  could  accomplish  was  ofTected,  but  there  was  no 
chanee  of  retrieving  the  fortunes  of  that  day  under  the  circum- 
stances. The  division  reduced  to  a  wreclc,  without  a  commander, 
severed  from  the  main  body,  all  but  surrounded,  still  rallied  near 
the  Chattanooga  road  and  checivcd  the  advance  of  the  enemy  for 
a  time.  Tlie  fragments  of  the  division  marched  toward  Mis.sion 
Ridge,  and  numbers  increased  ut  every  step;  Gen.  Carlin, 
with  part  of  his  brigade;  Gen.  Sheridan  with  part  of  his  division  ; 
and  that  olTicer  immediately  assumed  command,  extricating  the 
troops  from  their  terrible  dilemma  and  moving  them  to  a  position 
three  miles  from  liossville,  from  which  Gen.  Thomas  could  be 

reached. 

Gen.  Davis,  who  had  come  in  from  another  direction,  was  at 
Eossville,  and  a  brief  consultation  between  the  two  generals,  suf- 
ficed to  determine,  that  the  troops  should  move  to  the  support  of 
Gen.  Thomas,  who  still  held  the  field  of  Chickamauga  against 
the  enemy.  The  movement  had  just  been  efllected  and  the  ral- 
lied troops  were  near  Gen.  Thomas'  right,  when  orders  came  that 
they  should  return  on  Rossville,  which  order  was  obeyed,  and 
about  midnight  on  the  20th,  the  army  concentrated  at  that  point, 
expecting  a  renewal  of  the  attack.  Early  in  the  morning  of  the 
21st,  breastworks  were  thrown  up  at  Rossville,  and  our  men  re- 
mained upon  the  field,  but  the  enemy  did  not  appear,  and  at 
midnight  the  troops  withdrew  to  Chattanooga,  reaching  that  place 
about°daylight  on  the  morning  of  the  22d.  The  conduct  of  Gen. 
Thomas,  worthily  named  "  The  Rock  of  Chickamauga,"  for  his 
action  on  the  20th,  is  simply  beyond  praise,  and  tbe  ultimate 
event  of  tbe  struggle,  thus  untowardly  begun,  leaves  little  to  be  re- 


I 

'8„ 


If: 


11 

ill 

III 


.11 


484 


Trrn.K's  llisrouv  of  K  ass  as. 


grottoil  ill  its  progrc.'^.-!,  save  tlic  lives  of  iho  bnivo  incii  sacrificed 
by  llic  blunder  that  broke  our  line. 

The  Kiglitli  Kunsurf  bore  itself  bravely  all  the  Jay  tlirough  i»3  • 
most  perilous  miseliaiices,  and  tho  pen  of  Homer  could    not  do 
Justice  to  the  desperate  heroism  which  tried  to  wrest  victory  from 
imi)Ossible  odds.      Wlicu  the  eiglilh  went  into  the  battle  of  Chick- 
auiauga  on  the  lOlh,  it  consisted  of  -1()()  rank  and  llle,  and  when 
it  retired  to  llossvillc  in  the  evening  of  the  20th,  it  had   lost  in 
killed,  wounded  and  missing  243  ;  only  lfi;j  remained,  and  there 
were  no  stragglers  from  the  regiment.     Tiic  record  is  of  a  charac- 
ter which  deserves  to  stand  willi  that  of  Leonidas,  and  his  heroic 
sjjartans  at  Therinopyhe.     Tiic  crossing  of    tho  Tennessee  near 
Sand  Hill  mountain,  and  the  second  day  at  Chickamauga  may  bo 
named  among  the  best  deeds  of  a  brave  regiment,  although  in  tho 
first  no  lives  were  lost  and  in  the  last  there  was  not  the  .solace  of  im- 
mediate victory  to  crown  the  lives  of  the  innnorlal  dead.     The  loss 
cf  the  brigade  under  Col.  Martin  during  the  two  days  was   719, 
out  of  1218,  and  yet  the  brigade  remained  in  order  of  battle  on 
the   field   after   the   conflict   closed.     Numbers  of    the   slightly 
•wounded  returned  to  duty  within  a  few  days,  and  the  spirit  of 
the  force  was  undaunted. 

The  army  arrived  in  Chattanooga  at  daylight  on  the  22d  of 
September,  having  lost  18,000  in  the  two  days  of  terrific  fighting 
immediately  precedent,  and  there  were  only  30,000  men  fit  for 
duty  to  hold  the  point  upon  which  the  issue  of  the  campaign  rested. 
Bragg,  llnslied  with  his  success,  and  his  army  larg  ily  outnum- 
bering ours,  with  reinforcements  hourly  arriving,  hemmed  us  in, 
surrounding  Chattanooga  convinced  that  he  would  capture  or  an- 
nihilate the  force  which  had  troubled  him  so  long.  His  right 
rested  on  the  Teimessee  river  northeast  of  the  town,  his  lines  run- 
nino-  in  front  of  Mission  Ridge  to  the  southwest  below  Chatta- 
nooga creek,  on  the  south  to  Lookout  Mountain  running  over  its 
point,  and  his  left  resting  on  the  Tennessee  in  the  Wauhatchie 
Valley.  The  series  of  positions  had  been  splendidly  taken,  and 
he  was  justified  in  thinking  that  so  posted,  he  was  invincible 
against  ordinary  troops. 

There  were  only  two  or  three  unfinished  forts  on  the  east  and 
south  of  the  town  when  our  army  entered  Chattanooga  on  the 


»<•    m:  TTisi     r—  istir  \ 


485 


ficcJ 


\  sacn 


lirougli  i*3  ■ 
lid  not  do 
ctory  from 
oof  Chiuk- 
and  wlien 
lid  lost  ill 
,  und  thero 
)t  a  charac- 
1  hid  lioroio 
ncaseo  near 
iga  may  bo 
jugh  in  tlio 
jlacc  of  im- 
.  The  losa 
i  was  719, 
)l  battle  on 
lie  slightly 
he  spirit  of 

the  22d  of 
iflo  fighting 
nen  tit  for 
luign  rested, 
ily  outnum- 
imed  us  in, 
pture  or  an- 
His  right 
is  lines  rua- 
ovv  Chatta- 
ing  over  its 
Wauhatchie 
r  taken,  and 
3  invincible 

he  east  and 
5oga  on  the 


22d,  and  the  iwvr.        tho  Cui    m-rland  commoiiccd   llit-  wmk  of 
fortilleation  almoM      i  (he  tuce- of  tho  eiieniy.     The  liiicM  wito  u 
half  circle,  resting  its  IciL  on  Uuj  Tennessee,  the  Ilth  corps  in  tho 
center,  and  the  right  also  on  the  river.    The  right  aiitl  lefl  ies[)ee- 
tivcly  wire  tho  2t)th  and  21.st  army  corps.     Tho  eighth,  forming 
part  of  iien.  Davis'  division,  was  on  the  extreme  left  ..f  tho  2Ulli 
corps,  facing  south  to  Lookout  mountain  and  th(!  (Miallanoogu 
valley.     Sleep  or  rest  had  almost  been  strungers  to  the  army 
Hincc  dayligiit  on  tho   liUh.     The  brigade  which   included   tho 
eighth  was  detailed  for  picket  duty  on  tho  morning  of  the  22d, 
after  two  hours  had  been  given  to  cook  and  breakfast  as  well  na 
.sleep.     During  the  forenoon,  half  the  men  watching  while  tho 
others  worked,  a  light  lino  of  rillo  pits  was  thrown  u[)  along  tho 
irregular  banks  of  tho  Chattanooga  creek.     Helioved  from  that 
duty  at  noon,  there  was  one  hour  for  rest,  and  then  a  heavy  lino 
of  breastworks  had  to  be  constructed  on  the  front.     'I'iio  work 
was  kept  up  with  terrible  vigor  until  midnight,  after  which,  orders 
were  made  that  one-half  of  the  men  should  rest  while  the  others 
labored  at  the  fortifications.     Sleep  fell  upon  tho  eyelids  of  tho 
relieved  troops  wherever  they  sank  down,  but  they  were  ready 
once  more  as  soon  as  the  call  of  duty  was  heard. 

One  line  of  fortifications  followed  another,  day  after  day;  not  a 
moment  could  be  lost,  not  a  chance  allowed  to  the  enemy  ;  forts, 
redoubts,  curtains,  made  every  point  as  nearly  as  po.ssiblo  im- 
pregnable, with  such  men  for  their  defense;  but  as  the  works 
advanced,  thero  was  no  longer  such  urgency  as  to  demand  inces- 
sant labor.  There  were  hours  of  rest  occasionally,  but  the  forti- 
fications were  being  improved  by  details  of  men,  falling  to  their 
duty  in  rotation.  Then  the  weather  became  wet,  the  flats  where 
the  troops  were  in  camp  were  flooded,  cold  winds  presaging  win- 
ter, but  not  cold  enough  to  harden  the  ground,  chilled  the  lightly 
clothed  men  as  they  huddled  round  camp  fires,  or  busied  them- 
selves trying  to  construct  efficient  shelter  from  the  elements  with 
the  debris  of  old  buildings.  Food  was  becoming  terribly  scarce, 
and  the  army  mules  were  dying  for  want  of  support  in  their  ter- 
rible labor  of  drawing  supplies  from  Stevenson,  sixty  miles  away, 
over  two  ranges  of  the  Cumberland  mountains.  Gen.  IJosecrans 
made  an  order  that  only  one-third  rations  should  issue,  and  there 


4»0 


Trrri.K's  Ifisroiir  <>i-  K'.i.vsiv. 


I  .1 1 


was  an  absolute  i.r..lnl)itioii  tliat  uOk'erH  ^ll(>ula  l)o  allowcu  to 
l)iirdiaso  more  than  tlio  quantity  \mivA  to  tlio  Hoklicr.  Tho 
iitHii'ssiti.'s  of  tlio  jiDsition  nood  have  no  stronger  conitnont.  Tlio 
cattle  that  were  killed  wore  almost  'yit)K<>f  starvation,  so  that 
their  (Icsh  scciiicil  to  increase  the  (amine  rather  than  allay  its 
pangs.  Slaughter  houses  were  haunted  for  oiTal,  and  men  cooked 
with  avidity  what  they  would  have  turned  from  with  disgust  in 
times  of  ordinary  searcity.  Thus  terribly  did  the  defen.se  of 
Chattanooga  open,  the  work  of  fortifieation  making  awful  de- 
mands on  physical  and  mental  vigor,  the  rain  and  cold  increasing 
the  stress  of  sulTering,  light  clothes  refusing  warmth  to  enfee\)led 
frames,  little  sleep  possible  save  in  tho  very  extreme  of  exhaus- 
tion, and  food  so  scareo  that  a  few  crumbs  of  crackers  falling  into 
the  road  as  boxes  wero  removed  from  tho  commissariat  wagoiis 
were  eagerly  scrambled  for  by  gaunt  men,  solicitous  lest  their 
strength  should  give  out  before  the  i.  oment  of  relief. 

Tho  Prodigal  Son  envied  the  husks  which  wero  fed  to  the 
Bwine,  and  that  fact  could  bo  easily  understood  when  it  was 
necessary  to  station  a  guard  over  the  corn  doled  out  to  the  fam- 
Lslied  artillery  horses,  back  of  our  camp,  lest  human  competitors 
should  deprive  the  poor  quadrupeds  of  their  scanty  provender. 
An  ear  of  corn  was  a  feast,  and  a  strange  dog  wandering  m  the 
camp  was  convtrtn-l  Into  means  of  defense  for  the  Union.  There 
was  no  despondency  among  our  brave  fellows,  nor  was  there  any 
leisure  in  which  such  an  indulgence  could  be  enjoyed.  One  week 
after  reaching  Chattanooga,  the  heights  of  Lookout  Mountain  and 
Mission  Kidge.  thundered  with  the  crash  of  great  guns,  opened 
upon  us  by  the  rebels,  and  from  daylight  until  late  into  the 
night  the  sullen  roar  continued  at  intervals,  day  after  day,  but 
the  men  remained  at  their  work,  building  shanties,  improving 
fortilications,  cooking  their  meager  repasts,  or,  at  their  leisure, 
watched  the  effects  of  the  enemy's  guns,  and  that  of  our  own  in 
reply,  with  an  uUindon  that  cannot  be  understood,  except  by 
those  who  have  been  a  long  time  under  fire.  There  was  an  en- 
during faith  on  the  part  of  our  men,  that  we  were  thus  cooped  up 
for  a  time  ordy,  to  give  zest  to  our  ultimate  victory;  hence, 
perhaps  the  gaiety  and  recklessness  that  maintained  a  general 
good  humor,  and   flashes  of  genuine   wit,  among  men  almost 


iSi 


Statu  IIistohy—  MU-'u 


48r 


[\lli)weii  to 
lier.  The 
UMlt.  Tlio 
1)11,  so  tliat 
II  allay  ilrt 
lien  cooked 
I  (lisgiiHt  ill 

(loflMlHO    of 

awful  tie- 
1  iiicroasing 

0  cnfoebleil 
of  oxliaiis- 
falliiig  into 
rial  wagons 
.s  lest  their 

fed  to  the 
lien  it  \va3 
to  the  fain- 
competitora 

provender. 
M'ing  in  the 
ion.  Thoro 
irt  there  any 
,  One  week 
ountain  and 
una,  opened 
lite  into  the 
ter  day,  but 
I,  improving 
heir  leisure, 

our  own  in 
,  except  by 

1  was  an  en- 
13  cooped  up 
ory ;  hence, 
id  a  general 
men  almost 


nt  the  point  of  death,  sulVoring  from  hunger,  cold,  and  want  of 

"K^irly  in  October  the  breastworks  were  «o  far  ..oniploted  that 
ineessiuit  l»b<,r  ceased  to  bo  imperative,  but  there  was  still  enough 
work  to  be  done  to  prevent  tlie  time  hanging  heavy  on  our  hands. 
I'i.-ket  dntv  Nvas  harassing  a.ul  eontinuous,  but  it  was  done  by 
men  who  knew  the  value  of  unceasing  watchfulness.     1  he  army 
of  llic  Potomac  sent  good  news  to  the  beleagueir.l  force  on  tho 
2d  of  October,  when  two  cori.s,  the  eleventh  and  twelfth,  arrived 
at  Bridgeport,  only  twenty-three  miles  below,  under  the  comnia.ul 
of  (I,.,,    Hooker.     Oen.  Orant  found   Hooker  there,  and  having 
a-ssumed  the  command  in  chief,  directed   the  clearance  of  the 
river,  so  that  supplies  could  reach  the  famislied  defcndc.s.      Iho 
com.nand  in  Chattanooga  was  changed   under   (Irants  orders; 
Gens   MeCook  and  Crittenden  were  relieved,  the  three  corps  were 
consolidated  into  two,  the  fourth  being  committed  to  the  c  largo 
of  Gen.  (i ranger,  and   the  fourteenth   to  Gen.  Thomas.     Other 
chan,.>s  were  made,  part  of  which  consisted  in  the  eighth  being 
locat;,!  on  the  extreme  left.     Orchard  Knob  and  Mission   Kidge 
w,  ,.  in  front  of  the  line,  which  rested  on  Fort  Wood,  the  largest 
fo  tifu-ation  in  Chattanooga.     Gen.  Rosecrans  Was  superseded  by 
Gen  Thomas,  when  the  changes  just  named  had  been  completed 
and"on  the  23d  Gen.  Grant  arrived  in  Chattanooga,  in  command 
of  all  the  forces  in  the  department.     The  resistless  energy  was 
now  at  our  head  that  must  bear  down  all  opposition,  and  every 
man  know  that  we  were  about  to  win  our  greatest  vietory,  one 
that  should  make  the  record  of   Chiekamauga  a  petty  detail, 
and  give  to  the  war  an  enduring  remembrance  among  the  na-    ^ 

lions  of  the  earth.  ,  . 

Supplies  came  in  after  the  26th  with  greater  reguhmty,  and  m 
compinUive  plenty.  Gen.  Ila.en  had  descended  the  river  to 
Brown's  Ferry,  below  the  spur  of  Lookout  Moun  ain,  and  efTect^ 
ed  .  landing  which  was  permanently  maintained ;  so  that  with 
Hooker's  forces  in  the  Wauhatchie,  there  was  no  fear  of  famine. 
On  the  12th  of  November  the  supply  of  food  was  increased  to 
two-thirds  of  a  ration  for  each  man,  twice  the  quantity  that  had 
been  served  out  for  along  time,  and  of  bettor  quality.  The 
strencrth  of  the  men  required  some  building  up  after  a  fa.t  of  so 


1 


i  (11 

1:18 


y 


488 


TvTTI.E's  IflsTOHr  OF  K.tXSAS. 


long  continuance,  and  the  work  to  be  effected  wanted  the  exhilara- 
tion of  suflieient  diet.  Gen.  Sherman  arrived  on  the  lotli  of 
November,  in  advance  of  his  army,  which  was  coming  by  forced 
marches,  to  the  point  wliere  the  fight  wouhl  be  hottest ;  and  his 
force  was  diverted  to  Grant's  left,  up  the  Tennessee,  on  the  21st, 
as  soon  as  they  came  in.  There  was  general  understanding  that 
we  were  to  attack  and  carry  the  several  positions  of  the  rebels, 
without  an  hour's  unnecessary  delay,  but  we  did  not  conceal  from 
ourselves  that  it  would  be  a  work  for  giants  to  accomplish. 

The  2od  of  November  arrived,  and  the  eighth  Kansas  went  on 
picket  duty  at  daylight,  the  line  covering  the  front  of  the  brig- 
ade, and  along  the  railroad  embankment  from  north  to  south. 
Until  noon  there  was  the  accustomed  monotony  of  v;aiting  and 
watching,  but  just  as  the  sun  reached  its  meridian  altitude,  a 
strong  reconnaissance  was  ordered  to  develop  the  enemy's  force; 
the  division,  with  that  of  Gen.  Sheridan,  would  form  line  before 
tlie  breastworks,  and  at  the  bugle  call  the  eighth  Kansas  picket 
line  would  advance  on  Orchard  Knob,  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
in  front.  The  line  of  breastworks  crossing  Orchard  Knob  was  to 
be  carried  and  the  rebels  dislodged  by  the  eighth,  if  possible, 
and  if  not,  then  by  the  v;hole  line  of  battle.  Orchard  Knob 
must  be  carried,  so  there  was  work  before  us  at  last. 

Picket  reserves  were  doubled  on  the  advanced  lines  of  skir- 
misliens,  additional  ammunition  Avas  supplied,  and  the  bugle  was 
heard  sounding  "  Forward."  The  regimental  bugles  took  up  the 
strain,  and  every  heart  leaped  to  the  music  that  meant  raising  the 
siege  of  Chattanooga.  It  was  a  grand  sight  to  see  our  men  ad- 
vance, with  the  confidence  of  veteran  troops,  not  undervaluing  the 
foe,  but  determined  to  conquer.  The  embankment  and  an  open 
field  were  passed,  and  the  small  arms  of  the  confederates  were 
answered  by  a  volley  and  a  cheer  before  our  boys  rushed  on 
again,  deliberately,  but  v.-ith  unswerving  resolution.  There  was 
a  stubborn  conflict  in  the  woods,  the  crash  and  the  roar  were  in- 
spiring, as  the  yelp  was  drowned  in  the  hearty  hurrah,  that  told  us 
how  the  Kansas  eighth  was  bearing  down  all  opposition.  The 
best  blood  of  the  army  had  its  representative  in  that  advancing 
line,  and  the  rebels  could  no  more  stand  against  it  than  could  a 
feather  resist  a  whirlwind.     One-half  of  the  rebels  were  captured 


U% 


Sta  ti:  lIisToii  Y  —  i>>0'i-5. 


489 


c  cxhilara- 
10  lotli  of 
;  by  fnix'cd 
;t;  and  Iiis 
)n  tlie  21st, 
nding  that 
the  rebels, 
inceal  from 
)lish. 

;as  went  on 
)f  the  brig- 
h  to  south, 
i'raiting  and 

altitude,  a 
jmy's  force ; 

line  before 
nsas  picket 
•s  of  a  mile 
Cnob  was  to 

if  possible, 
hard  Knob 

ines  of  skir- 
e  bugle  was 
took  up  the 
t  raising  the 
ur  men  ad- 
rvaluing  the 
and  an  open 
derates  were 

rushed   on 

There  was 

•oar  were  in- 

that  told  us 
sition.  The 
it  advancing 
ban  could  a 
ere  captured 


in  the  fierce  onset,  and  the  remainder  broke  in  wdd  confusion, 
carrying  dismay  to  the  rear.  Through  the  woods  rushed  the 
combatants,  pursuing  and  pursued,  while  the  great  guns  were 
now  heard  boomin-  out  from  Fort  Wood  and  Mission  Rulgc, 
shell  answering  shell,  as  they  crossed  in  the  air  over  our  heads, 
or  fell  in  the  forest,  through  which  we  were  tearing  our  way. 
The  rebels  seemed  to  rally  once  or  twice,  but  they  were  scattered 
in  a  second,  and  there  was  no  actual  pause  until  their  reserves 
were  reached  behind  the  entrenchments  at  Orchard  Knob. 

The  fhrht  was  once  more  furious,  the  battle  of  the  day  was  now 
before  us;  the  proceeding  up  to  this  time  had  been  a  race  as  well 
as  a  conflict,  but  Orchard  Knob  was  our  objective  point,  and  our 
honor  was  involved  in  carrying  it  before  the  main  line  of  battle 
could  come  up.     The  rebels  knew  as  well  as  we  did    how  im- 
portant was  the  position,  and  the  advantages  of  the  ground  as 
well  as  of  the  works  were  all  on  their  side.     Fierce  and   swi  t 
were  the  volleys,  yelp  and  cheer  swelled  the  din,  and  the  crash 
and  roar  of  battle  seemed  to  fill  the  air;  but  the  decisive  moment 
came,  the  ringing  cheer  that  reminded  us  all  of  Kansas  and  the 
wron.rs  that  we  had  suffered,  told  of  victory  once  more  ;  the  boys 
rushe°d  over  the  first  line  of  breastworks,  the  rebels  faltered  for  a 
moment,  and  then  fled  in  hopeless  disarray.    We  had  won  Orchard 
Knob,  and  driven  the  foe  a  hundred  yards  beyond,  where  they 
paused  and  reformed  under  their  second  line   of   breastworks. 
The  skirmish  line  was  established  with  the  regularity  of  a  com- 
pany on  parade,  and  the  brigade  came  into  position   behind  the 
captured  works.     A  position  assumed  to  be  impregnable  was  won 
and  the  key  to  the  enemy's  position  was  in  our  hands     Both 
sides  felt  the  value  of  that  capture.     The  enemy  would  bend  all 
his  energies  to  drive  us  back,  and  the  orders  on  our  side  were 
that  it  must  be  held  at  all  hazards.    The  artillery  fire  was  terrific, 
as  the  batteries  on  Mission  Ridge  were  well  served,  and  they  com- 
pletely commanded  Orchard  Knob.     Other  skirmishers  were  now 
sent  out,  and  the  Eighth  called  back  to  the  main  line  at  the 
mound  just  carried.     Solid  shot  and  shell  struck  the  ground  at 
every  angle,  the  stones  were  driven  from  place  to  place  with  the 
force  of  the  solid  balls  that  had  propelled  them.     Branches  were 
torn  from  trees  and  hurled  to  the  ground  by  the  impact  of  mis- 


f  ^1 


490  TVTTUfs  IIlSTOIlY  OF  K.IXSAS. 

silcs ;  and  for  fully  one  hour  the  iron  bail  continued  without  slack- 
in-  its  fury,  still  the  Eighth  held  their  ground   like  heroes  until 
darkness  came  to  give  some  measure  of  rest.     The  night  was 
spent  in  strengthening  Orchard  Knob,  a  line  of  breastworks  wuti 
abbatis  in  front,  was  constructed  before  one  in  the  morning,  a 
battery  was  placed  in  position,  the  picket  line  was  doubled,  and 
then  the  men  were  permitted  to  snatch  a  brief  repose;  but  one- 
half  of  all  the  number  passed  a  sleepless  night.     Before  daylight 
every  man  was  aroused  and  standing  to  arms,  as  it  was  thought 
possible  that  the  rebels,  maddened  by  their  defeat,  and  ea  culating 
upon  the  fatigue  attendant  upon  our  triumph,  would  make  an  as- 
sault before  dawn  ;  the  more  likely  because  they  were  acquainted 
with  every  foot  of  the  ground,  and  all  the  approaches  that  l>ad  so 
loner  been  in  their  hands.     The  day  opened  cold  and  dull,  ram 
feirnearly  all  the  day,  the  fires  would  scarcely  burn  when  their 
heat  was  most  wanted,  and  a  sullen  cannonade  was  maintained  at 
intervals.     Orchard  Knob  became  the  headquarters  of  the  army. 
Mission  Ridge  and  the  valley  in  its  front  could  be  plainly  seen 
from  this  point,  and  Lookout  Mountain  to  the  right  and  rear 
could  be  commanded;  there  was  no  better  position  possible  for 
men  who  were  to  control  the  proceedings  of  an  army.     Grant  and 
Thomas  took  up  their  headquarters  on  the  Knob,  and  a  signal 
station  was  established  whence  nearly  all  points  on  the  line  could 
be  instructed.     Howard,  Sheridan  and   Hooker  were  among  the 
earliest  visitors,  and  after  them  came  Schurz,  Wood  and  W  ilhch 
each  intent  on  the  business  of  the  hour.     Sherman,  Davis  and 
others  were  off  to  the  right  having  a  work  of  some  magnitude  be- 
fore  them.      Ilazen,  llarker,  Granger,  Palmer  and  Baird  gave 
their  counsel,  received  their  orders,  and  were  of!  on  their  several 
missions,  untroubled  by  the  hail  of  death  which  fell  around  them 
Sherman  crossed  8,000  men  to  the  .south  side  of  the  Tennessee  at 
dawn  on  the  morntng  of  the  24th,  and  took  up  a  position  on  the 
hills  to  the  left  of  Mission  Ridge,  and  in  the  afternoon  Hooker 
carried  the  enemy's  works  on  Lookout  Mountain.     The  advance 
could  be  seen  from  Orchard  Knob  in  spite  of  the  falling  rain  as 
our  men  gallantly  won  their  way  in  the  very  teeth  of  battle.     Ihe 
panorama  of  victory  was  then  clo.sed  by  an  envious  mist  which 
concealed  the  conclusion  of  the  struggle,  during  which  the  south 


iMiBe 


Stati-:  llisToitr  —  JSUl-^ 


m 


iiout  slack- 
eroes  until 
niiflit  was 
works  witti 
morning,  a 
(ublcJ,  and 
> ;  but  one- 
re  dayliglit 
i'as  thought 
calculating 
Tiake  an  as- 
acquainted 
that  had  so 
I  chill,  rain 
when  their 
aintained  at 
if  the  army, 
plainly  seen 
ht  and  rear 
possible  for 
Grant  and 
nd  a  signal 
16  line  could 
!  among  the 
md  Willich, 
,  Davis  and 
asnitude  be- 
Baird  gave 
their  several 
iround  them. 
Tennessee  at 
sition  on  the 
lOon  Hooker 
The  advance 
"ailing  rain  as 
[battle.    The 
3  mist  which 
ich  the  south 


„„,  that  t,lu,nl.W.l  "t  Oictara  Iv.u.b,  a>u    ""°^-  '  '  "''^i,,,. 
treLl.cl  tWra.clvcs  a^ain.t  the  enen.y,  who,,,  they  had  d,»as 

'■■^th;'— re  e,o.ea  in  upc„  the^eeneot  conflict  a-uUhe 
ei-hth    stalioned  on  OrchaiJ  Knoh,   wouhl  have  enjoy e.l       e 
™'h  o    thch-  aeeuston,ed  eamp  fire.,  but  pru.lenee  ,len,e,l  he 
:;       !o  „   M,  would  have  vende-ed  every  »-»«- 8'^^^''  * 
Tu  sol  ;heene„,y;  and  the  dis,na.  hour.  1— ^  ■■;  «       ^\ 
weariness,  only  ehee,ed  by  the  remenrbrancos  ^  y^^.^^ 
the  hopes  of  tomorrow.     When  day  dawne<l    t  *>cc»'no  ev  ., 
hit  Z-  meant  to  make  his  great  fight  on  M,ss,on  K-'ISe-     * 
Itartiire^y  was  eoneentrated  there,  and  h  s  ^^^<;^;^^, 
hill  had  been  materially  strengthened.    So  much  hail  in    1 
«„„s  thus  observable  improved  the  ^^^  °i  ^^^    '  ^^ 

rrrrrroi"  g-erw-afh-eld  .a  preliminary  .0  the  next 

''SLionBidge  ran  parallel  with  our  "-/J^'-J^'Xn 
heiKht  with  p,omonto,ies  or  spurs  jutung  mto  the  valley,  ana 

rise,  surmounted  by  'f^^^:^^^^^';::^  ,.ide,  where  the 
earthworks  a  plateau  of  »^™'  ^J^"'^'^^  /„^^  broken  by  our  ad- 
rebels  had  been  ,n  eamp,  untd  <>"-'    '"";'  '^  ,    f„/hundred 

vane.     Then  beyond  Jhe  plateau  .he  Mg,-1^^  ^^^ 

fee,  high  towered  ^^";  ;  J^^^^  ,/„„  ,„„„«„„  party  from 
ground  «h,eh  must  *>»  P'^J^'^  °  ^y  J  „,,  commanded  by  con- 
Orchard  Knob  to  the  «  ' ;^  *]Xrine.s  that  could  rain  death 
^I^ZZtC^^^'^^-^^  Bragg  might  well 
-tro'ri'ueZrrand  Sherman  stiU  pounding  oa 


492 


TrTTr.E'.s-   IIlSTOliY  OF  K.lXSAf^. 


the  right,  winning  some  advantages  continually,  but  stubbornly 
contested  .it  every  step.  Gen.  Thomas  was  now  ordered  to  ad- 
vance liis  lines  and  the  troops  formed  in  front  of  the  breastworks. 
The  division  in  which  the  eighth  was  incorporated  was  directly 
in  front  of  Orchard  Knob,  the  brigade  occupying  the  centre, 
formed  in  two  lines.  There  stood  the  troops,  waiting  this  time, 
not  for  the  bugle  call,  but  for  the  discharge  of  six  great  guns 
from  Orchard  Knob  in  rapid  and  regular  succession.  When  the 
sixth  gun  boomed  out,  the  line  of  assault  would  move  forward 
like  one  man.  The  signal  and  the  order  came,  and  the  army  was 
in  motion.  The  right  had  been  strengthened  to  resist  Sherman, 
and  the  center  was  in  consequence  somewhat  weakened,  but  it 
was  still  strong,  and  there  was  terrible  work  to  be  accompli.shed 
by  our  men.  The  tramp  was  commenced  in  silence,  the  troops 
almost  held  their  breath  as  they  moved  rapidly  on,  but  the  flame, 
smoke  and  thunder  along  the  Kidge  told  us  that  we  were  looked 
for  by  watchful  enemies.  Under  such  a  fire  death  was  the  price 
of  delay,  and  the  men  started  at  double  quick,  as  it  were,  by  in- 
stinct. The  rebel  pickets  fired  incessantly,  but  the  a.ssailants 
never  returned  one  shot  as  they  pressed  onward  over  every  obsta- 
cle, yet  maintaining  their  line  with  wonderful  precision.  The 
woods  were  passed  through  at  a  run,  and  the  troops  had  gained 
the  open  field.  Then,  and  not  until  then,  there  was  a  cheer,  full 
of  fierce  exultation,  from  men  who  recognized  the  inspiration  of 
victory.  The  fire  was  more  deadly  here  because  the  batteries 
converged  upon  this  ground,  and  the  rifles  in  the  rebel  line  at  the 
foot  of  the  hill  rained  down  upon  our  fellows  without  one  mo- 
ment's intermission.  From  the  summit  also,  the  bullets  were 
droj)ping  through  our  ranks,  and  many  a  brave  soul  winged  its 
way  from  that  field  of  blood  to  eternal  glory,  but  no  soldier 
wavered  in  the  advance,  and  before  many  seconds  had  elapsed, 
our  force  was  at  the  foot  o.f  the  abrupt  rise,  proceeding  to  take 
the  line  of  earthworks  which  had  been  so  well  and  valiantly  de- 
fended. 

The  grey  lines  were  broken  now,  for  the  forces  on  the  summit 
in  their  eagerness  to  disable  the  attack,  were  firing  upon  their  own 
comrades  in  the  earthworks,  and  human  nature  could  not  stand 
against  such  a  combination.     Some  rushed  to  the  rear  of  the  pla- 


stubbornly 
U-rccl  to  ad- 
jirastworks. 
was  directly 

tlic  centre, 
ig  this  time, 
:  great  guns 
When  the 
ove  forward 
le  armv  was 
st  Sherman, 
uned,  but  it 
ccomplished 
3,  the  troops 
it  the  flame, 
were  looked 
•as  the  price 
were,  by  in- 
le  assailants 
every  obsta- 
lision.  The 
i  had  gained 
a  cheer,  full 
ispiration  of 
he  batteries 
il  line  at  the 
out  one  mo- 
)ullet3  were 
[  winged  its 
;  no  soldier 
lad  elapsed, 
:ling  to  take 
'aliantly  de- 

the  summit 
)n  their  own 
d  not  stand 
r  of  the  pla- 


Statk  HisToiir  —  lsi',J-'t. 


493 


lean  and  tried  to  Kcale  the  hill.  Nearly  all  threw  down  their 
muskets  and  surrendered,  trying  to  shelter  themselves,  meantime, 
behind  their  breastworks  from  tlie  cruel  lire  of  their  own  com- 
rades, but  no  such  jjrotectiou  could  be  allowed  them,  nor  could 
any  force  be  spared  to  hold  them  prisoners  ;  they  were  merely 
ordered  to  charge  upon  Chattanooga,  and  without  more  ado  tliey 
sought  shelter  in  hasty  flight,  toward  imprisonment  beyond  the 
lines,  from  which  the  attacking  army  had  advanced. 

This  was  the  limit  assigned  for  the  attack,  and  there  w'as  a  brief 
halt ;  but  it  was  only  momentary ;  no  force  could  live  on  that 
plateau  while  the  ridge  was  held  by  an  enemy  such  as  that  now 
firing  cannon  and  small  arms  upon  our  ranks.  The  regiments 
moved  on  as  if  by  common  consent,  grim  as  the  task  they  had 
voluntarily  assumed,  and  silent  as  death  itself.  Five  hundred 
feet  to  scale,  with  musket  shot  and  cannon  balls  pinging  and 
hurtling  through  the  air,  it  seemed  like  climbing  the  sides  of  the 
infernal  pit,  surrounded  by  its  atmosphere.  The  line,  maintained 
until  now,  was  broken  at  last  in  the  general  eagerness  to  grapjjle 
with  the  foe.  Who  should  be  first,  was  now  the  effort,  and  truly 
it  was  a  race  for  life.  Should  those  men  be  hurled  back  upon 
the  plateau,  not  one  in  five  hundred  would  return  to  tell  the  tale, 
so  that  there  was  every  motive  as  well  as  heroism  to  urge  on  the 
intrepid  assault.  From  Orchard  Knob  that  gallant  onset  was  seen 
by  men  deeply  interested  in  its  success,  and  fully  able  to  appre- 
ciate the  dire  and  terrible  necessity,  which  made  victory  sure. 
Regiments  were  seen  intermingled  in  the  advance,  and  almost 
struggling  with  each  other  for  the  lead,  then  gradually  order  rose 
out  of  the  confusion,  each  regimental  battle  flag  became  the  apex 
of  a  pyramid,  and  following  its  lead  the  troo])s  marched  with  a 
step  that  never  wavered.  Slowly  and  with  much  slaughter  the 
ascent  was  won,  whole  ranks  falling  for  the  gain  of  a  few  feet  in 
some  places,  but  in  spite  of  cannonade  and  rifle  ball,  the  crest 
was  being  attained,  and  the  heroes  in  blue  could  not  be  daunted. 
It  was  a  sight  once  seen  that  could  never  be  forgotten  while  life 
endures. 

Still  onward  and  upward,  like  the  march  of  the  Union  itself, 
the  attacking  force  carried  into  the  minds  of  the  men  upon  the 
Eidge  that  defeat  must  be  their  portion.     In  vain  they  poured 


>':AA'm'^w]\mm^iii,4mtM^iSiM^^^ 


.^ 


494 


TVTTI.ffs  UlSTOUY  OF  KaXSAS. 


tlioir  (^"iidlicst  fire  ilown  that  stecj)  doclivity,  destroying  liundrcl!--, 
and  woutiding  tliousands,  the  thinned  ranks  filled  again  and 
breasted  the  mountain  resolutely  as  before.  There  was  no  quail- 
ing, as  men  will  sometimes  fliiieh  from  a  rifle  ball  instinctively, 
every  man  looked  straight  ahead,  anxious  only  to  mount  the 
Kidge  and  grasp  victory.  ^Mainly  the  order  in  which  the  troops 
started  was  maintained,  although  the  line  was  broken;  our  eighth 
was  in  the  centre,  mounting  one  of  the  half  circular  bend.s.  Ila- 
zen's  men  were  on  the  right,  breasting  a  point,  and  Beatty's  to  the 
left.  An  Ohio  regiment  of  Ilazen's  was  fierce  in  rivaby  with  two 
of  ours  for  the  honor  of  planting  the  first  flag  on  the  rebel  lines, 
and  there  were  but  a  few  yards  to  be  won ;  danger  was  forgotten 
in  that  struggle,  and  the  cheering  was  wild  and  incessant.  Let 
who  may  say  that  there  is  no  use  in  the  brave  hurrah,  that  cry 
sent  terror  through  the  rebel  ranks ;  there  was  a  tone  of  victory 
that  could  not  be  misunderstood,  and  before  that  hand  to.  hand 
fight  with  bayonet  and  ball  began,  the  result  had  ceased  to  be  a 
problem.  The  intrencliments  were  carried,  the  momentum  of 
assault  drove  back  the  Confederate  force,  resistlessly,  the  flags  of 
our  regiment  fluttered  along  the  works,  and  within  a  space  of 
seconds,  the  rebels  were  dashing  down  the  hill  beyond,  to  find 
shelter  if  not  safety  in  the  woods. 

There  was  a  movement  in  pursuit,  which  in  a  few  minutes 
might  have  left  the  Ridge  once  more  in  the  enemy's  hands,  for 
every  man  had  been  considering  the  battle  as  lost  or  won  on  his 
own  standpoint ;  but  the  enemy's  cannon  trained  upon  us  at  this 
instant,  reminded  us  that  there  was  a  general  victory  to  be  won, 
as  well  as  our  particular  triumph.  One  moment  and  the  ranks 
were  formed,  prepared  to  charge  along  the  breastworks,  left  and 
right,  when  the  whole  line  gave  way,  breaking  into  sudden  tumult 
and  confusion.  Wildly  and  with  distraction  in  every  aspect,  the 
troops  in  grey  divested  themselves  of  every  weapon  and  impedi- 
ment, running  for  dear  life.  Officers  strove  to  rally  them  for  a 
final  effort,  but  in  vain  ;  they  were  caught  in  the  maelstrom  them- 
selves and  hurried  along  with  the  flying  mass.  Batteries  limbered 
and  ready  for  order-5,  waited  in  peril  for  the  return  of  command- 
ers who  were  involved  in  the  confusion  which  they  had  tried  to 
stem  ;  and  at  length  dashed  madly  off,  running  at  last  into  the 


State  Histoky—  ISiU-i). 


495 


ig  hundreds, 
[  again  and 
ras  no  qiiail- 
nstinctively, 
I  mount  tlic 
ill  the  trooj)s 
1 ;  our  ciglith 
bends.  Ila- 
iatty's  to  the 
Iry  '.vitli  two 
e  rebel  lines, 
iras  forgotten 
lessant.  Let 
rah,  that  cry 
le  of  victory 
and  to.  hand 
3ased  to  be  a 
omentum  of 
•,  the  flags  of 
n  a  space  of 
^ond,  to  find 

few  minutes 
/■'s  hands,  for 
r  won  on  his 
)on  us  at  this 
•y  to  be  won, 
nd  the  ranks 
)rks,  left  and 
dden  tumult 
■y  aspect,  the 
and  impedi- 
[y  them  for  a 
Istrom  tliem- 
ries  limbered 
jf  command- 
had  tried  to 
last  into  the 


position  where  capture  was  inevitable.  The  vigor  of  the  pursuers 
increased  with  the  pa-.ic  of  the  pursued.  Whole  sciuadr.-ns  sur- 
n'ndercd  upon  the  first  summons.  The  army  under  Bragg  was 
not  oniy  beaten,  it  was  den.oralizcd,  an.l  l>ad  bceon.e  a  mob  in- 
capable  of  military  duty.  Mission  Ridge  was  won,  and  the  dch- 
ant  rebel  force  so  lately  sure  of  its  invincible  strength  had  no- 
where an  abiding  place. 

One  hour  and  fifteen  minutes  from  the  time  that  the  si.vth  gun 
wa"  fired  at  Orchard  Knob,  our  men  had  carried  the  ndge,  an.l 
terminated,  in  one  bla^e  of  triumph,  the  siege  of  Chattanooga. 
We  have  followed  the  fortunes  of  the  Eighth  so  closely  that  it 
xni.'ht  seem  as  though  no  other  force  had  been  engaged  on  the 
side  of  the  Union ;  but,  in  reality,  as  our  readers  mu.st  be  well 
aware,  when  Gen.  Grant,  at  Orchard  T  .nob,  saw  the  men  who  bad 
carried  the  first  entrenchments  dash  np  the  hill  in  front  of  them 
he  had  ordered  an  advance  of  the  whole  line.     The  forces  of 
Sherman,  Hooker  and  Thomas  clasped  hands  upon  the  Kulge 
which  every  section  of  the  army  had  helped  to  win  under  the  <l.rcc- 
tion  of  the  master  spirit.  Gen.  Grant.  There  were  men  m  the  Eighth 
who  had  not  recovered  from  their  wounds  at  Chickamauga,  and 
others,  suffering  from  the  ravages  of  disease,  who  rose  froni  their 
sick  beds  that  day  and  fought  as  though  they  had  never  known 
an  ailment.     There  was  never  a  more  beautiful  sight  in  the  an- 
nals of  war  than  the  attack  on  Mission  Ridge,  and  its  success 
was  the  more  glorious,  because  it  stamped  afresh  the  genius  pos- 
sessed by  the  leader  to  crush  out  the  evil  of  rebellion,  and  con- 
verged upon  him  so  much  popular  regard  that  it  was  impossible 
longer  to  doubt  his  fitness  to  control  the  whole  armament  of  the 
Union,  and  to  secure  for  the  nation  the  blessings  of  peace,  by 
vifTorous,  well  planned  war. 

There  were  substantial  benefits  immediately  accruing  from  this 
campai<^n.  Forty  pieces  of  artillery  were  taken  and  many  thou- 
sands ol  small  arms,  while  the  prisoners  actually  encumbered  the 
armv  The  eighth  Kansas  had  more  prisoners  by  far  than  there 
were  men  in  the  regiment,  besides  which,  it  had  captured  four 
guns  and  five  hundred  stand  of  small  arms.  Tt  is  claimed  that 
the  eighth  planted  the  first  flag  on  the  entrenchments  of  the 
rebels  on  the  Ridge;  but,  where  so  many  gallant  regiments  claim 


496 


Tirn.E's  JlisToiir  or  A'.i.vx.i.s-. 


tliiit  lionor,  itwoulil  be  iiiVidiuus,  if  not  iinpoi^siblo.  to  pronounce. 
Tliorc  was  no  longt-r  a  force  capable  of'  resisting  tlie  I'niou  in  the 
country  controlleil  by  the  Army  of  the  Cninberhuul,  and  Hiat 
force,  in  able  liamls,  snch  as  had  now  been  fonnd,  could  answer 
foi-  a  large  section  of  several  states.  Burnsidc,  who  hail  been 
shut  nj)  in  Knoxvillc  by  the  superior  force  under  Longstreet, 
eouki  now  be  relieved  by  the  troops  under  Gen.  Sheridan;  but, 
before  retiring,  and  in  the  hope  that  he  might  win  a  victory 
"while  Sheridan  wa.^  on  the  way,  Long.street  made  an  as.sault  upon 
Fort  Saunders  on  the  28th  of  November.  Burnsido  repulsed  his 
assailant  with  great  slaughter,  and,  immediately  afterwards, 
Sheritlan,  with  whom  was  the  brave  remnant  of  our  own  glorious 
Eighth,  came  upon  the  scene,  driving  Longstreet  back  to  the 
Army  of  Virginia,  and  setting  Burnside  free  and  reinforced  to 
retain  in  east  Teiinessee  a  proper  sense  of  what  was  due  to  the 
Union.  The  success  of  Grant  at  Mission  Kidge  was  the  hinge 
U[ion  which  turned  wonderful  results. 

There  was  but  a  brief  rest  for  our  friends  in  the  Eighth  after 
the  well  won  series  of  battles  at  Chattanooga,  as  we  lind  them  en 
route  to  Knoxville,  at  3  P.  M.  on  Saturday,  and  on  the  7th  of 
December  tiiey  had  reached  their  destination,  having  passed,  in 
the  interval,  tlirough  Ilarrisonville,  Decatur,  Sweet  Water,  Mor- 
gantown  and  Maysville,  a  distance  of  rather  more  than  150  miles. 
The  men  were  shoeles.s,  or  nearly  so ;  it  was  winter,  and  the 
roads  were  stained  by  their  bleeding  feet,  while  their  sleep  at 
night  was  rendered  unrefreshing  by  the  want  of  suflicient  cloth- 
ing. There  wiere  substantial  services,  but  no  more  battles  to  be 
won  by  the  Eighth  during  1863.  The  sufferings  of  that  winter 
in  Tennessee  would  have  broken  the  hearts  of  a  dainty  soldiery, 
but  the  regiment  and  the  corps  had  seen  hard  service  and  was  full 
of  the  importance  of  the  grand  work  that  was  being  surely  ac- 
complished. 

Veteran  regiments  were  now  called  for — men  who  bad  seen 
service  and  would  not  require  to  be  taught  the  rudiments  of  the 
soldier  s  art.  The  term  of  service  had  expired,  or  nearly  so,  and. 
the  Eighth  sternly  faced  the  necessity  for  a  further  term.  The 
order  calling  for  volunteers  was  read  to  the  men  on  the  2d  of 
January,  186i,  and,  on  the  ith,  four-fifths  of  the  whole  number 


Sta  tk  lIisTouY  — 1861-5. 


497 


)  pronounce. 
Union  in  tlio 
ml,  and  'hat 
oultl  answer 
lo  had  been 
'  Loiig^treet, 
eridun ;  but, 
in  a  victory 
assault  upon 
repulsed  liis 

afterwards, 
jwn  glorious 
back  to  the 
•ein  forced  to 

due  to  the 
la  the  hinge 

Eighth  after 
lind  them  en 
I  the  7th  of 
ig  passed,  in 
^Vater,  Alor- 
in  150  miles, 
ter,  and  the 
heir  sleep  at 
licient  cloth- 
battles  to  be 
f  that  winter 
nty  soldiery, 
and  was  full 
Ig  surely  ac- 

30  had  seen 
nents  of  the 
jarly  so,  and, 
term.  The 
on  the  2d  of 
lole  number 


reenlisted.  Of  the  remainder,  some  who  were  at  the  time  uiiablo 
to  respond  to  the  call,  fell  into  the  ranks  again  but  shortly  after- 
ward. 

The  retreat  from  Dandridgc  was  covered  by  the  Eighth  Kan- 
sas with  conspicuous  valor  and  patience,  and,  after  a  brief  sojourn 
in  camp  near  Maysville,  on  the  2od  the  regiment  marched  to 
Chattanooga  to  bo  mustered  in  as  veterans,  and  then  enjoy  a  brief 
furlough  before  resuming  active  duty  in  the  field.  The  return 
home  from  Chattanooga  was  a  succession  of  fde  days  in  Nash- 
ville and  in  other  cities  where  the  name  of  the  Eighth  and  the  re- 
membrances of  friends  made  all  classes  proud  toshi)w  them  every 
attention.  Kansas  did  honor  to  itself  by  showing  every  mark  of 
hospitality  to  the  brave  defenders  of  the  Union  at  Atchison  City, 
Leavenworth  and  elsewhere. 

The  tuilough  of  thirty-five  days  pas.sed  speedily  amid  home 
friends,  and,  on  the  5th  of  April,  1864,  the  regiment  was  once 
more  ready  for  duty.  The  transit  from  Fort  Leavenworth  to 
Chattanooga  was  an  arduous  and  toilsome  work,  carried  through 
in  the  best  possible  spirit  by  brave  men,  and  there  were  opportu- 
nities to  review  some  of  the  battle-fields  of  the  Army  of  the 
Cumberland  before  the  next  great  campaign  was  entered  upon  ; 
but,  as  our  brave  fellows  are  now  mustered  at  Chattanooga  to 
serve  under  Sherman  in  his  campaign  against  Johnston,  we  can- 
not do  better  than  just  briefly  glance  at  the  proceedings  of  that 
officer  generally,  before  proceeding  to  mention  in  detail  the 
services  of  the  Eighth. 

Slierman  advanced  with  lOO.O'OO  men  from  Chattanooga  in 
May,  1864,  being  chief  in  command  in  the  west,  under  Grant, 
who  was  now  general  in  cbief  of  the  armies  of  the  union.  Gen. 
Joseph  E.  Johnston  with  54,000  men,  knew  the  prowess  of  Sher- 
man and  his  troops  too  well  to  risk  an  engagement  with  such 
odds  against  him,  and  he  retired  at  once  on  the  road  toward  At- 
lanta, Georgia,  but  availed  himself  of  every  advantage  on  the 
road  to  render  the  march  of  the  union  troops  slow  and  perilous. 
There  was  a  stubborn  fight  at  Resaca  on  the  10th  of  May,  and  it 
was  only  by  flanking  the  position  that  Sherman  compelled  iis 
abandonment  Every  such  engagement  cost  the  union  force  a 
loss  largely  in  excess  of  that  suffered  by  the  rebels,  and  the  de- 
82 


408 


Trrri.r.'s  IIistouy  of  l<Asy.[ft. 


eign  of  Johnston  was  to  («ontiimc  such  action  until  the  two  nrinio.s 
niif-'ht  be  V-ron^lit  iiciiriT  to  an  ('(luiilily  in  numbers,  or  if  possibl.; 
until  liis  force  .stciulil y  recruited  .sliould  hiivo  the  lulvuntag'  in 
the  iiclfl. 

Aihiirsvilli'  !iii<l  Ciissvillo  were  smaller  editions  of  the  same 
kind  as  the  battle  of  Uesa(!a.  AUatoonu  Pass  was  mnch  worse 
than  Ucsiica,  and  it  cost  Shernnn  many  days  of  lighting  and 
flankiii.L'  before  .lolmston's  position  could  bo  turned.  Kenesaw 
mountains,  (lanked  by  Tine  and  Lost  mountains,  had  been  connect- 
ed by  strong  field  works,  and  there  was  desperate  fighting  on  both 
Bides  before  Sherman  eould  compel  his  antagonist  to  abandon  his 
position.  It  will  give  some  iilea  of  the  success  of  Johnston's 
scheme  of  defense,  i)repared  long  before  hand,  to  mention  in  one  as- 
sault at  Kenesaw  on  the  27th  of  June,  it  cost  the  union  arms 
8,000  men,  including  Generals  Dan  McCook  and  llarkcr,  to  inflict 
a  lo.ss  of  only  442  men  on  the  rebels. 

The  position  was  practicably  impregnable,  but  Sherman  flanked 
the  enemy  and  .Johnston  was  compelled  to  retreat  or  bo  cut  ofl 
from  his  communications.  Johnston,  whose  plan  had  eo.st  Sher- 
man so  dearly,  was  now  reliex  ^d  of  his  command  by  the  confed- 
erate president,  because  he  had  not  won  victories  with  54,000  men 
against  100,000  of  the  best  lighting  men  in  he  union  armies, 
aUhongh  a  man  possessed  of  military  prescience  must  have  seen 
that  he  was  achieving  marvels  in  defense.  I  lis  army  at  the  out- 
set was  only  54,000,  and  when  he  was  relieved  by  Gen.  Hood  at 
Atlanta,  it  was  still  51,00i)  strong,  so  nearly  had  his  recruiting 
come  to  restoring  his  cfTective  force. 

Sherman  captured  .Atlanta  on  the  1st  of  September,  1864,  after 
protracted  and  destructive  lighting,  which  cost  the  confederates 
more  lives  than  all  the  operations  under  Johnston  from  Chatta- 
nooga to  Atlanta.  The  union  force  under  Sherman  remained  in 
Geo'rgia  until  Hood  marched  into  Tennessee,  when  Gen.  Thomas, 
our  old  friend  of  Chickamauga,  being  left  to  give  an  account  of 
Hood  and  his  army,  Sherman  was  able  to  carry  out  Gen.  Grant's 
long  cherished  scheme  of  "The  March  to  the  Sea,"  with  which 
our°p:ighth  had  not  the  honor  to  be  identified,  having  been  detailed 
for  duty  in  Tennessee  at  that  time.  With  this  brief  sketch  we  re- 
turn to  the  Eighth  leaving  Chattanooga. 


<S'7M  /■/;  Ills  1 1)11  y  —  l!^!')!-.'). 


400 


0  two  nrtuKM 
)!•  if  piissililo 
.tlvanta^'i.  in 

:)f  tlio  same 
iniicli  v.'orso 
ightiii'^  iiiiil 

1.       KlMlOSlWV 

)ecn  connect- 
itiiij^  on  both 
alcindon  his 
f  .lohnston's 
;ion  in  one  us- 
union  arms 
•kor,  to  inlliot 

rman  flanked 
or  be  cut  oft 
(I  cost  Sher- 
ly  tlic  confcd- 
h  ij-t.OOO  men 
inion  armies, 
ust  have  seen 
y  at  the  out- 
}on.  Hood  at 
his  recruiting 

er,  1864,  after 
3  confederates 
from  Chatta- 

1  remained  in 
Gen.  Thomas, 
an  account  of 

Gen.  Grant's 
"  with  which 
f  been  detailed 
[  sketch  we  re- 


Tho  eij:litli  starti'd  frum  ('hattan<i(»ga  on  the  !)th  of  June,  to 
rcji>in  the  brigade,  bill  \\;\:*  dt'Iayrd  to  c.-icort  a  |Kiiitooii  Iraiii,  so 
that  it  camped  at  Ringgold,  (ia.,  on  the  loth,  then  ihroiigli  Ual- 
ton,  KoHaca,  Adair.svilic,  Kingston  and  (yartersville,  reaehing 
Etowah  Hridge  on  the  17lh  of  .Iiiiie.  Aliatoona  mountain  waa 
the  next  camping  ground  following  over  the  scries  of  battle  gmund.s 
which  had  been  mad(!  memorable  by  their  comrades  ami  com- 
patiions  in  arms.  The  bridge  over  the  Ktowah  was  snp[)osed  to 
be  in  danger  from  tho  rebels,  and  in  con.scipience  the  eigiilh  was 
relieved  from  escort  duty  by  Gen.  Sherman's  orders  on  the  20th. 
Breastworks  were  constructed  at  ilie  threatened  point,  and  tho 
rotmtrj  well  .scouted,  but  the  rebel  cavalry  did  ni)ta])iicar,  and  on 
the  2(ith  the  regiment  proceeded  to  rejoin  its  brigade  in  front  of 
the  Kenesaw  mountain.  Picket  duty  and  resisting  night  attacks 
kept  tho  eighth  from  falling  into  halnts  of  idleness.  Tho  eighth 
was  the  first  regiment  to  enter  the  works  at  Kenesaw  when  tho 
rebels  abandoned  that  position  bccau.se  of  the  Hanking  move- 
ments of  Sherman.     Two  hundred  persons  were  taken. 

Beyond  Marietta  it  was  found  that  Johnston  was  in  force  be- 
hind a  strong  line  of  earthworks  at  Smyrna  oamp  ground,  where 
the  eighth  was  brought  into  active  .service.  On  the  4th  of  July 
the  army  started  in  pursuit  of  the  rebels,  who  onco  more  found 
their  works  untenable,  driving  the  enemy  to  beyond  the  Chatta- 
lioochie  river  near  Vining's  station,  where  earthworks  were  c(>u- 
Btructed  on  both  sides,  the  regiment  being  under  fire  and  engaged 
for  nearly  thirty  hours.  The  action  at  Pcich  Tree  Creek  was  a 
very  spirited  and  successful  affair  in  which  the  eighth  showed  to 
great  advantage,  and  at  every  movement,  the  enejny  now  under 
Ilood,  who  had  relieved  Johnston,  suflered  considerable  lo.ss.  In 
front  of  Atlanta  the  eighth  constructed  a  line  of  earthworks 
in  fifteen  minutes,  only  500  yards  from  the  works  of  the  enemy, 
and  but  100  yards  from  his  picket  pits,  which  afforded  good  shel- 
ter from  musketry.  Such  facility  said  much  for  their  courage  as 
well  as  their  defensive  skill,  as  the  works  were  carried  on  under 
a  terrible  artillery  fire  of  shell,  shot,  grape  and  canister. 

The  earthworks  thus  formed  were  occupied  for  thirty-three 
days,  and  during  the  whole  time  there  was  no  cessation  of  firing, 
and  every  kind  of  missile  was  to  be  looked  for  at  all  hours. 


mi«ii^>!imsm3sm8itism^&si^- 


p  aba  m  i^ttfviw 


gno  TfTru:'s  IfisTour  or  A'l.vs.i'. 

Tlierc  Wfts  one  fine  movement  by  the  eiKhtli,  cli.'*l()<lgin«  and  driv- 
ing  tl.o  enemy  from  tlioir  picket  pits,  on  tlio  2Stli  of  .luly,  winch 
won  and  <le.serve.l  liigli  pmise,  tlio  resull  being  mncli  greater 
safety  for  the  Union  line.  There  was  another  brilliant  alTair  of 
rille  pits  on  the  y.l  of  Angusl,  in  which  tho  eighth  figurea  to  ad- 
vantage,  na  tho  cnemy'd  picketa  were  nil  ariven  in  or  captured. 
There  was  no  further  relief  from  monotony  until  the  25th  of 
Au-'ust,  when  or.lers  were  issued  to  flunk  Atlanta,  and  the  troops 
inov"ed  forwanl  with  alacrity.  Tlie  result  of  Sherman's  general- 
ship was  that  Hood  was  forced  to  nban.lon  Atlanta  after  burning 
and  otherwise  destroying  all  tho  stores  and  works  that  permitted 

demolition. 

The  eighth  bore  its  share  in  all  the  movements  that  necessi- 
tated lb>od\s  retreat,  and  from  the  28ih  of  June  to  the  5th  of 
September,  a  period  of  sixty-seven  days  exclusive,  was  under  fire 
no  less  than  sixty-three  days  and  forty-four  night.s.     The  army 
was  now  allowed  a  brief  term  for  recuperation,  and  it  came  none 
too  soon,  for  the  duties  of  the  campaign  in  a  climate  so  warm  had 
been  very  oppressive.     There  was  rest  until  the  2d  of  October, 
when  there  were  stirring  orders  once  ratjrc,  and  the  eighth  was 
among  the  earliest  in  motion.     By  noon  on  that  day  the  regiment, 
passin.'  through  Atlanta,  had  reached  the  Chuttahoochie,   and 
thenee°  continued  through  Smyrna  camp  ground  to  Kenesaw 
The  fact  pioved  that  Hood,  reinforced  by   Hardee,  had  passed 
Sherman's  right,  and  was  threatening  the  capture  of  Allatoona. 
The  post  was  i>cld  by  Gen.  Cor.se  with  less  than  2,000  men,  but 
BO  well  was  tne  general  prepared  for  the  defense,  that  repeated 
assaults  were  slaughterously  repulsed  until  the  enemy  was  beaten 

^  The  corps  with  which  the  eighth  was  incorporated  was  in  the 
advance,  but  the  assault  by  French's  division  of  the  rebel  army 
upon  Allatoona  could  not  be  averted,  and  when  the  union  force 
came  up,  French  was  already  in  full  retreat.  _ 

The  enemy  made  a  feint  of  attacking  Resaca,  which  could 
have  held  out  against  all  their  force,  and  contented  themselves 
with  destroving  railroads  and  works,  making  also  some  small 
captures  at'Dalton  and  Tilton.  There  was  a  prospect  of  hard 
fighting  at  Rocky  Face  ridge,  which  range  the  enemy  held  m 


1^  niul  (Iriv- 
July,  wliitih 
iich  groater 
[lilt  alTuir  of 
i^nreil  to  ail- 
ur  cmtturctl. 
tlio  25111  of 
id  tlio  troops 
m's  general- 
fter  burning 
at  permitted 

tliat  npcessi- 
)  the  5th  of 
as  under  firo 
The  army 
it  came  none 
so  warm  had 
I  of  October, 
a  eighth  waa 
the  regiment, 
hoochio,  and 
to  Kenesaw. 
I,  had  passed 
>f  Allatoona. 
000  men,  but 
that  repeated 
ly  was  beaten 

ed  was  in  the 
le  rebel  army  , 
le  union  force 

which  could 
3d  themselves 
0  some  small 
spect  of  hard 
nemy  held  in 


Statk  IfisT(my—l>>OI-'>. 


BOi 


ptrong  force,  and  tlu.-re  were  but  few  gaps  at  wide  intervals  capa- 
ble of  oh.slinate  (U'fi-nse.  Sherman  carried  the  works  by  u  bold 
movement,  such  as  Ilood  ha<l  never  dreamcil  of.  'i'ho  gaps  were 
to  be  defended  to  the  last  extremity  that  was  clear,  and  a  great 
loss  must  be  incurred  in  forcing  them.  Sherman  suddenly  massed 
two  corps,  the  1-ith  and  that  whicli  included  the  eighth  Kansas, 
and  ordcnul  them  to  carry  the  precipitous  hill-.side,  moving  with- 
out a  single  piece  of  artillery,  becau.so  of  the  nature  of  the  ground. 
The  enemy,  taken  completely  by  surprise,  abandoned  the  gap.s 
and  fell  back,  having  learned  a  new  fact  in  the  art  of  war.  Tliis 
Huccesd  was  achieved  without  the  loss  of  one  man  on  the  Union 
side,  and  the  victory  was  in  every  sense  comjilete. 

The  eighth  was  in  Chattanooga  on  the  80th  of  October,  and 
moved  thence  to  Pulaski,  where  defensive  works  were  soon  after- 
wards erected.  Hooil  had  been  deflected  from  Georgia,  so  that 
Sherman  could  carry  out  his  famous  march.  Thoma.s,  reinforced, 
would  hold  Tennessee,  and  the  eighth  was  in  an  excellent  country 
to  see  service.  Hood  having  crossed  the  Tennessee  near  Florence 
with  an  army  of  55,000  men,  the  army  of  30,000  at  Pulaski  was 
unable  to  cope  with  his  force,  and  the  troops  were  withdrawn  to 
Na.shville.  The  armies  were  very  near  each  other,  both  moving 
towards  the  same  point  at  Columbia,  but  an  attack,  although 
threatened,  was  not  put  into  execution,  and  the  disparity  was  too 
great  to  warrant  offensive  operations  on  our  side.  There  was 
some  skirmishing,  and  strong  ea.'thworks  were  thrown  up ;  but 
the  union  troops  were  so  well  handled  that  Hood  was  unable  to 
destroy  their  communications.  All  the  arrangements  of  llood 
were  perfect  to  compel  the  smaller  force  to  fight  him,  where  it 
must  surrenderor  be  destroyed  in  detail ;  and  just  when  he  be- 
lieved that  nothing  remained  but  to  enjoy  his  victory,  he  found 
that  the  army  was  on  its  way  to  Nashville,  and  too  far  advanced 
to  give  him  any  chance  in  pursuit. 

The  action  at  Franklin,  in  a  bend  of  the  Ilarpeth,  was  a  fine 
display  of  defensive  war.  Gen.  Schofield  had  then  only  20,000 
to  oppose  55,000,  but  his  position  had  been  taken  with  good 
judgment.  The  union  troops  only  arrived  about  noon  on  the 
80th  of  November,  and  the  assault  was  made  in  the  afternoon. 
The  repulse  was  bloody  and  disastrous,  as  five  generals  fell  and 


r,me:^ss>imia»wmmtmii&^'»*i»ssi^'^sait»^aimi^: 


J 


602 


Trrruc's  Histo/iv  of  iv'.i.v.s'.i.'?. 


nearly  5,000  rebel  troops.  The  generals  were  Cliburne,  Gist, 
Adams,  Trahl  and  (Jranbury.  The  losses  on  the  side  of  the 
■union  were  great,  but  not  one-half  so  great  as  those  of  the  confed- 
erates. Several  times  the  assault  was  repeated,  and  every  time 
■with  like  results  until  the  rebels  concluded  to  allow  the  union 
troops  to  proceed  on  their  way  to  Nasliville  without  further  mo- 
lestation. The  punishment  of  the  30th  was  so  distressing  that 
the  march  of  the  1st  of  December,  1864,  was  hardly  assailed,  and 
the  comnin.nd  of  Gen.  Schofield  arrived  in  Nashville  on  the  after- 
noon of  that  day. 

The  eighth  was  completely  at  home  in  the  city  now  to  be  de- 
fended, and  they  constructed  a  line  of  breastworks  with  great 
hope  that  they  would  be  called  upon  to  hold  them  against 
the  enemy.  Hood  followed  speedily  and  was  in  position,  pros- 
pecting for  weak  places,  on  the  4th,  but  his  impetuosity  had 
been  greatly  cooled  off  at  PVanklin.  It  was  in  fact  an  impudent 
and  imprudent  act,  on  the  part  of  Hood,  to  sit  down  before  Nash- 
ville, with  Gen.  Thomas  defending  the  town,  now  that  the  con- 
centrated Union  forces  were  nearly  equal  to  his  own  ;  but  he  was 
encouraged  by  the  quietness  of  Thomas  to  believe  that  he  was 
about  to  achieve  the  defeat  of  an  officer  whom  Bragg's  army  had 
been  unable  to  subdue  under  circumstances  much  more  favorable 
to  the  attacking  force.  Hood  called  up  every  possible  reinforce- 
ment, and  still  Thomas  remained  quiet  until  the  loth  of  Decem- 
ber. Gen.  Grant  appeared  to  have  been  just  as  unable  to  under- 
stand the  strategy  of  T'homas  as  Hood  himself,  but  in  due  course 
the  whole  scheme  was  developed  with  complete  success. 

Thomas  aimed  at  securing  the  fruits  of  a  campaign  from  one 
battle,  and  the  weather  was  sufficiently  severe  to  make  it  an  ob- 
ject that  his  troops  should  be  protected  as  much  as  possible.  On 
the  evening  of  the  14th  word  was  passed  along  the  lines  that  an 
advance  on  the  enemy's  lines  would  be  made  soon  after  daylight 
the  next  morning.  All  ready  before  dawn ;  but  the  attack  did 
not  commence  until  10  o'clock,  when  the  brigade  that  included 
the  eighth  charged  the  works  on  Montgomery  Hill.  The  distance 
irom  our  works  was  just  three  hundred  yards,  and  it  was  Hood's 
Strongest  position.  The  position  was  carried  in  less  than  ten 
minutes,  the  assault  being  made  in  splended  style.     Forty  pris- 


iburiie,  Gist, 

I  side  of  tlie 
if  the  confed- 

II  every  time 
)\v  the  union 
,  further  ino- 
itrcssiiig  that 
assailed,  and 
on  the  after- 

low  to  be  de- 
s  witli  great 
them  against 
oriition,  pros- 
etuosity  had 
an  impudent 
before  Nash- 
that  the  con- 
;  but  he  was 
that  he  was 
g's  army  had 
ore  favorable 
ble  reinforce- 
th  of  Decem- 
ble  to  under- 
n  due  course 
ess. 

ign  from  one 
ake  it  an  ob- 
Dossible.  On 
lines  that  an 
iter  daylight 
le  attack  did 
hat  included 
The  distance 
;  was  Hood's 
ess  than  ten 
Forty  pris- 


.S'7M77;   iriSTOIlY—lSOl-rK 


SOS 


oners  were  taken,  and  the  brigade  comnuuuler  named  the  eighth 
as  the  first  regiment  to  enter  tiie  works  of  the  rebels. 

Tlie  second  movement  was  not  made  until  nearly  1  o'clock, 
when  the  eighth  had  a  second  time  in  one  day  the  honor  of  being 
first  within  the  lines  of  the  enemy.  This  time  the  attack  was 
made  along  the  whole  line,  carrying  the  works  of  the  heretofore 
besieging  force,  and  taking  a  large  number  of  prisoners  as  well  as 
a  battery  of  brass  guns.  The  rebels  were  driven  in  great  confu- 
sion for  about  one  mile  when  the  api)roach  of  night  rendered  it 
necessary  to  return  to  the  captured  works  where  the  union  army 
bivouacked. 

The  morning  of  the  16th  was  cold,  wet  and  disagreeable,  but  the 
advance  was  resumed  at  daylight.  Hood  still  had  faith  that  there 
was  a  victory  before  him,  and  he  had  taken  up  a  strong  position 
on  a  range  of  hills  four  miles  south  of  Nashville.  The  move- 
ments of  Thomas  showed  the  acme  of  generalship.  The  eighth 
was  in  the  hottest  of  the  fight  but  space  will  not  allow  of  full  jus- 
tice being  done  to  the  attack ;  suffice  it  say  that  Hood's  army  was 
demolished  and  driven  towards  Alabama.  Hood  crossed  the 
Tennessee  at  Bainbridge  with  the  debris  of  his  command. 
Thomas  captured  in  all  in  this  brief  campaign,  72  guns  and  about 
12,000  prisoners,  besides  administering  the  amnesty  oath  to  2,207 
deserters  from  the  confederate  ranks.  East  Tennessee  was  com- 
pletely cleared  of  rebel  forces  and  the  wisdom  of  the  line  pursued 
by  Thomas  become  apparent  to  all  concerned  except  Hood. 

After  this  brilliant  exploit  the  army  encamped  and  remained  at 
Huntsville  during  January.  Early  in  February  there  was  a  sud- 
den movement  back  to  Nashville,  and  that  time  no  serious  or 
dangerous  duty  arose  until  the  war  was  ended  by  the  surrender 
of  Lee ;  the  rejoicings  over  which  event  were  soon  changed  into 
deepest  grief  by  the  dreadful  message,  "  Abraham  Lincoln  is  as- 

sasinated." 

Contrary  to  expectation,  the  troops  were  ordered  to  Texas  on 
the  13th  of  June,  instead  of  being  mustered  out  as  soon  as  tho 
war  was  over,  but  true  discipline  secured  compliance  with  orders 
and  the  eighth  was  not  mustered  out  until  the  9th  of  January, 
1866,  and  the  record  of  the  regiment  will  bear  comparisou  with 
that  of  any  in  the  world. 


t 


iia3iBSa^s»^^S^e^««*aaiHiai[»WeW'^SiS«iM««l*»«WMW 


\      :'4^^ 


504 


TrTTufs  History  of  Kashas. 


I' 


ill' 


The  ninth  Kansas  volunteer  cavalry  was  formed  by  the  con- 
fiolidation  of  independent  battalions  on  the  27th  of  March,  1862. 
The  earlier  record  of  the  regiment  deals  with  comparatively  local 
events,  such  as  guerrilla  scouts  and  the  Locust  Grove  fight  in  the 
Cherokee  nation.  The  ninth  took  part  in  the  engagement  at  New- 
tonia  toward  the  end  of  September,  18«2,  and  did  all  that  men, 
armed  as  they  were,  could  effect  against  superior  numbers.  Tiie 
fights  at  Cane  TTill  and  Prairie  Grove  were  participated  in  by  two 
companies  of  the  ninth.  The  raid  on  Van  Buren  was  very  mater- 
ially aided  by  this  regiment,  and  escort  duty  fell  heavily  on  this 
arm  of  the  service  at  all  times,  but  the  ninth  never  failed  to  do  its 
duty  thoroughly  at  all  hazards. 

Affairs  with  bushwhackers  were  of  frequent  occurrence,  and  one 
portion  of  a  company  of  the  ninth,  under  Capt.  Flesher,  fell  into 
an  ambuscade  of  this  class  of  desperados  near  Westport  on  the 
17th  of  June,  1863.  There  was  little  blame  to  be  attached  to 
Capt.  Flesher,  and  he  and  his  men  fought  well  after  the  first  sur- 
prise was  recovered,  but  the  event  was  much  handled  by  enemies 
of  the  regiment.  The  assf'bnts  were  very  severely  punished 
afterwards  by  scouting  parti,     '-^rr^  the  ninth. 

The  Quantrell  raid  on  tl  .  v  )f  Lawrence  was  made  in  Au- 
gust, 186&,  and  two  compan^.o  j  the  ninth  were  the  first  troops 
upon  his  trail.  Quantrell's  rear  guard  was  overtaken  at  Brook- 
lyn, and  from  that  moment  a  series  of  harassing  attacks  continued 
on  the  enemy.  Other  companies  of  the  ninth,  and  one  squadron 
of  the  eleventh  Kansas  fought  the  guerrilla  and  killed  many  of  his 
command,  recovering  much  of  the  property  stolen  at  Lawrence. 
The  cry  of  the' raiders  was  "no  prisoners,"  and  they  were  made 
to  fully  comprehend  the  meaning  of  their  motto  before  the  debris 
oi  the  scoundrels  found  a  retreat  in  the  fo.  dsts  where  they  were 
safe  from  recognition  or  pursuit. 

The  services  of  the  ninth  were  called  into  requisition  to  oppose 
the  forces  of  the  rebel  Gen.  Shelby  some  few  weeks  after  the 
Quantrell  raid,  and  Gen.  Ewing  with  his  command  rendered  effi- 
cient service,  pressing  the  pursuit  until  the  enemy  crossed  the 
Boston  Mountains.  It  is  a  matter  for  regret  that  men  in  every 
■way  so  well  qualified  for  higher  service  should  have  been  forced 
to  do  duty  against  bushwhackers  and  guerrillas  as  the  Ninth  did, 


<>-,    -•,'* 


by  the  con- 
aivh,  1862. 
lively  local 
finrlit  in  the 
jntnt  New- 
1  that  men, 
bers.  The 
1  in  by  two 
v'ery  mater- 
vily  on  this 
ed  to  do  its 

ice,  and  one 
er,  fell  into 
port  on  the 
attached  to 
he  first  sur- 
by  enemies 
r   punished 

lade  in  Au- 
first  troops 

at  Brook- 
s  continued 
le  squadron 
many  of  his 

Lawrence, 
were  made 
e  the  debris 
!  they  were 

m  to  oppose 
:s  after  the 
mdcred  effi- 
crossed  the 
len  in  every 
been  forced 
$  Ninth  did, 


Sr.iTf:  IfrsTonr —  ISC)!-!}. 


605 


but  beyond  all  ([ucstion  they  were  efTicient,  although  it  was  their 
misfortune  to  hunt  vermin  instead  of  being  engaged  in  more 
worthy  pursuits.  So  much  was  this  felt  by  the  regiment,  that 
applications  for  assignment  to  other  duty  were  repeatedly  made, 
and  at  length  complied  with.  The  regiment  mustered  1,200 
strong  when  mustered  to  join  Gen.  Steele's  expedition  to  Shrove- 
])ort;  but  the  failure  of  Gen.  Banks,  and  the  subserpient  disasters 
of  that  campaign,  deprived  the  Ninth  once  more  of  its  covot(>d 
opportunity  for  distinction  on  other  and  larger  fields.  The  pow- 
ers of  endurance  of  the  regiment  were  largely  tried,  but  the  more 
brilliant  feats  of  arms  that  win  renown  were  not  demanded  by  the 
course  of  events. 

While  serving  under  Gen.  Steele  at  Little  Rock,  the  ninth 
rendered  important  services  against  the  rebel  leaders  ^[armadake, 
Shelby  and  Fagan  at  different  times,  the  affair  at  Brownsville  be- 
ing one  of  the  most  brilliant,  and  in  that  conflict  much  execution 
was  wrought  upon  the  rebels  under  Shelby.  The  loss  on  our 
side  was  also  large,  but  the  punishment  inflicted  on  Shelby's 
force  saved  the  country  around  Little  Kock  from  further  raids  foi 
a  long  time.  The  duties  customarily  devolving  upon  the  ninth 
were  arduous,  dangerous,  and  yet  not  such  as  could  win  glory  or 
even  distinction,  therefore  it  is  high  praise  to  say  in  their  behalf 
that  they  behaved  with  fidelity  and  courage,  and  deserved  well  of 
the  nation  as  well  as  of  the  state. 

The  tenth  Kansas  was  formed  by  joining  the  third  and  fourth 
with  some  of  the  fifth,  under  orders  from  the  war  department. 
The  regiment  was  800  strong,  and  the  men  were  well  fitted  for 
active  service.  Many  minor  services  might  be  named  would 
space  permit,  but  the  expedition  of  part  of  the  Tenth  against  the 
rebel  Clarkson  and  his  command  on  the  8d  of  July,  1862,  must 
be  recorded.  Col.  Weer  devised  the  plan  of  attack,  and  the  re- 
sult was  the  capture  of  Clarkson  and  155  of  his  force,  besides 
about  70  killed  and  wounded,  and  a  very  large  quantity  of  camp 

equipage. 

The  tenth  operated  repeatedly  against  the  guerrilla  chiefs,  Cols. 
Coffey  and  Cockrell,  and  sometimes  with  considerable  distinction  ; 
but  that  branch  of  the  service  is  not  looked  upon  with  favor  by 
troops  of  spirit,  and  therefore  the  tenth  desired  other  employ- 


»B»IIWiai»l*tl«8«»ll«M''l>!i.lW>WlilM*'' 


S|liiWSW*«(*WBa»'SB5»a)»i~K?*«i**--<-' 


50G 


TcTTLK's   IflSTOIlY  OF  KaXSAS. 


meiit.  The  iilTair  near  Xcwtoiiia  in  Soptcinbor,  lS<i2.  when  the 
rebel  geneiuls  iJains,  C-)iTcy  iind  Cooper,  strongly  reinforced, 
stood  !it  bay,  would  have  given  the  desired  opjiortunity,  but  for 
the  inconipcteney  of  Cicn.  Solomon  tein[)orarily  in  eharge  of  Cien. 
Blount's  division.  The  troops,  more  especially  the  tenth,  wanted 
to  advance,  but  Solomon  would  not  allow  his  Command  to  ap- 
proach the  rebel  lines,  his  limit  being  one  mile  and  a  half  from 
their  position.  The  return  of  Gon.  ]^)lourit  alone  saved  the  com- 
mand from  mutiny  or  demoralization. 

The  troops  now  inove<l  back  to  Ncwtonia,  where  the  enemy  was 
routed  and  driven  towards  Arkansas,  and  the  Tenth  assisted  in 
the  pursuit  of  the  flying  rebels.  The  action  at  Bentonville,  Ar- 
kansas, was  but  to  a  small  extent  participateil  in  by  the  tenih  on 
the  20th  of  October,  but  the  regiment  marched  all  night  to  reach 
the  field  in  time  for  the  light.  After  the  battle  of  Old  Fort 
Wayne  just  named,  the  regiment  was  largely  occupied  in  scout- 
ing. The  engagements  at  Cane  Hill  and  Prairie  Grove  gave  a 
reasonable  opening  for  the  courage  of  the  regiment,  and  it  fulfilled 
the  expectation  of  its  friends,  us  it  led  in  the  defeat  and  pursuit  of 
the  rebels  from  Cane  Hill,  until  the  force  disappeared  over  Bos- 
ton Mountains,    and   Gen.    Marmaduke's   force  was  completely 

routed. 

The  advance  of  Gen.  Ilindman  broke  the  repose  of  the  tenth 
in  camp  at  Cane  Hill,  and  it  was  evident  that  an  army  and  not  a 
scout  had  to  be  met  The  general  engagement  was  not  brought 
on  until  the  7th  of  December,  when  liindman  succeded  in  flank- 
ing the  force  engaged,  and  made  a  retrogade  movement  inevita- 
ble; but  the 'tenth  succeeded  in  reaching  Gen.  Ilerron's  com- 
mand, by  Rheas'  Mills,  before  the  design  of  the  rebel  comman- 
der could  be  realized.  The  conduct  of  the  tenth  elicited  much 
commendation.  The  loss  of  the  regiment  in  that  engagement 
amounted  to  23  per  cent.,  and  the  outcome  of  the  battle,  consid- 
ering that  our  force  only  numbered  12,000,  fighting  an  army  of 
28,000,  with  thirty  pieces  of  artillery,  was  very  creditable  to  the 
arms  of  the  union.  Ilindman  retreated  precipitately  during  the 
night  after  the  action  at  Prairie  Grove,  leaving  his  dead  and 
wounded. 

The  tenth  moved  out  of  camp  again  on  the  27lh  of  December, 


Sr.iTK  JfrsTom' —  J'>01-'>. 


507 


)2.  wlicn  the 
'  reinforced, 
iiity,  but  for 
argc  of  Cjen. 
jutli.  wanted 
nand  to  ap- 
a  half  from 
zed  the  com- 

e  enemy  was 
I  assisted  in 
tonville,  Ar- 
il le  tcnili  on 
iglit  to  reach 
of  Old  Fort 
cd  in  scout- 
rove  gave  a 
id  it  fulfilled 
id  pursuit  of 
cl  over  Bos- 
!  completely 

of  the  tenth 
ly  and  not  a 
not  brought 
ded  in  flank- 
nent  inevita- 
erron's  com- 
pel comman- 
licited  much 
engagement 
attle,  consid- 
■r  an  army  of 
itable  to  the 
f  during  the 
is  dead  and 

)f  December, 


18fi2,  to  strike  niudinan  at  Van   Buren   and   put  an  end  to  his 
nruiy.     Tho  service  was  very  severe,  but  the  regiment  did  all  that 
was"expectcd  in  the  way  of  disabling  the  rebels,  and  gave  peace 
for  some  time  to  the  region  in  which  the  action  occurred.     Mar- 
maduke  next  invited  the  attention  of  the  tenth,  with  a  force  of 
0,000   cavalry,    advancing   to   Springfield,    Mo.      The    regiment 
made  a  forced  march  to  Springfield,  in  conjunction  with  a  brig- 
ade of  cavalry,  in  very  severe  weather,  making  thirty-five  miles 
a  day,  and  by  their  advance  forced  Marmaduke  to  retreat,     Tlio 
brigade  followed  Marmaduke,  and  routed  him  at  Sand  Springs, 
thirty  miles  beyond  Springfield,  and  the  rebel  in  his  hurried  re- 
treat fell  into  the  hands  of  Gen.  Warren,  who  completed  his^lis- 
oomfiture.     The   campaign  of  18G2    finished   in  a  manner   very 
honorable  for  the  tenth     The  regiment  was  mustered  out  of  ser- 
vice in  August,  186-i,  but  immediately  reorganized  as  veterans. 
The  tenth  served  against  Hood  in  Tennessee  at  Columbia,  Frank- 
lin, Nashville,  and  in  pursuit  of  the  routed  foe,  winning  distinc- 
tion, always  being  assigned  to  the  skirmish  line  on  every  import- 
ant occasion,  and  their  losses  abundantly  testify  to  their  courage 

and  endurance. 

The  regiment  was  dispatched  to  Fort  Gaines,  Ala.,  on  the  7th 
of  March"  1865,  and  operated  in  that  line  of  country  until  a 
junction  was  effected  with  Gen.  Steele,  and  the  works  of  the 
enemy  at  Fort  Blakcly  captured.  The  tenth  was  named  in  the 
reports  oflicmlly  made,  in  a  man.ier  exceedingly  gratifying  to  the 
state.  The  final  mustering  out  occurred  on  the  20th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1865,  at  Fort  Leavenworth.  The  troops  thus  honorably  dis- 
charged, as  well  as  their  ofiicers,  deserve  the  highest  encomiums 
that°can  be  bestowed  on  faithful  soldiers  and  brave  men  who 
rendered  important  services  to  the  union  in  the  greatest  rebelliou 
the  world  has  ever  seen. 

The  eleventh  Kansas  was  recruited  and  organized  by  the  chief 
justice,  Thomas  Ewing,  Jr.,  under  authority  issued  by  Gen.  Lane, 
on  the  6th  of  August,  1862.  The  authority  of  the  governor  was 
entirely  ignored  on  that  occasion.  The  state  had  sent  ten  regi- 
ments into  the  field,  and  despondency  was  everywhere,  because  of 
the  reverses  suffered  by  the  troops  under  McClellan  before  Rich- 
mond; yet  Kansas  responded  as  before,  with  its  full  quota,  by 


.>ja»««WSail»!*W«Bte«»««»«««B«BWK>«l^^  ;  «»»OB«3B«fWE  i-.:  5,q«s««^v.«*--««««=Sfe^ 


608 


Tvtti.e's  Histoky  or  Kaxsas. 


voluntary  onlistinciits  in  tlic  briefest  time  ever  oecupicd  in  such 
an  undertaking  even  in  tliis  state.  The  rcgimeat  started  on  its 
first  campaign  on  the  4tli  of  October,  before  either  pay  or  boun^^^y 
had  been  received,  and  when  there  were  no  arms  for  them  except 
muskets  dating  from  the  year  1818.  The  march  then  executed 
to  Pea  Kidge,  Ark.,  by  way  of  J^ort  Scott,  would  have  been  an 
honor  even  to  veteran  troops. 

Under  Gen.  Blount  the  eleventh  Kansas  was  at  once  engaged  in 
night  marches  and  surprises,  and  had  the  honor  to  assist  in  rout- 
ing (Jen.  Cooper  and  his  rebel  force  near  old  I<\irt  Wayne,  on  the 
20th  of  October,  18()2,  having  double  quicked  over  six  miles  to 
be  in  time.  Cane  Hill  was  tlie  next  scene  of  activity,  where 
Marmaduke  was  routed,  and  the  eleventh  was  engaged  in  every 
action,  from  the  first  assault  to  that  which  drove  the  enemy  over 
Boston  Mountain."}.  Prairie  Grove  and  the  defeat  of  Ilindman 
speedily  followed,  the  regiment  being  rewarded  with  high  encomi- 
ums for  its  services,  and  the  rebel  general  having  to  resort  to  a 
disgraceful  ruse  to  save  bis  armv  and  himself.  The  march  to 
Van  Buren  commencing  on  the  27th  of  December,  and  the  ser- 
vices rendered  there  against  Ilindman  need  only  be  briefly  indi- 
cated. The  victory  was  complete,  but  the  service  told  heavily 
on  the  men  who  were  engaged  during  that  inclement  season. 
The  regiment  lost  one-third  of  its  number  within  nine  months 
from  its  iirst  organization.  Soon  afterwards  the  service  was 
changed  to  cavalry,  and  new  companies  were  recruited,  the  alter- 
ation having  been  made  as  a  reward  for  the  conduct  of  the  regi- 
ment, and  at  the  request  of  the  men. 

Border  duties  and  encounters  with  bushwhackers  now  fell  to 
the  lot  of  the  eleventh,  until  Quantrell  fled  into  Texas.  The 
campaigns  against  Shelby  commencing  in  September,  that  in 
the  Cherokee  Nation  against  Stand  Waitie,  and  agains*,  Price  at  a 
later  date,  were  all  participated  in  by  the  eleventh,  besides  a 
host  of  minor  duties.  Little  Blue  was  nominally  a  defeat  for  our 
arms,  but,  actually,  it  led  to  the  detention  of  the  rebels  until 
Pleasanton  could  strike  their  rear  and  lead  up  to  the  decisive 
victory  at  Big  Blue.  Cold  Water  Grove,  Mound  City  and  Fort 
Lincoln,  are  worthy  of  remembrance  in  connection  with  services 
of  the  eleventh  against  hateful  marauders. 


•^•S:'*-\ATJlt^  .Vi-f 


.-art?H?J;  ^»'/ty  ^atf'Sgy-^^iaiga-^if.ig'W^y'^^  fJWBg'  "OeflWfW^sraR^ 


lied  in  such 
rtoil  on  its 
or  boun*^^y 
liem  except 
■n  executed 
ro  been  an 

engaged  in 
iist  in  rout- 
yne,  on  the 
ix  miles  to 
nty,  where 
id  in  every 
;neniy  over 
;  Ilindman 
gh  cncomi- 
resort  to  a 
!  march  to 
nd  the  ser- 
riefly  indi- 
•Id  heavily 
ent  season, 
ne  months 
3rvice  was 
1,  the  alter- 
Df  the  regi- 

now  fell  to 
ixas.  The 
er,  that  in 
^,  Price  at  a 
,  besides  a 
feat  for  our 
ebels  until 
he  decisive 
y  and  Fort 
th  services 


-S'  TA  TK  J I  IS  rim  Y  —  lsOl-5. 


609 


The   eleventh  won    much   experience  of  Indian  warefare   by 
their  operations  against  the  Sioux  between  Laramie  and  Platte 
Bridge,  as  well  as  later  in  tlie  campaign  of  ISO.'),  which  linally 
taught  the  Indians  to  behave  with  greater  circumspection.     The 
service  was  harassing  in  the  extreme,  but  it  is  creditable  to  the 
eleventh  to  say,  tliat  it  held  its  own  against  much  larger  num- 
bers continually,  and  was  never  driven   from   the  field.      The 
maintenance  of  the  mail  route  across  the    Plains  from   Califor- 
nia, was  for  a  long  time  entirely  dependent  upon  the  services  of 
this  re  ■   lent,  but  the  line  was  never  bn)ken,  although  it  became 
necessaiy  at  times  for  the  men  to  horse  the  mails  as  well  as  sup- 
ply drivers  and  escort,  so  persistent  were  the  savages  in  their 
attacks.     Some  of  the  Indian  raids  were  bloody  and   terrible, 
and  it  required  no  small  amount  of  courage  to  subdue  the  infuri- 
ated savages,  but  in  every  instance,  in  spite  of  temporary  reverses 
and  checks,  the  eleventh  compelled  the  Sioux  to  fly  at  last.    The 
slaughter  of  Serg.  Custard's  party  in  the   latter  part  of  July, 
1865^  when  twenty  men  held  2,000  Indians  in  check  for  six 
hours,  will  give  our  readers  some  idea  of  the  work  accomplished 
by  the  eleventh  on  the  Plains. 

The  regiment  was  recruited  among  the  citizens  of  Kansas, 
their  discipline  was  exemplary,  their  intelligence  and  m<iral  tone 
of  the  liighest  order,  and  their  successes  were  commensurate. 
Many  privates  were  promoted  from  the  ranks  of  the  eleventh  to 
officer  other  regiments,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  imagine  a  fact 
more  honorable  to  a  body  of  men. 

The  twelfth  Kansas  was  organized  in  August  and  Sejitember, 
1862,  the  authority  for  recruiting  being  addressed  to  Senator 
Lane,  and  under  certain  restrictions  the  duty  of  officering  troops 
also,  devolved  upon  the  senator.  That  fact  and  others  of  the 
same  type,  carry  their  own  comment.  The  regiment  servej.  at 
Fort  Smith,  and  on  the  Camden  expedition,  winning  lanrcls  in 
the  battle  of  Prairie  de  Anne.  The  affair  in  Terre  Nor  Swamp 
was  very  trying  to  the  troops,  and  the  reverse  at  Poison  Springs 
was  in  no  way  discreditable  to  the  men  engaged.  The  crossing 
at  Saline  River  was  brilliantly  effected,  and  the  march  to  Little 
Rock  was  a  marvel  of  endurance.  Throughout  its  period  of 
service  to  the  end  of  the  war,  when  the  twelfth  was  mustered 


_iSWW*WS4W«S**i'»**iW*«l*«^--<-''*''«-«**''*'******'*'*^^^ 


610 


Tittle's  Uistouy  of  Kassas. 


out  oil  tlio  r.Otli  of  Juno,  ISl').'),  thovc  wan  not  one  of  its  records 
that  faiK'<l  to  rcllcct  (Mvdit  upon  tlie  n'L'iiiictit, 

'I'lio  tliirtoiMitli  Kansas  was  rccMMiitiMl  under  the  saino  ••iuh- 
pices  as  tlio  'I'welfili,  and  at  ahout  tlio  same  date.  Tlie  first 
en<jrag(Mnent  was  with  Martnadul^e,  at  Cane  Hill,  on  the  28th  of 
November,  and  the  enemy  was  routed,  as  also  subt'-equentlv, 
after  an  obstinate  fight  on  Boston  Mountains.  Tiio  regiment, 
next  took  part  in  the  victory  at  Prairie  Grove.  The  march  to 
Van  lUiren,  Arkansas,  cost  the  regiment  more  men  than  the 
subsequent  engagement  with  the  enemy  and  capture  of  the  town, 
brilliant  and  clTectivo  as  that  o]ieration  undoubtedly  was.  The 
weather  was  terrible.  Guerrilla  suppression  was  an  unpleasant 
duty,  which  the  regiment,  a<lded  to  its  other  exploits  performed 
without  a  murmur,  until  ordered  to  Little  llock  on  provost  guard 
and  garrison  duty,  where  it  continued  meritorious  at  all  times 
until  the  end  of  the  war. 

The  fourteenth  Kansas  cavalry  was  recruited  by  Gen.  Blount 
in  the  spring  of  1S63,  and  it  entered  on  picket  duty  almost 
immediately.  The  regiment  fought  with  distinction  at  Prairie 
dc  Anne  and  at  ^foseow,  winning  ground  from  the  enemy  on 
both  occasions.  Pois<in  Springs,  Jenkins  Ferry  and  the  march 
to  Little  Hock,  tried  the  courage  and  endurance  of  the  men  with- 
out abating  their  reputation  ;  and  after  returning  to  Fort  Smith 
picket  duties  were  exceptionally  heavy  on  the  fourteenth.  Mine 
Creek  and  Wcstport,  and  the  surrender  of  (icn.  Marmaduke,  are 
incidents  honorable  to  the  regiment.  Engagements  with  guer- 
rilla bands  were  continually  recurring,  and  the  fourteenth  having 
been  raised  when  the  confederates  were  in  highest  hope  of  even- 
tual success,  the  services  demanded  from  the  men  were  incessant. 
They  served  to  the  end  of  the  war. 

The  fifteenth  Kansas  cavalry  was  raised  about  the  time  of  the 
Quantrcll  raid,  when  143  unarmed  citizens  of  Lawrence  were 
murdered  in  cold  blood,  and  the  business  quarter  of  the  city 
burned  to  the  ground.  The  regiment  was  filled  in  less  than  a 
month,  and  an  extra  company  toward  the  sixteenth  ahso.  Cir- 
cumstances confined  the  regiment  mainly  to  expeditions  against 
bushwhackers  and  marauders  but  the  duty  was  thoroughly  accom- 
plished, although  there  are  no  brilliant  services  to  be  recorded. 


-  i9^j»  Jn>4''i3^?'^Tr^'gim»it^!wri'9vrtm»!ifi'*ipii9iir9fea^^^ 


its  records 

stimo  nuH- 
The  first 
tlie  28tli  f)f 
bso(|iU'ntIy, 
10  n'girucnr, 
e  iiiixrcli  to 
n  than  the 
)f  tlie  town, 
■  was.     The 

unpleasant 
s  perfoi'med 
ovost  gnarcl 
at  all  times 

len.  Blount 
luty  almost 
I  at  Prairie 
3  enemy  on 

the  march 
e  men  with- 

Fort  Smith 
;nth.  Mine 
naduke,  are 

with  gner- 
3nth  having 
ipe  of  even- 
re  incessant, 

time  of  the 
/rence  were 
of  the  city 
less  than  a 
also.  Cir- 
iona  against 
ghly  accorn- 
recorded. 


Sr.i TK  Ifisroi! r  —  isni-rr. 


Bll 


The  si.xtoenth  KauHas  can>o  into  the  sorviro  too  lato  to  share  so 
liberally  as  the  regiments  already  named  in  th.>  gl.-ru.us  record 
of  war,  but  it  served  on  the  Plains  a.-ui.ist  Mn-  Indians  and 
rendered  essential  services  in  other  particulars,  useful,  if  not  .lis- 

titiguished. 

The  seventeenth  Kansas  was  called  up  in  IS(U  to  s.-rve  for  one 
hundred  davs,  commencing  July  4th  in  ihat  year.  'I'l,e  regnnent 
was  incessantly  engaged  from  the  day  of  its  organisation  to  the 
end  of  its  term,  in  such  movements  as  preserved  Kansas  from  as- 
sault, and  it  participated  with  honor  in  tlie  alTair  at  Mine  Hun. 

The  first  Kansas  col-.red  regiment  was  recruited  iii  August  and 
September,  1802,  under  authority  furnished  to  (len.  Lane.     There 
>vas  a  conflict  between  the  civil  and  military  authorities  as  to  this 
,,,-aui/ation,  but  the  regiment  was  raised.     An  engagement  with 
twice  the  number  of  Cockrell's  band,  on  the  Sjjth   of  October, 
proved  the  courage  and  capacity  of  the  troops  at  the  camp  near 
Butler,  as  the  enemy  was  very  severely   beaten   and   i)ursucd. 
Colored  troops  on  this  occa.sion,  for  the  iirst  time  in  the  war  ^>r 
the  Union,  proved  their  efficieiiey.     On  the  ISth  of  May    IS();.,  a 
fora<nn.'   party  was  surprised  and  attacked  by  the  rebel   Major 
'Livim4)n,  with  300  troops,  the  small   force  .)f  45  men   being 
neccs^lirily  defeated.     The  colored  prisoners  and  slain  were  treated 
with  unheard  of  barbarity,  but  Col.  Williams  commenced  a  sys- 
tem of  retaliation  which  at  once  arreste.l  such  practices,      iiere 
were  many  instances  of  courage  and  enterprise  that  deserve  hon- 
orable mention,  at  Cabin  Creek,  Honey  Springs,  and  on  the  Cam- 
den expedition,  but  space  will  only  permit  the  statement  tnat  the 
men  behaved  admirably  under  fire  and  won  high  honors  every- 
where. T  •    .     n 

The  second  Kansas  colored  regiment  was  mustered  into  the  ser- 
vice on  the  Uth  of  August,  1863,  at  Fort  Scott,  and  was  first  se- 
riously engasred  in  the  Camden  expedition,  under  Gen.  Steele, 
havinc^  pa°ticipated  with  honor  to  itself  and  much  loss  in  that 
campai<m.  The  record  of  the  second  colored  regiment  was  hon- 
orable Tn  every  particular,  and  in  some  instances  high  distinction 

was  gloriously  won. 

The  first  Kansas  battery  served  with  distinction  on  many  glo- 
rious fields,  but  the  adjutant  general  was  not  supplied  with  a 


^^WBK«**«a*KiPMM«Kae'aBs^H»wraw^^ 


m*!*^>*»^i'«fBKr*ini%mfm^m*^W' 


^ 


y 


i»JWtti»at»*»rt*it' ■- 


I 


^ 

X 


512 


TiTTi.i:'s  Uisioiir  or  Kassas. 


•  » 

V 


•A 


t 

V 


^ 


l. 

1 

1 

i 

formal  rccnrtl  of  its  proceed ing«,  Ik'hco  wo  can  only,  in  a  general 
way,  nu'iitioti  its  scrvic-i-s, 

'i'lio  st'(!(>n(l  Kansas  battery  was  raised  by  Mnjor  HIair  in  Au- 
gnst  ami  Si'iitcnibor,  iMii'J,  and  its  roconl  during  the  war  showed 
Bcrviees  at  Newtonia,  I'ea  J^idge,  (.'ane  Hill,  Uliea's  Mills,  Sher- 
wood,(Jabin  Creek,  (irand  JViver,  Honey  S|iiings,  I'erryviile,  Kort 
Smith,  Westport,  and  everywhere,  and  always  with  honor  to  the 
battery  and  the  state  by  whiidi  it  was  manneil. 
,  The  ihinl  Kansas  battery  was  formed  in  the  latter  part  of  ISCJl 
for  the  New  Mexican  expedition  but  nuuiy  changes  occurred  be- 
fore it  assumed  the  name  and  organization  now  recorded  as  the 
nundicr  borne  by  the  buttery  implies.  The  origin  of  tiiis  organ- 
ization will  bcct)rne  clear  to  our  readers  when  we  state  that  tlie 
guns  of  this  command  were  captured  from  the  enemy  and  first 
known  as  "Iloplvins'  Kansas  Battery."  The  command  distin- 
guished itself  at  Old  Vort  Wayne,  Cane  Hill.  Boston  Mountains, 
J'rairie  (.Irove,  \'an  Buren,  Weber's  Kails,  Fort  Gibson,  Honey 
Springs  and  Little  llock,  being  mustered  out  of  service  and  hon- 
orably discharged  on  the  IDth  of  January,  iSOo,  after  a  long  term 
of  active  labor. 

Having  thus  clo.«ed  the  military  history  of  this  truly  eventful 
])eriod  it  remains  oidy  to  be  said  that  Kan.sis  was  as  true  to  the 
Union  at  home  as  .she  proved  herself  in  the  leld,  although  Gov. 
Kobinson  and  his  friends  were  for  a  time  defeated  in  the  civil 
government  by  the  /.cal  which  carried  so  many  soldiers  to  the 
front.  Carney  was  on  some  occasions  more  than  suspected  by  the 
general  government  of  want  of  zeal  for  the  service  in  the  war ; 
no  such  idea  could  for  one  moment  have  attached  itself  to  Gov. 
Robin.son.  The  .state  had  suffered  immensely  from  the  war  with- 
in its  own  bonkr-i,  and  by  tne  drouth  before  the  rebellion  arose 
to  tax  the  energies  of  the  people,  but  the  zeal  of  the  free  state 
men  never  failed  to  respond  in  every  emergency,  although  popu- 
lation increased  but  slowly  until  the  war  came  to  an  end  in  18(35. 

The  attack  by  Quantrell's  gang  on  Lawrence,  in  1863,  was  one 
of  the  most  horrible  scenes  enacted  during  the  war,  as  it  was  con- 
ducted by  cowardly  ruffians  again.st  a  defenseless  town,  whose  cit- 
izens were  murdered  in  cold  blood  with  every  mark  of  extreme 
brutality  ;  but  already  the  city  was  resuming  its  accustomed  pros- 


'■MinUIIOHil  i-ii  'liH," 


J'.^MH...i'ViP'''ll"t'JI''T". 


ElX'CAl  I'tSAL    l*U()(illKSS. 


513 


n  a  general 

llair  ill  An- 
v;ir  showed 
yiills,  Shor- 
yvilli'.  Kurt 
oiior  to  lliO 

art  of  18(51 
(H'urred  be- 
(li(l  as  tlio 
tliis  organ- 
tu  that  tlie 
ly  anil  first 
1111(1  (listin- 
MountainH, 
son, Ilonoy 
ie  and  hon- 
I  long  term 

ly  eventful 
true  to  the 
lough  Gov. 
in  the  civil 
liers  to  tlio 
cted  by  the 
in  the  war; 
elf  to  Gov. 
3  war  with- 
jllion  arose 
3  free  state 
augli  popu- 
id  in  1865. 
33,  was  one 
it  was  con- 
,  whose  cit- 
of  extreme 
onied  pros- 


perity with  more  than  its  former  extent,  and  wc  «haU  sec  in  our 
future  chapter.-*  that  the  .ntato generally  wa.«J  commeneing  a  earecr, 
prcKsperous  and  glorious  for  tlio  people  within,  as  well  as  for  tho 
nation  beyond  and  around  its  bonlers. 


CHAPTEU   XXIII. 
EDUCATIONAL  I'UUUUKsa. 

SetlUnLr  Down -Peace  PrrvailinK- Intern..!  Improvomonls- U.iiln.uaM- 
Hrnatur  Luno  -  SurcsMv  (Jov.r.u.r^  -  School  Sys....n  -  Kansas  (our- 
u,r,._.  Diillcultics  Fac.cl-  S..umt  Policy-  Hcl.ool  Properties  -  Ln.low. 
„r„,.,s  _  F,s.in,at..s  -  Hemissness  -  Uapi.l  OrowtU  -  Sui..rinten.lfnt.  - 
'IVrriloriul  Schools- Color  Line- Dislinclio,,.  Aholi.I.ea  -  Zcah.us 
Labor  -  Low  Compensation  -  Heavy  Uesi.onsil.iliti-'s  -  Inspection  - 
Trustees -Knieienl  Teaching -City  Schools- E.lucalK.nal  Finuls- 
H..porl8  -  Summaries  -  Stale  System  -  Direction  -  Supervision  - 
Hrhool  Districts -Ora.lcl  Schools -T..ichers'  Institutes- Lil.ranes- 
E.li.cational  .Journal -State  lluHr.!  -  Compulsory  K.lu.alion  -  General 
Uasis-Statc  ri.iversily-A-ricultural  College  -  Normal  Schools- 
Curriculum  of  University -Super).  IJuiUling  -  Lawrence  Gci.eroMty- 
Con-ressioual  Emlowmcn.  -  State  Agriculture-  Practical  Ira.nmjr- 
Dist  met  Courses  -  Annual  Growth  -  Emlowments  -  Emporhi  Normal  - 
Successive  Years -Somul  lustructlon-Stuilents'  Engajrument  -  Leav- 
..nworth  Normal -Concilia  Normal  -  Aamiral.lc  Provision  -  Uapul 
Dfvelopment- Ueligioiis Thought"  iJ.  ..ominational  Ficdom -Church 

l}r..wlh  -  Presl.ylerian  Community  -  licaiitilul  Eilitic.s  -  Coii-rega. 
tional  Church-Thc  llaptists- United  Preshyteriaus-Metboclist  Ki.is- 
copal  -  Episcopal  Organizations  -  Roman  Catholics  -  County  Kesults  - 
General  Outcome. 

HvviNG  followed  in  some  degree  the  eflorts  of  Kansas  to  sub- 
due the  great  rebellion,  and  having  glaneed  at  the  sufferings  of 
her  citizens  in  the  iield,  where  noble  deeds  beyond  enumeration 
were  accomplished  to  her  honor;  where  the  arms  of  the  union 
struogled  against  fearful  odds  to  maintain  the  principles  of  free- 
dom and  unity,  It  is  now  time  to  turn  our  attention  homeward. 
Peace  is  at  length  won  from  the  red  fields  of  war,^  and  the  soldier 
has  become  a  citizen  once  more. 
!i3 


In  moat  kingdoms  the  armed 


i.- *«4ai3" 


I 


514 


Tvtti.k's  Ifisronr  of  Kas'sasi. 


;•;!!,: 


forco  woulil  rcniaiii  :i  iiu-nacc  to  liberty,  niid  a  porrnnncnt  with- 
dmwnl  from  tlio  |)roilnciiiy  forces  of  tlio  imtion.  fii  this  ropublio 
the  soldier  is  at  oticc  :il>st)rbe{l  into  tlio  army  of  industry  us  soon 
ns  tlio  biittcri<'s  of  the  rnomy  have  been  silenced,  and  tli(>  last  foo 
disanncd.  Tims  it  happened  that  Kansas  eonld  ;^ivc  her  atten- 
tion wilhont  delay  to  internal  improvements,  to  the  more  efheient 
organization  of  her  eities,  to  tlu;  estal  lislitnent  and  working  of 
new  railroails,  and  to  works  of  various  importance  toward  stiito 
ndvancemcnt. 

The  governors  successively  called  to  the  Viighest  oflice  in  tlio 
State  were  no  longer  the  forefront  of  a  battle,  as  when  (lov.  Hob- 
inson  was  first  chosen.  Tliey  represented  law  where  order  reigned 
supreme,  and  it  is  enough  to  say  concerning  them  that  Carney 
■was  f()ll(nv(.'d  by  Crawford  in  ISfio,  who,  in  1860,  surrendero  I  the 
lead  to  Harvey,  and  was  further  succeeded  by  Gov.  Osborne  in 
1873,  to  rule  until  1877.  "  Blessed  is  the  land  that  has  no  his- 
tory," says  a  somewhat  parado.xieal  writer,  one  of  the  class  that 
believes  history  to  consist  of  wars  and  perilous  mischances;  wo 
are  content  to  say  that  the  land  is  blessed  wherein  the  people  rule 
themselves,  untouched  by  the  calamities  of  war,  and  in  which 
peaceful  history  is  made  in  the  progress  of  arts,  sciences  and  in- 
dustry, embalmed  in  tiic  happiness  of  the  domestic  circle.  One 
incident  of  a  personal  kind  needs  must  be  mentioned  in  this  rela- 
tion, before  we  give  our  attention  to  new  interests  and,  compara- 
tively s])caking,  to  new  men. 

Maj.  Gen.  Lane,  who.se  name  occurred  so  often  in  the  stormy 
days  of  territorial  history,  and  whoso  deeds  in  the  council,  as  well 
as  in  the  field,  often  reflected  honor  on  the  free  state  party,  pas.sed 
from  this  life  soon  after  the  conclusion  of  the  war,  and  it  would 
be  unpardonable  to  allow  that  event  to  pa.s3  without  some  notice. 
Before  his  arrival  in  Kansas  he  was  already  a  man  of  mark.  In 
the  struggles  of  the  free  state  men,  ho  won  distinction  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  government  which  confronted  the  Shawnee  legislature, 
and  as  major  general  of  the  forces  of  the  people.  Indicted  for  higii 
treason  and  for  murder  by  the  common  enemy,  he  was  acf!ui.-te?l 
by  the  popular  voice.  Sent  to  the  senate  of  the  United  States  by 
the  state  election  of  1861,  he  was  reelected  after  ■.;  considerable 
8tru'"'le  in  1865.     His  conduct  during  the  war  in  raising  regi- 


''*THii»WII!l!miii  II    III, 


^'«l^^^'^.^»^'|'1^^>W.»rBrJ 


nnnont  with- 
this  ropublio 
istry  as  soon 
I  llic  last  foo 

0  licr  utteii- 
now.  cfllciciit 

working  of 
toward  Htato 

olTioo  ill  tlio 
n  (iov.  Hob- 
^nlcr  rcigtu!il 
that  Carney 
roiiilero  1  tiio 
.  Osborno  in 
it  has  no  his- 
he  class  that 
^chancos ;  wo 
I!  people  rule 
nd  in  which 
sncca  and  in- 
circle.     One 

1  in  this  rela- 
,nd,  cornpara- 

■»  the  stormy 

uncil,  as  well 

party,  passed 

md  it  would 

some  notice. 

)f  mark.     In 

:)n  as  a  rnem- 

;e  legislature, 

icted  for  hit'I; 

van  acnui'.ted 

ted  States  by 

considerable 

raising  regi- 


KuvcA  770.V. I  /-  PiKKi in:ss. 


615 


ments  in  obedioinT  to  the  call  of  the  conntry,  irrcsi)Octive  of  the 
will  of  Gov.  Carney,  had  not  failed  to  athl  ti>  his  list  of  onemica  ; 
but  he  triumphed  over  them  all,  so  strong  was  his  hold  upon  the 
community.  In  the  year  bStJll,  when  he  ha<l  yet  only  attained 
the  ago  of  iVi,  his  frame,  injurisil,  no  (h)ubt  by  his  services  in  the 
field  in  Mexico,  in  Kansas  itself,  and  later  as  a  brigadier  general 
during  |)art  of  the  rebellion,  was  enfeebled  by  a  stroke  of  paraly- 
pis,  and  it  seems  probable  that  his  once  vigorous  intellect  suH'ercd 
materially  from  the  same  assault,  as  it  falls  to  the  lot  of  the  histo- 
rian to  record,  with  deep  regret,  that  he  fell  by  his  own  hand  on 
the  11th  nf  July,  18(16,  in  Leai'enworth  City. 

The  s':ito  sustained  Al)raham  Lincoln  by  arms  in  the  field,  and 
by  \s  vote  at  the  ballot  box,  remembering  how  manfully  the 
prrs'dent  had  upheld  the  cause  of  Kansas  long  before  there  was 
I'  Drobabililv  that  he  would  (!ver  be  I're.Mcnt  of  the  Union.  In 
the  electii  i  of  1801,  when  McClcllan  mistook  his  role,  and  oirercd 
himself  •■,•  ouceessor  for  the  brave  man  then  in  ollicc,  the  state 
gave  a  liiujority  of  12,750  for  tlu-ir  tried  friend  the  upholder  of 
u  >v  Union,  the  pn  ■■  ^ar  vote  for  McClcllan  being  only  a, 01)1.  The 
vote  for  rrcsident  (irant  in  1808  was  31,0-18,  and  in  1872,  although 
the  opponent  was  their  old  '■•  Hiate  Horace  Greeley,  they  upheld 
Grant  with  a  vote  of  67,048,  a  majority  of  34,078.  Having  thus 
set.  forth  the  political  record  of  Kansas  as  a  state,  it  is  time  that 
we  .'^hould  look  to  its  evidences  of  social  and  educational  advance- 
ment. 

The  school  system  of  a  country  is  not  only  the  mark  of  its 
present  status  in  society,  it  is  also  the  measure  of  its  ultimate  ad- 
vancement. Schools  may  certainly  c.\ist,  before  or  after  the  peo- 
ple shall  have  risen  to  a  comprehension  of  the  place  that  academi- 
cal instruction  should  occupy  in  human  history,  as  for  instance  in 
those  kingdoms  in  which  the  schoolmaster's  art  must  be  supple- 
mented by  compulsory  legislation  on  the  one  side,  a  case  by  no 
means  uncommon,  or  on  the  other  as  illustrated  in  the  fact,  well 
known  to  every  student  of  history,  that  the  schools  of  the  lloman 
Empire  still  subsisted  long  after  the  barbarians  had  overrun 
Europe,  and  when  the  people  had  no  desire  for  intellectual  cul- 
ture. It  is  the  glory  of  Kansas  that  the  school  .system  now  ope- 
rated in  the  state  is  due  to  the  will  and  the  intelligence  of  the 


..Mumnp^Ei*'^^ 


616 


TuTTLhffi  JllSTOUY  OF  KaXSAS. 


m 


people  themselves,  and  in  that  faet  consists  their  chief  fitness  and 

special  value,  ■,    a  •     i 

The  courage  of  Kansas  has  been  conspicuously  marked  m  the 
readiness  with  which  school  burdens  have  been  assumed,  and  Lhe 
difficulties  attendant  upon  the  establishment  of  good  schools  in  a 
sparsely  settled  country  have  been  faced.     The  cost  of  good  budd- 
ings and  ample  furniture  is  but  slight  where  millions  of  people 
are  congregated  within  a  small  territory,  but  when  a  few  thou- 
sands, or  a  few  hundred  thousands  are  scattered  over  a  territory 
so  great  as  Kansas,  the  load  to  be  carried  would  be  intolerable  to 
men  of  only  average  attainments,  long  before  there  would  be 
school  accommodation  of  the  most  meagre  kind  within  the  reach 
of  every  child.     Kansas  has  breasted  the  ascent  in  this  struggle 
with  the  same  manly  energy  that  marked  her  sons  in  the  great 
battle  at  Mission  Ilidge,  and  the  result  cannot  fail  to  be  similarly 
victoriouF.     The  policy  is  sound  that  will  contemn  the  present 
difficulty,  however  great,  if  it  can  by  any  means  be  mastered; 
that  will  permit  the  children  of  the  state  to  be  educated  to  the 
highest  point  that  their  own  ambition  and  good  sense  may  render 
possible.     The  school  property  of  Kansas  has  gone  on  increasing 
every  year  from  the  beginning  ;  but  not  to  weary  the  reader  with 
details,  there  are  now  3,715  schools  in  Kansas,  211  having  been 
built  in  the  year  1875,  and  no  less  than  399  of  that  number  hav- 
ino-  been  constructed  in  the  year  1874. 

°Many  of  the  buildings  indicated  are  plain  and  inexpensive,  ten 
of  the  schools  erected  in  1875  were  only  of  logs,  but  1^6  were 
frame  buildings,  10  were  of  brick  and  42  were  stone.  Within 
the  same  time,  $9,815  was  expended  in  furniture  and  apparatus, 
to  permit  of  the  work  of  tuition  being  prosecuted  in  the  manner 
most  likely  to  prove  efficient.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  Kansas 
oflers  to  the  whole  population  of  the  world  a  wide  area  for  settle- 
ment and  industrial  progress,  with  the  special  advantage  of  such 
facilities  for  training  as  elsewhere  can  seldom  be  found,  except  in 
the  throng  of  great  cities  under  the  pressure  of  heavy  rentals,  and 
the  terrible  competition  that  grinds  down  labor  to  its  lowest  stage 
of  remuneration. 

The  maintenance  of  the  school  system  depends  upon  a  state  tax 
of  one  mill,  which  yields  $121,000,  the  interest  on  the  school  fund 


ai^fcv»jww*aA.w4.R,'.,''<-.vt!^.'^4..aH^femaA'gg»tHa8iJ.ai 


,ef  fitness  and 

narked  m  the 
imed,  and  Lhe 
d  schools  in  a 
of  good  build- 
ions  of  people 
in  a  few  thou- 
ver  a  territory 
intolerable  to 
lere  would  be 
thin  the  reach 
n  this  struggle 
ns  in  the  great 
to  be  similarly 
nn  the  present 
5  be  mastered ; 
ducated  to  the 
ise  may  render 
;  on  increasing 
he  reader  with 
.1  having  been 
it  number  hav- 

lexpensive,  ten 
,  but  146  were 
stone.  Within 
and  apparatus, 

in  the  manner 
en  that  Kansas 

area  for  settle- 
■antage  of  such 
ound,  except  in 
ivy  rentals,  and 
its  lowest  stage 

ipon  a  state  tax 
the  school  fund 


EV  UCA  riOXAL  PliOG  hESS. 


517 


invested  which  yields  $91,000,  the  interest  on  obligations  for 
school  lands  sold,  $1U.000,  and  the  remainder  from  local  taxes. 
The  endowments  of  the  schools  are  not  clear  and  satisfactory. 
There  are  claimants  on  many  parts  of  the  lands  set  apart  for  school 
endowments  who  appear  to  have  been  in  possession  before  tho 
allotment  was  made,  and  some  portions  fall  within  Indian  reserva- 
tions, but  all  such  mistakes  and  remissnesses  will  be  remedied  in 
due  time,  when  we  shall  be  able  to  say  .something  more  of  the 
magnificent  .system  of  endowments  that  is  conveyed  in  the  phrase 
tha°t  school  lands  are  "  estimated  "  to  contain,  or  are  "  estimated" 
to  be  worth  so  much. 

The  permanent  school  fund  is  steadily  growing,  and  bringing 
interests  of  from  6  and  7  to  even  10  per  cent,  according  to  modes 
of  investment.  Sales  of  school  lands  are  always  being  ^added, 
and  the  aggregate  reached  last  year,  that  is  to  say,  in  1875,  was 
$1,159,923.  Another  fund  nearly  as  great  is  now  due  on  unpaid 
installments  for  lands  sold  on  time,  so  that  the  permanent  fund 
will  soon  be  very  large  indeed.  The  system  of  superintendency 
in  Kansas  leaves  no  room  for  doubt  that  the  whole  amount  will 
speedily  be  made  available  for  the  purposes  intended  to  be  served 
by  the'  endowment.  The  rapid  growth  of  the  community  itself 
is  steadily  paralleled  by  the  increase  of  the  permanent  fund,  and 
.here  is  an  ever  growing  resolution  that  the  sum  shall  be  forever 
sacred  from  encroachment  for  any  purpose  whatsoever. 

The  development  of  the  school  system  of  Kansas  has  had  two 
eras :  that  of  the  territory,  under  the  organic  law,  which  was 
warped  to  evil  purposes  by  the  Shawnee  legislature;  and  that  of 
the  state,  determined  by  the  voice  of  the  people.  There  is  now 
an  able  supervision  and  wise  control  of  the  machinery  of  instruc- 
tion and  training,  but  there  was  nothing  of  the  kind  in  the  days 
preceding  the  overthrow  of  the  Lecompton  constitution.  There 
was  no  school  law  until  1855,  fourteen  months  after  the  first  or- 
ganization of  the  territory.  In  the  year  1855,  the  law  proviJed 
that  common  schools  should  be  open  to  white  children  and  per- 
sons ranging  from  5  to  21  years  of  age.  After  the  Lecomptoa 
party  had  been  ousted  from  office,  that  law  gave  place  to  another, 
in  1858,  which  said  the  schools  shall  be  open  to  all  children,  free 
and  without  charge.     Distinctions  were  abolished,  the  hateful 


li  t 

1    : 

I* 

II 

It 


is 


618 


TUTTLtffS   IIISTOIIV  OF  K ASS  AS. 


color  line  was  abamloned,  and  ever  l.rain  should  have  incentives 

to  training. 

The  election  of  territorial  sujierintendeni-.  began  with   an  ap- 
pointment by  the  governor  of  the  territory,  in  February,  1858. 
and  thereafter  was  made  by  tlie  vote  of  the  people.     The  salary 
of  that  ofhcial  was  small,  much  too  small  for  the  work  imposed, 
being  only  $1,500  per  year,  but  it  is  the  good  fortune  of  Kansas 
to  h^ve  in  the  ranks  of  its  well  educated  industrial  classes  many 
hundreds  of  men,  so  desirous  for  the  successful  prosecution  of 
school  training,  that  they  gladly  give  their  services  for  smaller 
amounts  than  their  talents  would  command  in  other  walks  of 
usefulness.     The  names  of  Noteware,  Greer  and  Douglas  occur 
in  the  territorial  record  from  1858  to  1861,  when  the  state  organi- 
zation came  into  force,  and   those  who  are  best  acquainted  with 
the  duties  and  the  men  will  bear  witness  ihat  there  was  no  lack 
of  ability  for  the  prosecution  of  an  onerous  duty  which  was  dis- 
charged with  conspicuous  zeal. 

County  superintendents  were  not  appointed  until  1858,  and 
the  amounts  allowed  to  them  by  way  of  remuneration  were 
small  indeed ;  but  necessity  has  no  law,  and  it  must  be  allowed 
that  if  the  pay  was  small  the  range  of  duty  was  certainly  ample. 
The  responsibilities  and  the  reward  have  alike  increased  of  late 
years,  and,  as  a  rule,  the  men  elected  to  this  class  of  offices  de- 
serve well  of  the  community  for  the  painstaking  and  conscien- 
tious  way  in  which  their  work  is  carried  through.  Under  the 
law  of  1855,  there  was  an  inspector  and  three  trustees  in  each 
district,  andtbose  men  were  absolute  masters  of  all  educational 
facilities,  the  chief,  if  not  the  only,  qualification  being  the  oath 
prescribed  by  the  Shawnee  legislature  to  prevent  free  state  men 
assuming  the  position  of  trustee,  inspector  or  teacher. 

The  new  system  gives  all  rule  into  the  hands  of  the  people,  by 
the  officers  of  their  choice,  without  any  degrading  oaths  or  any 
obligation  except  to  further  the  cause  of  education.  The  system 
now  in  force  gives  to  the  people  the  fullest  control  of  the  machin- 
ery and  of  the  men  also,  within  reasonable  limits,  by  whom  the 
system  is  administered.  The  school  law  of  1855  was  the  school 
law  of  Missouri,  the  code  of  that  state  having  been  adopted  in 
globo  by  the  men  at  Shawnee,  with  such  changes  of  name  and 


*3l^ 


siasasiSwsteswaMWJ 


Em'CA TiosA L  Pnoa iii:ss. 


5ia 


re  incentives 

with  an  ap- 

bruary,  1858. 
The  salary 
ork  imposed, 
ne  of  Kansas 
classes  many 
rosecution  of 
?  for  smaller 
iher  walks  of 
(ouglas  occur 
;  state  organi- 
]uainted  with 
5  was  no  lack 
'hich  was  dis- 

itil  1858,  and 
neration  were 
st  be  allowed 
rtainly  ample, 
reased  of  late 

of  offices  de- 
and  conscien- 
1.  Under  the 
istees  in  each 
.11  educational 
being  the  oath 
free  state  men 
ler. 
the  people,  by 

oaths  or  any 
1.  The  system 
of  the  machin- 
1,  by  whom  the 
was  the  school 
len  adopted  in 
\  of  name  and 


place  as  the  adoption  called  for,  and  such  punitive  additions  as 
were  supposed  likely  to  deter  abolitionists  and  free  soil  men  from 
interfering  in  public  business,  even  to  the  extent  of  giving  an 
opinion  on  any  of  the  matters  most  nearly  related  to  their  own 
interests  and  those  of  their  children. 

The  provision  made  for  education,  in  1855,  was  in  every  way 
inadequate  to  the  wants  and  demands  of  the   people,  and,  just  as 
soon  as  the  people  were  permitted  to  govern  themselves,  change  in 
every  direction  became  the  order  of   the  day.      More  emcient 
teachers  were  found,  and,  when  procured,  were  better  treated,  and 
the  formation  of  union  or  graded  school  districts  became  an  ob- 
iect  of  solicitude,  no  provision  of  that  kind  being  found  in  the 
territorial  enactments.     Missouri  had  been  governing  Kansas,  and 
the  border  counties  of   that  state  had  no  sympathy  with   the 
schoolmaster  in  any  part  of  his  vocation.     Possibly,  the  ferule 
and  the  birch -which  have  been  called  the  tree  of  knowledge  — 
were  the  only  means  by  which  the  teacher  could  make  impres- 
sions upon  the  people  of  those  districts. 

Teachers'  institutes  were  not  favored  in  territorial  days.     Com- 
mon schools  were  restricted  by  the  means  as  schools  in  the  broader 
districts,  and  the  imposition  of  taxes  was  vested  in  the  trustees 
and  inspector.     Practically  the  law  was  inoperative,  as,  except  m 
rare  instances,  the  free  soil  party,  the  great  bulk  of  the  comrnum- 
ty  would  not  obey  the  laws,  nor  be  assessed  by  the  taxes  of  the 
Shawnee  clique.     With  the  advent  of  popular  rule,  even  to  the 
extent  that  popular  rule  obtained  in  1857-8,  the  change  for  the 
better  was  remarkable.     It  was  now  evident  that  funds  were  to 
be  provided  by  men  of  family  who  wished  to  see  a  reasonably 
efficient  plan  in  operation,  under  which  their  children  would  pro- 
cure a  fair  share  of  the  scholastic  training  of  the  age. 

The  annual  report  of  territorial  days  might  be  anything  or 
nothing,  and  was  not  likely  to  be  of  much  account,  all  power  and 
all  labor  being  devolved  upon  the  ofTiccrs  before  named,  who 
were  to  receive  no  remuneration,  and  who  had  for  their  head  the 
secretary  of  the  territory,  Mr.  Woodson,  a  man  with  sufficient 
education  to  be  dangerous,  but  without  the  slightest  sympathy 
with  the  people  of  Kansas.  The  report  now  demanded  for  the 
information  of  the  legislature,  and  through  that  body,  of  the  prcs9 


y 


r.i 


u 


i 


fi- 
ll; ■ 

'■'.'is:'' 
fit  *S  . 


620 


Tvttle's  IfisTour  of  Kassas. 


and  the  people,  is  an  intelligent  and  intelligible  digest  of  the 
progress  made,  and  made  possible,  by  the  system  administered  in 
the  state ;  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the  state  superintendent  to  iiro- 
cure  such  returns  from  every  institution  as  will  enable  him  to 
Bubmit  his  facts  in  good  order,  and  with  a  reasonable  approach 
to  completeness.  There  was  no  summary  of  school  returns  in 
1805-6  or  7,  and  in  1858  the  returns  were  only  partial,  as  we 
find  that  only  three  counties  reported  concerning  school  affairs,  in 
which  only  fifty  districts  were  organized,  and  only  806  children 
were  reported  as  of  school  age.  There  was  a  material  improve- 
ment in  1859,  when  sixteen  counties  out  of  thirty-five  reported  ; 
222  school  districts  were  organized,  88  districts  sent  in  their  re- 
ports; 7,020  children  of  school  age  were  found  in  the  several  dis- 
tricts, and  2,087  were  enrolled  and  in  attendance  more  or  less 
complete. 

There  was  a  larger  average  of  peace  in  the  territory  than  had 
been  realized  at  any  former  time,  consequently  schools  were  more 
in  demand  among  all  classes,  as  well  as  better  organized  for  all 
purposes  of  tuition  and  correspondence.  $7,045  was  raised  for 
Bchool  buildings  in  1859,  and  private  subscriptions  amounted  in 
the  same  year  to  $6,883,  besides  a  sum  of  $6,233  that  had  been 
raised  by  taxation  for  school  purposes.  Private  schools  were  re- 
ported in  1860  to  the  number  of  132,  and  Supt.  Greer  implies 
that  there  had  been  private  schools  in  considerable  number 
through  all  the  time  of  trouble.  The  families  coming  into  Kansas 
from  the  northern  states  were  naturally  desirous  to  procure  train- 
ing for  their,  children,  but  it  will  be  seen  that  their  means  and 
opportunities  must  have  been  very  limited,  when  it  is  remem- 
bered that  midnight  assassins,  incendiaries,  robbers  and  border 
ruffians,  thronged  in  all  parts  of  the  territory,  making  life  a  tor- 
ture, and  education  almost  an  impo.ssibility. 

The  state  .system  of  education  dates  from  1861,  and  its  provis- 
ions are  in  the  main  just  and  prudent.  The  legislature  is  called 
upon  to  encourage  intellectual,  moral,  .s(>ientific  and  agricultural 
improvement,  by  uniform  sy.stems  of  scl-  ols  in  the  several  grades, 
including  normal,  preparatory,  collegiate  and  university  depart- 
ments, making  no  distinction  in  the  rights  of  males  and  females. 
The  laws  of  1858-9  were  adopted  with  some  few  amendments. 


'•'MiiiMimRminw.u  I  mil 


ni'if'Jt,''. . 


EnvcArioxAL  rnonnESS. 


621 


igcst  of  the 
ninistcreil  in 
1(1  en t  to  pro- 
able  liiin  to 
)lc  approach 
il  returns  in 
artiiil,  as  we 
■)()1  affairs,  in 
B66  children 
'ial  improve- 
ve  reported  ; 
in  their  re- 
e  several  dis- 
more  or  less 

)ry  than  had 
)ls  were  more 
nized  for  all 
as  raised  for 

amounted  in 
hat  had  been 
lools  were  re- 
jrreer  implies 
able  number 
T  into  Kansas 
procure  train- 
ir  means  and 

it  is  remem- 
s  and  border 
ing  life  a  tor- 

nd  its  provis- 
ture  is  called 
1  agricultural 
cveral  grades, 
crsity  depart- 
1  and  females, 
amendments. 


Free  and  complete  education  for  all  classes  was  the  object  aimed 
at,  and  the  means  have  been  proportioned  so  far  as  the  condition 
of   the  state  would    permit.     The  state  superinto,Kk-ntss..ary, 
made  onlv  1^1,200  per  annum  at  first,  was  increased  to  $i,UUU  in 
1873      The  choice  of  ofTicials  is  in  the  hands  of  the  people,  unless 
a  vacancy  occurs  at  any  time  between  elections,  and  the  duties  of 
the  superintendent  are  various  and  important;  such  as  usually 
fall  to  such  officers  in  the  most  enlightened  states  of  the  I  nmn 
Teachers'  institutes  are  expressly  provided  for  in  every  senatorial 
district,  every  year,  and  the  state  superintendent  is  charged  with 
their  supervision.     The  men  who  have  held  the  oflice  suice  Ibl.l, 
are  Wm.  A.  Griflith,  S.  ^L  Thorp,  Isaac  Goodnow,  1.  McVicar 
and  IL  I).  McCarty.     The  present  incumbent  is  John  Fraser,  who 
assumed  ofTice  on  the  11th  of  January,  1875. 

County  superintendents  were  only  allowed  $2.00  per  day  for 
the  time  actually  employed  on  their  duties  under  the  '  -  of  18bl 
but  since  that  time  tlieir  remuneration  has  been  :-J.e  to  depend 
upon  the  e.Ktent  of  the  duty  devolving  upon  them.     Those  hav- 
inc.  school  districts  with  less  than  2,000  children  of  school  age  re- 
ceive now  $3.00  per  day  for  the  time  necessarily  employed,  and 
others  with  higher  numbers  varying  from  $1,000  per  annum,  if 
over  2,000  and  under  3,000,   to  $1,500  for  those  having  districts 
with  5  000  children  and  over.     Incorporated  cities  are  excluded 
from  all  such  enumerations.     Those  who  receive  fixed  salaries  are 
expected   to  give  the  whole  of    their   services   in  consideratioa 
thereof  to  the  work  of  education  in  the  districts  in  which  they 
serve     The  duties  devolving  upon  county  superintendents  are 
such  as  may  well  employ  the  whole  time  of   men  of  Erst  class 
ability  with  great  advantage  to  the  children  under  supervision 

The  formation  of  school  districts  is  a  duty  incumbent  on  the 
county  superintendent,  who  is  expected  ^o  provide  in  the  most 
efficient  manner  for  the  convenience  of  the  genei-al  public  within 
the  county  under  his  control.  The  powers  of  school  dislncts  and 
provisions  as  to  their  indebtedness  have  been  defined  by  the  legis- 
lature with  practical  wisdom,  and  the  school  system  genera  ly  can- 
not fail  to  prove  satisfactory  to  the  people  of  K^"«^«^«  ^""^  ^^ 
they  are  capable  of  controlling  their  own  affairs.  Ofhcers  are 
chosen  by  popular  vote,  and  their  terms  of  service  are  brief,  the 


,ii 


522 


TvTTLhfs  IfisTouv  or  Kaxsas. 


11 


d 


nominations  to  temporary  vacancies  only  falling  into  tlic  hands  of 
the  county  superintendent. 

L'liion  or  graded  schools,  and  the  districts  within  which  they 
arc  to 'operate,  have  been  cared  for  in  an  especial  manner,  as  it  is 
seen  that  the  higher  branches  of  education  arc  those  in  which 
eocictyhas  the  largest  interest.  The  teaching  of  teachers  by  emu- 
latii)n,  attrition  and  mutual  help  is  provided  for  under  the  ar- 
rangement for  teachers'  institutes,  as  already  set  forth  in  naming 
the  duties  of  state  superintendent.  Public  schools  in  the  cities 
of  the  several  classes  where  they  are  incorporated  under  special 
charters,  are  entitled  to  procure  their  share  of  the  school  fund 
subject  to  such  regulations  as  may  have  been  made  and  approved 
for  control  and  supervision. 

School  district  libraries  arc  made  objects  of  particular  legisla- 
tion, as  it  is  wisely  thought  that  well  selected  books,  well  used, 
are  equivalent  to  university  training  for  some  orders  of  minds. 
Such  libraries  may  be  procured  by  a  direct  tax,  if  the  people  so 
•will,  but  it  is  expressly  provided  that  the  books  shall  consist  of 
histories,  travels,  biographies  and  scicntilic  works.  Probably  the 
limitation  thus  placed  is  perfectly  necessary,  as  in  many  libraries 
almost  the  entire  demand  is  for  works  of  iiction,  and  even  in 
works  of  that  class  the  most  sensational  and  trashy  are  most  pre- 
ferred. Teachers'  associations  for  all  purposes  of  culture,  are  es- 
pecially commended  to  tlic  fostering  care  of  state  superintendents 
and  all  other  ollicials  as  it  is  perceived  that  every  means  that  will 
tend  toward  improving  the  teacher  must  act  advantageously  upon 
the  pupil  who  .is  capable  of  being  taught  Independent  of  legal 
sanction  and  support,  there  is  in  Kansas  an  admirable  association 
of  teachers,  which  has  achieved  very  valuable  results,  having 
been  in  operation  since  1863,  and  its  annual  sessions  are  looked 
toward  to  with  interest,  not  only  by  those  engaged  in  tuition,  but 
by  all  classes  of  the  community,  because  of  the  high  intellectual 
grade  of  the  men  and  women  who  are  identified  with  its  opera- 
tions. Institutions  of  that  class  are  rare  even  in  states  much 
farther  advanced  than  Kansas,  and  it  is  an  honorable  fact  in  the 
history  of  the  young  state  that  there  has  been  so  much  of  perma- 
nency and  solidity  in  an  association  which  originated  in  a  year  so 
marked  by  depression  as  1863,  in  the  acme  of  the  rebellion,  whea 


•Mii^ 


^^!?«S?T5!Prrarw?r^?s^ 


?s^ 


Edvcatiosa l  Vnor.itKss. 


523 


lie  hands  of 

.vliich  they 
icr,  as  It  is 

0  in  which 
jrs  by  emu- 
:ler  the  ar- 

in  naming 
in  the  cities 
iler  special 
school  fund 
id  approved 

liar  Icgi.sla- 
I,  well  used, 
's  of  minds, 
le  people  so 
II  consist  of 
robaljly  the 
ny  libraries 
nd  even  ia 
■e  most  pre- 
ture,  are  es- 
irintendents 
,ns  that  will 
:!ously  upon 
lent  of  legal 

1  association 
ilts,   having 

are  looked 
tuition,  but 
intellectual 
h  its  opera- 
states  much 
J  fact  in  the 
h  of  perma- 
in  a  year  so 
ellion,  whea 


Quantrell  and  such  as  he  believed  that  the  flag  of  the  union  could 
be  trailed  beneath  their  feet.  It  is,  however,  only  one  instance 
indicating  the  high  tone  of  Kansas. 

The  Educational  Journal  of  Kansas  was  assisted  by  a  proviso 
that  cverv  school  district  should  be  provided  with  one  volume  of 
that  publication,  and  it  was  doubtless  anticipated  that  the  work 
would  make  its  own  way  subsequently  among  those  pcr.sons  who 
were  thus  enabled  to  peruse  its  pages;  but  unfortunately,  there 
was  a  withdrawal  of  state  support  in  1874,  and  the  work  carne  to 
an  end,  because  a  publication  peculiarly  sectional  could  not  ap- 
peal  to  the  general  public,  accustomed  to  read  for  amusement 
quite  as  much,  if  not  more,  than  for  instruction. 

A  state  board  of  education  was  provided  for  in  March,  18  3, 
the  members  being  the  state  superintendent,  the  chancellor  oE  the 
state  university,  the  president  of  the  state  agricultural  college  and 
the  principals  of  the  state  normal  schools.  State  diplomas  are 
issued  by  the  board  to  teachers  who  are  found  worthy  of  such  cer- 
tificates of  merit  after  two  years'  teaching  in  the  state.  The  board 
is  authorized  to  issue  diplomas  of  various  grades  Under  that 
law  three  annual  examinations  have  bee^n  held,  and  36  certificates 
have  been  issued  in  all,  in  1873-4  and  5. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  some  parents  and  guardians  are  not 
mindful  of  the  duties  properly  belonging  to  them  as  the  education 
of  youth,  an  act  was  passed  in  March,  1874,  compelling  all  such 
persons  to  send  the  children  under  their  control  to  school  for  at 
least  twelve  weeks  in  every  year  from  the  time  that  they  attain 
the  age  of  eight  years  until  they  are  fourteen  years  old.     The  chdd 
xnay  be  sent  to  a  public  school  or  to  a  private  school,  at  the  option 
of  the  person  in  charge  of  the  child,  but  six  weeks  of  the  time  must 
be  consecutive.     There  are  limitations  to  the  compulsory  power 
as  in  cases  of  ill  health,  or  extreme  poverty,  and  the  entire  want 
of  such  clothing  as  would  be  essential ;  but  failing  compliance 
with  the  law  where  no  valid  excuse  can  be  assigned,  the  penal 
clauses  are  of  such  a  character  as  will  be  likely  to  secure  compli- 
ance with  the  enactment     The  duty  to  give  proper  training  to  the 
mind  of  a  child  should  be  held  by  every  state  to  be  as  imperative 
as  the  necessitv  to  provide  food  for  the  body.    Of  course  none  but 
the  depraved  or  eccentric  would  require  the  operation  of  such  a 


524 


Ti'ttlk's  History  of  Kassas. 


I 


>a 


law  ;  bat  it  is  well  to  find  that  foremost  tliinkera  are  grasping  tlio 
nettle  danger  with  so  niucli  vigor  and  suecess.  The  details  of  the 
enaetmcnt  are  eomplete,  and  tlie  officers  who  are  to  carry  out  the 
provisions  of  the  measure  are  specifically  indicated. 

School  funds  are  protected  and  directed  by  legislative  action  in 
Kansas  in  accordance  witli  the  congressional  act  of  18-il,  and  the 
division  of  the  proceeds  of  all  such  funds,  as  well  as  of  any  in- 
crease that  may  come  from  time  to  time,  is  so  guarded  that  it 
seems  imj)robable  that  any  malversation  can  at  any  time  occur. 
The  support  of  the  common  schools  f)f  the  state  rests  upon  the 
interest  of  the  permanent  school  fund  which  is  divided  pro  rata 
among  the  school  districts  ;  the  state  tax  of  one  mill  on  the  dol- 
lar, divided  in  the  same  way  as  the  other  item;  the  county  school 
fund  from  estrays,  fines  paid  for  exemption  from  military  duty, 
or  for  breaches  of  the  penal  laws;  every  county  dividing  its  own 
lines  among  its  own  school  districts  jirorala;  and  district  taxes 
levied  for  school  purposes  in  the  district  by  which  the  sum  is  to 
be  expended.  The  moneys  thus  allotted  from  the  several  funds 
are  to  a  certain  extent  earmarked,  so  that  moneys  meant  for  one 
purpose  cannot  be  applied  to  any  other. 

The  cpiantity  of  land  to  which  Kansas  is  entitled  under  the  act 
of  1841,  has  not  been  definitely  settled  ;  but  it  is  expected  that 
not  less  than  2,000,000  acres  will  be  thus  appropriated.  What- 
ever the  quantity  may  be  to  which  the  state  is  entitled  under  the 
act  of  admission,  it  will  not  of  course  be  as  liberal  as  the  promises 
made,  should  the  state  accept  the  Lecompton  constitution,  and  in 
consideration  of  the  services  rendered  by  the  sons  of  Kansas  from 
the  breaking  out  of  the  war  until  its  end,  as  well  as  on  account  of 
the  certainty  that  the  a{)propriation  will  be  well  used,  the  most 
liberal  construction  should  be  placed  upon  the  law  in  this  instance. 
The  provisos,  as  to  the  sales  of  land  so  granted  for  school  pur- 
poses, are  of  such  a  character  as  that  there  can  hardly  be  a  doubt 
that  the  children  will  receive  the  full  advantage  of  the  endow- 
ment in  the  cultivation  of  their  God  given  faculties,  which  will 
be  used,  if  properly  trained,  for  the  advantage  of  the  state  and  of 

the  union. 

Some  idea  may  be  gained  as  to  the  progress  of  education  in 
Kansas  from  the  quotation  of  but  a  few  figures.     There  were,  in 


ng:E^.';d'4*t-  .,m^A:'iisimmr< 


KmcATiosM  riioanHss. 


525 


;rasping  tbo 
[•tails  of  tlio 
irry  out  the 

re  notion  in 
■41,  and  tho 
of  any  in- 
(Icd  that  it 
time  occur, 
ts  upon  the 
3(1  pro  rata 
on  tlie  dol- 
unty  scliool 
litary  duty, 
ing  its  own 
strict  taxes 
le  sum  is  to 
veral  funds 
;ant  for  one 

nder  the  act 
pccted  that 
ed.  What- 
d  under  the 
he  promises 
tion,  and  in 
J^ansas  from 
1  account  of 
;d,  the  mo!?t 
his  instance, 
school  pur- 
be  a  doubt 
the  endow- 
,  which  will 
state  and  of 

education  in 
lere  were,  in 


1801   only  12  counties  reporting,  and,  at  the  close  of  the  rebel- 
lion.'there  were  iio,  which  in  the  last  year,  187'.,  had   more  than 
doubled,  as  lliore  wore  71.     In  tlic  lirst  year  of  state  government 
there  were  217  organized  districts;  at  the  close  of  the  wir,  84/  ; 
and  in  187^  no  less  than  4,5(;0.     The  districts  do  not  all  report. 
Only  lU  reported  in  1801,  and  in  1805,  721,  but  in  the  last  year 
reports  came  in  from  -4,280.     In   1801,  there  were  2,!}10  children 
enrolled,  and   there  are  now  U2,G00,  with  an  average  daily  at- 
tendance  ol  85,580,   employing  5,383  teachers,  of    whom  more 
than  one-half  are  women.     The  value  of  school  property  is  now 
estimated  at  $-1,096,527,  and  in  1861,  it  was  less  than  ;jU),000. 
Much  more  might  be  said  on  the  several  points  glanced  at,  but 
ih'ures  must  not  be  pushed  to  excess. 
°The   State    University,  provided   for  under  the   law  already 
named,  is  an  institution  of  great  merit,  and  it  has  achieved  much 
good  for  the  community;  but  it  is  only  in  its  infancy,  and  may 
be  said  to  have  scarcely  commenced  its  greater  usefulness.     Lit- 
erature, science  and  the  arts  are  to  be  cultivated,  and  a  love  of 
learning  in  every,  branch  disused  by  the  university.     The  act  to 
locate  the  institution  was  passed  in  February,  1863.  and  at  or 
near  the  citv  of  Lawrence  was  named  for  the  site  of  the  build- 
ing.    Educational  work   commenced  on  the  12th  of  September, 
18°66     The  start  should  have  been  made  with  six  departments: 
Science,   Literature  and   the  Arts,   fir.«t;    then   Law,   Medicine, 
Theory  and  Practice   of  Elementary  Instruction;  Agriculture; 
and,  finallv,  the  Normal  Department;  but  circumstances  rendered 
the  complete  accomplishment  of  that  design  impossible,  and  only 
the  first  department  of  Science,  Literature  and  the  Arts  has  so 
far  been  established.  The  curriculum  is  high;  much  more  exacting 
than  that  of  many  European  colleges  and  universities  ;   but  the 
superior  energy  and  the  fair  facilities  afforded  have  enabled  many 
to  graduate  with  honors.     Students  desiring  to  confine  their  at- 
tention to  special  branches  are  allowed  to  do  so,  subject  to  the 
advice  of  the  faculty.     The  apparatus  of  instruction  includes  all 
that  is  necessary  for  a  complete  course  of  laboratory  practice  in 
analytical  chemistry ;  equally  complete  preparation  for  students 
of  astronomy,  engineering,  and  for  a  wide  range  of  experiments 
in  mechanics  and  physics. 


i.fnii'^' 


620 


Ti'Tti.k's  IfisToiiv  or  K.iysAS. 


Tlif  ciihini't.  rolU'ctioiH  for  tlio  study  of  natural  history  contaiti 
ii|.waiils  of  li(>,(tOO  spccinuMis  iti  botiitiy,   geology  nticl  /.oolo^'y 
mainly,  hut  cvt-ry  (U'liartmcnt  is  well  supplied.     Tlio  library  is 
increasing  rapidly,   and    is  very   large  already.     There   ni'o    no 
charges  for  th(<  full  enjoyniont  of  all  the  advantages  named,  c:; 
cept'a  contingent  fee  of  $5  per  session,  which  sum  is  rcturne;!  to 
those  who  are  so  unfortunate  as  to  fail  in  the  preliminary  exami 
nations.     Orphans  of  soldiers,  or  of  those  who  were  killed  in  the 
QuantrcU  mas.saerc,  are  exempted  from  even  that  small  fee.     Un- 
der such  circumstances,  there  are  few,  indeed,  having  the  ambi- 
tion to  study,  who  need  be  shut  oil"  from  the  benefits  of  univer- 
sity training.     The  expenses  of  living  arc  generally  so  light  that 
students  can  be  boarded  for  about  $4  jier  weelc,  and  those  who 
cUib  together  live  on  inuch  less  than  that  small   sum,  while  tliey 
are  amassing  treasures  of  knowledge  and  habits  of  culture  wortli 
more  than  the  stream  of  Tactolus. 

There  arc  two  buildings;  one  finished  in  1806  was  used  at  the 
outset  for  purposes  of  instruction.  It  is  a  stone  edifice  on  a  lot 
of  ten  acres  within  the  city  limits.  The  new  building,  half  a 
mile  to  the  south,  is  in  a  lot  of  forty  acres,  just  outs.de  the  city 
bounds.  This  structure  \'as  first  occupied  in  December,  1872. 
Lawrence  voted  $100,00o  as  a  free  will  oflicring  toward  the  new 
building,  in  b^ibruary,  1870,  and  also  gave  to  the  state  $10,300  as 
the  nucleus  of  a  permanent  fund  for  the  university,  the  old  build- 
ing and  the  two  lots  of  ground.  Such  muniliceiice  on  the  part 
Lawrence  cannot  be  too  highly  prai.sed.  The  whole  amount  is 
estimated  by  the  board  of  regents  at  $180,300.  The  sum  given 
in  money,  besides  that  earmarked  for  the  building,  was  originally 
a  gift  for  educational  purposes  from  Amos  Lawrence,  in  whoso 
honor  the  city  was  named,  as  he  was  one  of  the  few  wealthy  men 
that  responded  to  the  first  call  for  help  to  establish  free  state 
men  in  Kansas  when  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  became  law,  ami 
it  was  evident  that  Missouri,  if  not  the  south,  had  resolved  be- 
yond recall  upon  making  Kansas  a  slave  state. 

The  f^overnment  of  the  university  is  vested  in  a  board  of  regents, 
and  the  immediate  control  of  the  departments  as  they  may  be  sev- 
erally formed,  will  be  committed  to  their  several  faculties.  The 
general  government  has  made  an  endowment  of  seventy-two  sec- 


EnrcA  Tins  tf.  Pmxiit  nsfi. 


62r 


ory  coTitiiiii 
III   /.oology 
1!  library  is 
TO   nr(!   no 
iianiod,  cs 
rctiu'tie;]  to 
mry  exarni 
ilk<(l  in  tlio 
1  foe.     Un- 
;  the  ainbi- 
of  univor- 
0  light  that 
those  who 
while  tlioy 
ilturo  worth 

used  at  the 
ine  on  a  lot 
ling,  half  a 
(le  the  eity 
mbcr,  1872. 
,rd  the  new 
Q  $10,300  as 
le  old  build- 
on  the  part 
;   amount   is 

sum  given 
:is  originally 
ce,  in  whoso 
ivealtliy  men 
h  free  state 
me  law,  and 
resolved  he- 
rd of  regents, 

may  be  sev- 
iulties.  The 
2nty-two  sec- 


tiona  of  land,  besides  wliatevcr  Jnny  be  given  in  Mupimrt  of  tho 
mmn  object  by  the  .state,  and  it  is  exprossly  providivl  that  no 
religions  sect  or  sects  .shall  at  any  time  coutml  the  ntiiversity  nor 
the  common  schools  of  tho  state,  nor  the  funds  of  those  institu- 
tions. Thi.s  ])rovi.so  is  one  of  the  articles  of  tlic  state  constitution. 
The  state  annually  makes  an  appropriation  to  cover  the  expcnse.i 
of  the  university,  ami  some  small  amount  is  received  by  way  of 
ooiitingcnt  fees,  but  tuition  in  every  branch  of  study  is  frc<'.  Tiio 
lands  granted  by  way  of  endowment  hav(>  not  been  sold,  and  con- 
sequcntly  no  income  has  yet  been  derived  from  that  source.  The 
total  amount  of  the  several  appropriations  by  the  state  legislature 
to  the  present  time  amount  to  $2(l2.!>78. 

The  state  aurieultural  colleg(!  commends  itself  at  the  first  glaneo 
to  every  ob.server,  because  it  promi.-ses  to  cu.'iblc  men  to  deal  m  a 
more  intelligent  and  elTectivc  way  with  all  the  problems  of  culti- 
vation, whereby  the  earth  can  be  made  to  give  forth  its  increase 
for  the  sustenance  of  the  human  family.     The   reader  of  books 
find.'   therein  a   jtriceless  pleasure,  which  in  some  way  sooner  or 
hiler  may  bring  material  prolit  to  him  or  to  his,  but,  immber.s  aro 
unable  to  look  far  enough  ahead  to  disviover  the  gain  that  cfjmes 
from  book  learning.     There  is  no  such  drawback  from  even  tho 
commonest  appreciation  of  the  value  to  be  found  in  the  study  of 
agriculture  as  a  science.     The  veriest  clods  have  seen  lands  on 
which  science  has  expended  its  lore,  side  by  side  with  other  lands 
dealt  with  under  the  old  regime  of  stolid  ignorance,  and  the  result 
has  been  as  marked  and  as  continuous  as  the  How  of  a  river. 
There  is  no  ba.sis  for  the  doubter  as  to  the  worth  of  sound  agricul- 
tural training,  and  precisely  for  that  reason  colleges  of  this  descrip- 
tion arc    being  sustained  in  all  parts  of  the  Union.     The  Kansas 
Btate  agricultural  college  is  located  near  Manhattan  in  Riley  county, 
pursuant  to  an  act  passed  in  18(53.     Congress  i)asscd  a  law  donat- 
ing lands  to  every  state  that  should  establish  colleges  in  aid  of 
agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts,  in  July,  1802,  and  that  wise 
provision  has  led  to  the  formation  of  numerous  institutions,  in 
some  of  which  the  work  of  instruction  is  perfunctorily  executed, 
and  the  students  take  as  much  or  as  little  interest  as  they  please 
in  a  study  that  seems  to  be  bereft  of  practical  application. 

There  is  no  such  drawback  upon  the  usefulness  of  the  college 


..4»ssii»»Sia«w«»"»e<W'i'^**'*****'"'**'^^''^^^^'' 


Ub 


Trrn.i:'s  Uisiituv  or  Kassas, 


nt  .Nf.  iilialtaii,  tli«'  iiioii  tciicliiiij^  iiiul  the  iiioii  taiii^lit  ai'o  tlion.u^'lily 
jinifiical  in  tlioir  inodcM  of  ()|ii.'ratiiiii.  'I'lmy  want  tlicorii's,  and 
will  master  tliciii,  because  tliey  are  the  soul  ami  essence  of  prac- 
tice, hut  they  will  not,  rest  with  either  half  of  the  two  i)rocesses, 
thought  and  fleed,  out  of  wliich  tho  work  of  progress  must  ho 
(•lal)orated.  'V\u>  work  was  <'ommen(!ed  on  tho  second  of  Septem- 
ber, l.S(i3.  There  are  four  departments  engaged  in  aiding  to  de- 
velop: agriculture,  mechanics  arts,  military  science  and  tactics, 
and  literature  and  science.  Prominence  is  given  to  agricidture 
und  to  the  several  nu'chanic  arts,  just  in  proportion  as  tliey  seem 
to  be  adapted  to  ttie  wants  of  Kansas,  ami  to  the  several  i)rauclies 
of  science  and  learning  as  they  tend  to  tho  furtherance  of  the 
great  aim  of  tho  institution.  The  curriculum  is  adapted  to  curry 
out  that  scheme  of  instruction,  and  there  are  courses  of  study  for 
t(ix  consecutive  years  eminently  adapted  to  supply  Kansas  with 
n  class  of  farmers,  mechanics,  strategists  and  literati  whose  learn- 
ing in  their  several  lines  of  study  must  materially  aid  their  own 
course  in  life,  while  contributing  to  make  them  invaluable  citi- 
zens. The  studies  of  the  several  classes  oll'er  an  intensely  inter- 
esting picture  of  tlic  pursuits  on  which  human  life  nuiy  be  ex- 
pended with  pleas)ire  and  profit. 

The  inoid<s  of  old  were  hard  working  men,  devoting  tiiemselves 
to  farm  work  and  other  arduous  employments,  perhaps  some  of 
them  having  very  worthy  ideas  as  to  the  application  of  thought 
to  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  but  they  soon  fell  into  easier  cus- 
toms. The  student  of  agriculture  has  his  term  of  study  diversi- 
fied by  the  a})plication  and  working  out  of  his  ideas,  but  with 
the  knowledge  that  he  must  soon  return  to  the  field  to  work  out 
liis  problem  alone  with  nature  and  art.  lie  finds  himself  called 
upon  in  his  course  of  study  to  give  one  term,  consisting  of  five 
recitations  in  each  week  to  algebra;  two  terms  to  political  econo- 
my and  practical  law  ;  two  to  jiractical  horticulture ;  three  to 
practical  agriculture  ;  three  to  geology,  mineralogy  and  meteorol- 
ogy; four  to  drawing;  five  each  to  botany  and  zoology;  ph^isics 
and  chemistry ;  practical  mathematics  and  political  economy. 
But  he  is  not  yet  through  ;  he  must  take  up  fhiglish  and  history 
for  seven  terms ;  legal,  mental  and  moral  philosophy  for  six ; 
shops  and  practical  mathematics,  eight  each  ;  and  then  conclude 


EUVCM  li>SA  '.   I'lidOtlh'SS, 


699 


tliormi^'lily 
licorit's,  iitid 
iictj  of  prao- 

0  processes, 
!88  Miu.st  be 

1  of  Soploiii-  ' 
.itliiig  to  do- 
uiid  tacticH, 

a},5iii;iilturo 
IS  tlicy  seem 
ral  i)n\Mclios 
ranco  of  the 
itt'd  to  curry 
of  .study  for 
Kansas  with 
wlioso  Icarn- 
nl  tlioir  own 
aluublo  citi- 
ciisely  inter- 
I  may  be  ex- 

[f  tiieinselves 
ips  some  of 
1  of  thought 
;o  easier  cus- 
udy  diversi- 
as,  but  witli 

to  work  out 
mself  called 
uing  of  live 
litical  ecouo- 
re ;  three  to 
ud  meteorol- 
)gy;  physics 
al  economy. 

and  history 
phy  for  six ; 
icn  conclude 


with  twelve  terms  of  fu'ld  and  sliop  proctioo.  The  man  that  is 
capable  of  pii.-sing  th"  'i^h  .siicli  a  .s_)stL'in  of  study  witliout  briyht- 
cning  liis  faculties  may  well  be  given  up  a.s  a  hopeless  case. 

Tiie  curriculum  for  tljc  ulht-r  sex  is  varied,  of  course,  but  in 
every  way  just  as  completely  practical  and  tliorougii.  It  would 
bo  interesting,  would  space  pmi.it,  to  summari/.e  the  course,  but 
that,  unfortunately,  is  not  prai-ticuble.  The  r('cords  of  the  eoliego 
show  that  the  practical  tliought  of  Kan.sas  trends  in  this  direction, 
and  inasmuch  a.s  every  form  of  industry  must  needs  be  aided  by 
the  course  of  investigation  pursued,  it  is  not  dillicult  to  perceive 
that  some  of  the  ablest  and  most  su'^ccssful  men  and  women, 
whose  names  and  lives  will  adorn  the  future  of  the  state,  are  now 
procuring  their  culture  at  Maidiattan.  In  the  collegiate  year  of 
1873-4,  there  were  124  male  and  5l>  female  students  —  in  all,  183  ; 
and  in  the  calendar  year,  20b.  The  avera-ge  age  of  students  is  18 
years. 

There  are  five  buildings,  the  old  college,  the  new  building,  tho 
mechanical  buildi'ig,  the  boarding  house,  and  a  carpenter's  shop. 
All  the  buildings  are  of  stone.  The  grounds  include  lawns, 
nunserics  and  college  farm  —  in  all,  2o5  acres.  The  Bluemount 
Central  College  Association  gave  the  old  college  buildi!i;.r  .ind 
appointments  with  100  acres  of  land  for  the  purposes  of  the  agri- 
cultural college.  Manhattan  township  gave  $12,000  to  helj)  pur- 
chase the  farm,  and  the  congressional  grant  was  90,000  acres. 
Some  of  the  lands  indicated  fell  within  railroad  limits,  and  being 
of  higher  value  were  reckoned  as  equal  to  two  acres  for  each  one. 
That  reduced  the  grant  to  81,601  acres.  The  total  endowment  is 
valued  at  $432,005.  Tuition  is  free,  as  it  should  be,  but  whea 
investments  are  completed  there  will  be  an  income  of  about 
$50,000  per  annum.  The  aid  received  from  the  state  up  to  No- 
vember, 1875,  amounted  to  $129,643.  In  all  such  statements  we 
avoid  fractional  amounts. 

The  government  of  the  college  is  vested  in  a  board  of  regents, 
consisting  of  the  governor,  secretary  of  state,  superintendent  of 
instruction,  president  of  the  college,  and  nine  others,  nominated 
by  the  governor  and  confirmed  by  the  senate  ;  but  not  more  than 
three  of  such  nominees  shall  be  members  of  the  same  religious 
denomination.  The  board  of  regents  has  power  to  remove^  any 
84 


,iasismmmii)iSiSiiiamm 


aimK0iif«m» 


R(ga?5>-5f5S!fi«:*!r»m«?»~<i««-'.5:'J'«-'S'« 


630 


TuTTLi:'f!  TTisToiiY  OF  Kaxsas. 


or  all  of  the  profcppors  should  cause  arise,  but  the  immediate  gov- 
ernment of  oacli  (Icpartniont  is  vested  in  tlic  faculty,  guided  in 
some  degree  by  the  advice  of  the  board.  The  value  of  such  an 
institution  so  administered  needs  no  further  comment.  ' 

There  are  three  state  normal  schools,  located  severolly  at  Em- 
poria, Leavenworth  and  Concordia,  and  the  course  of  training  in 
each  institution  aims  at  the  complete  prepivration  of  both  sexes 
for  the  work  of  tuition.  At  Emporia  worlc  commenced  in  18G5. 
Latin  and  German  may  be  acquired,  but  students  may  decline  if 
they  choose.  Every  other  part  of  thorough  training  is  impera- 
tive. During  the  second  year  French  may  be  acquired,  but  it  is 
not  insisted  upon.  The  same  may  be  said  of  Greek  in  the  third 
year.  The  system  pursued  is  being  further  developed  every 
year  to  render  the  {professional  training  of  teachers  as  nearly  as 
possible  perfect ;  not  to  cram  the  mind  of  the  learner  with  dry 
facts,  but  to  prepare  the  intellect  for  the  grand  work  of  develop- 
ing the  resources  of  other  minds.  It  is  saying  much  for  an  insti- 
tution to  assert  that  it  even  approaches  to  completeness  in  so 
large  an  aim. 

The  first  term  of  the  school  in  1865  saw  only  18  students  in 
February,  closing  in  June  with  42,  and  in  1874  there  was  an 
atro-re^ate  of  236.  The  building  is  of  brick  and  stone,  and  the 
city  of  Emporia  gave  .$10,000  toward  the  erection.  There  is  a 
land  endowment  which  accrues  to  the  state  for  normal  school 
training,  under  the  act  of  admission,  under  which  38.460  acres 
came  into  the  possession  of  the  board  of  directors,  and  only  480 
acres  have  been  sold.  The  income  of  the  school  comes  mainly 
from  state  appropriations,  as  only  an  incidental  fee  of  $2.00  per 
term  is  charged  to  each  student.  The  amount  voted  by  the  state 
up  to  November,  1875,  aggregated  $168,373. 

Students  are  admitted  upon  tbeir  signing  a  pledge  that  they  pro- 
pose to  devote  themselves  to  teaching  as  a  profession  in  the  state 
of  Kansas.  The  board  of  directors  is  nominated  by  the  gov- 
ernor to  the  number  of  six,  and  the  several  state  officers  are  also 
members.  The  advantages  of  the  institution  are  open  to  both 
sexes,  and  without  regard  to  color.  Persons  not  entitled  to  ad- 
mission by  law,  may  be  admitted  on  payment  of  fees,  if  the 
board  of  directors  see  fit  to  make  an  order  to  that  eCect.     Exper- 


Cnvncn  Orgaxizatioxs. 


531 


nmcdiate  gov- 
Ity,  guided  in 
e  of  such  an 
It.  ' 

'erolly  at  Em- 
of  training;  in 
of  both  sexes 
jnced  In  18G5. 
may  decline  if 
ng  is  impera- 
lircd,  but  it  is 
;k  in  the  third 
-•eloped  every 
s  as  nearly  as 
rner  with  dry 
rk  of  devclop- 
;h  for  an  insti- 
leteness  in  so 

18  students  in 
there  was  an 
stone,  and  the 
n.  There  is  a 
normal  school 
I  38,460  acres 
and  only  480 
comes  mainly 
le  of  $2.00  per 
3d  by  the  state 

!  that  they  pro- 
on  in  the  state 
by  the  gov- 
)fficers  are  also 
I  open  to  both 
entitled  to  ad- 
of  fees,  if  the 
3Cect.     Exper- 


imental schools  are  establi.'^hed  in  connection  with  the  normal 
Fchool,  so  that  the  methods  inculcated  in  daily  training  may  be 
reduced  to  practice  under  propor  inspection.  Applicants  for 
admission  are  required  to  pass  a  preliminary  examination,  and 
the  character  of  each  person  is  also  considered  a  fit  matter  for 
full  investigation  when  necessary. 

The  normal  school  established  at  Leavenworth  is  conducted  on 
precisely  similar  principles,  and  it  was  located  at  that  jioint  in 
consequence  of  an  offer  from  the  city  to  supply  for  the  purpose  a. 
school  building,  which  with  its  furniture  and  apparatus  cost. 
$80,000.  The  board  of  education  undertook  to  keep  the  build- 
ing heated,  insured  and  in  perfect  repair  in  consideration  of  the^ 
normal  school  being  located  there ;  and  the  fourth  story  being 
used  for  the  normal  school  proper,  the  high  school  department 
under  the  Leavenworth  board  became  the  practicing  departments 
for  the  normal  school  students.  There  were  other  arrangements 
and  provisos,  looking  more  particularly  to  the  personal  conven- 
ience of  students,  which  determined  the  government  to  close 
with  the  decidedly  advantageous  offer.  The  amount  appropri- 
ated by  the  state  to  sustain  this  school,  has  aggregated  $32,533, 
and  the  school  has  no  other  source  of  income. 

The  state  normal  school  at  Concordia  was  established  by  the- 
government  on  precisely  similar  conditions,  the  government  is. 
similar,  the  plan  of  study  and  practice  the  same,  and  the  degree 
of  success  bears  a  very  similar  proportion.  This  school  waS' 
established  in  September,  1874,  when  there  were  66  students, 
which  number  increased  to  171  in  1875.  State  appropriations 
constitute  the  only  income  of  the  institution,  the  amount  received 
up  to  November,  1875,  being  $5,297.  The  diploma  issued  by 
either  of  the  boards  is  a  life  certificate  of  fitnes  to  teach  ia.any 
school  in  Kansas. 

CHURCH  ORGANIZATIONS. 


Religious  thought  had  from  the  first  been  the  base  of  coloniza- 
tion in  Kansas.  Christian  equality  was  the  idea  that  brought 
old  John  Brown  and  the  men  who  acted  with  him,  clear  and 
strong  in  Puritan  resolve,  to  fight  the  battle  of  the  slave  upon 
this  soil ;  and  the  ribald  element  with  which  they  contended,  only 


..^-,..«=^^-^5SjaBEaHP5g!«SHB3[^ESS^»Ksa«<!S#»-i«Mi»S.- 


632 


Tcttle's  History  of  Kansas. 


made  them  stronger  in  their  primal  convictions.  Ilundreds  of 
the  men,  whose  lives  were  spent  in  the  cllort  to  make  Kansas 
free,  and  who  were  sent  to  the  front  later  in  the  struggle  to  main- 
tain the  union,  could  look  back  as  he  did  to  the  Mayllower  and 
its  remembrances  as  a  source  of  strength.  "With  sucli  men,  and 
a  community  built  and  defended  by  them,  religion  was  broad 
based,  and  could  not  fail  to  give  a  tone  to  society.  Tlie  influence 
of  that  fact  is  seen  in  the  vital  progress  already  made  by  the 
state,  in  works  of  charity,  and  in  schools,  which  from  before  the 
days  of  state  government  were  open  to  all  classes,  without  regard 
to  color  or  condition.  There  was  no  uniformity  of  creed,  no  cov- 
enant signed  or  insisted  on  as  between  Presbyterians  and  Inde- 
pendents, as  the  price  of  help,  the  views  of  men  varied  from  the 
farthest  extreme  of  orthodoxy  on  one  hand,  to  the  widest 
latitudinarianism  on  the  other,  but  back  of  all  these  was  an  en- 
during faith  in  God. 

Hence,  there  has  been  wide  diversity,  yet  constant  agreement  in 
the  main,  among  the  several  classes,  securing  breath,  freedom  and 
strength  among  the  churches  in  Kansas.  This  is  an  element  of 
power  to  the  community.  Men  who  are  seeking  homes  for  their 
families,  desire  to  settle  down  where  religious  thought  is  well 
founded,  and  where  the  school  keeps  pace  with  the  church.  The 
state  owes  much  of  its  speedy  development  to  that  cardinal 
strength,  and  its  population  of  six  hundred  thousand  souls,  will 
soon  become  millions,  because  of  the  same  motive  continuing  in 
action.  There  is  no  organization  that  aims  at  or  could  succeed  in 
bridling  free  thought  among  our  citizens,  into  a  stunted  and  tame 
orthodoxy  ;  but  men  rally  to  their  several  churches,  under  mani- 
fold names,  like  regiments  and  companies  to  their  flags,  making 
one  glorious  army  to  fight  against  sin  and  wrong,  with  a  broad 
manly  recognition  of  the  value  of  every  creed,  and  more  especi- 
ally of  the  freedom  out  of  which  those  creeds  and  their  conse- 
quences arise. 

There  are  portions  of  the  Union,  outlying  and  remote,  not  yet 
built  into  the  great  arch  of  freedom,  under  which  the  nations  of  the 
world  must  pass ;  where  church  organizations  are  few  and  far  be- 
tween, but  there  are  not  many  such,  and  they  are  but  rudimtnt- 
ary.     When  civilization  and  law  come  to  take  hold  upon  them, 


Clinic II  ()l{(lASI/CA  TlOXf!. 


533 


Ilundreds  o£ 
make  Kansas 
niggle  to  main- 
Mayllower  and 
such  men,  and 
;ion  was  broad 
The  influence 
I  made  by  the 
[rem  before  the 
without  regard 
;  creed,  no  cov- 
•ians  and  Inde- 
/aried  from  the 
to  the  widest 
ese  was  an  en- 

nt  agreement  in 
th,  freedom  and 
s  an  element  of 
homes  for  their 
thought  is  well 
3  church.  The 
that  cardinal 
iand  souls,  will 
e  continuing  in 
ould  succeed  in 
iinted  and  tame 
es,  under  mani- 
r  flags,  making 
;,  with  a  broad 
d  more  especi- 
ad  their  conse- 

remote,  not  yet 
e  nations  of  the 
few  and  far  be- 
but  rudimtnt- 
)ld  upon  them, 


order  and  religion,  with  the  school  as  their  concomitant,  will  be 
found  not  only  as  their  auxiliaries  but  as  their  vouchers  before 
socii^ty,  shorn  of  which  there  can  be  no  substantial  advancement 
by  accretion  from  without.  Kansas  has  passed  through  no  such 
elementary  condition.  The  church  in  the  souls  of  men  came  with 
the  first  colonizing  force  to  the  site  of  Lawrence,  and  its  allar  fires 
have  never  been  extinguished. 

The  several  religious  organizations  in  Kansas  would,  if  they 
were  treated  in  detail,  make  an  extensive  book,  and  in  conse- 
quence, there  can  only  be  a  summary  statement  of  the  proceed- 
ings and  strength  of  a  few  of  the  more  prominent  churches,  still  it 
will  be  understood  that  each  body  thus  named  is,  to  a  large  ex- 
tent, representative  in  its  character,  and  stands  for  all  the  subordi- 
nate divisions  of  the  radical  idea  from  which  the  larger  agglom- 
eration naturally  resulted.  Some  of  the  ehurcli  organizations  in 
this  state  have  histories  stretching  back  many  years  before  there 
was  an  attempt  to  build  a  state  upon  this  territory  and  it  is  de- 
sirable to  ])lace  on  record  the  main  facts  in  connection  with  their 
first  establishment  This  will  serve  as  a  kind  of  datum,  to  re- 
solve the  question  what  churches  and  how  many  should  be 
specifically  noticed  in  these  pages.  The  notices  will  stand  in  the 
order  suggested  chronologically,  as  the  missionary  spirit  sent  for- 
ward advance  guards  and  videttcs,  to  skirmish  over  the  ground, 
preparing  the  way  for  the  grand  army  of  truth  and  love  with  its 
innumerable  battalions  now  in  force  and  irrcsistiVjle. 

The  Catholic  church  came  first  into  the  valley  of  the  Missis- 
sippi in  the  person  of  Pcre  !^^arquette,  and  it  seems  to  be  perfect- 
ly in  order  that  its  mission  house  should  be  the  first  in  Kansas. 
DeSoto  and  Coronado,  also  Catholics,  were  in  the  heart  of  Kan- 
sas a  century  before  the  Jesuit  missionary,  and  his  companion, 
Joliet,  who  also  had  been  educated  by  the  Fathers.  The  voy- 
ages, journeys  and  expeditions  of  La  Salle,  one  of  the  same 
school  of  religious  thought  and  training,  had  made  the  civilized 
world  comparatively  familiar  with  our  rivers  and  soil  ;  and  the 
Jesuits  had  never  loosed  their  hold  upon  the  Indian  tribes,  as 
they  moved  toward  the  west.  Father  Quickenborn,  superior  of 
the  Jesuit  house  of  Florissant,  performed  missionary  labors  among 
the  Osage  Indians,  near  the  site  now  known  as  the  Osage  mission, 


8^it»iwga»taaigawB^aa!iB;%g»^8>^sWiNg»»i<ww*^^ 


634 


Tuttle's  HisTonr  of  Kansas. 


ft' 
I 


I 


early  in  tbe  year  1827.  Tins  was  in  Labette  county,  although  no 
counties  were  th(;n  dreamed  of,  and  for  many  years  later  this 
country  was  considered  the  |icrmanent  abode  of  the  Jndian  race, 
where  the  tribes  were  to  dwell  together  in  peace,  under  a  protec- 
torate of  civilized  power.  There  was  a  recommencement  of  mis- 
sionary effort  among  the  Pottawatomies  at  about  the  same  date. 
AVe  say  recommencement,  advisedly,  because  the  first  mi.ssion 
established  on  Lake  Superior,  in  the  .seventeenth  century,  had 
commenced  the  relation  of  religious  teacher,  with  the  ancestors 
of  that  nation,  and  established  an  enduring  regard  for  Christianity. 

Leavenworth  City  was  made  the  location  of  the  lirst  mission 
among  white  settlers,  near  the  old  fort,  in  the  year  1855,  when 
the  Et.  liev.  Bi.shop  Meigs  said  mass  and  preached  to  his  lirst 
Kansas  congregation,  consisting  of  only  nine  persons,  In  this 
city  a  church  was  built  in  the  same  year,  as  the  Catholics  slowly 
increased  in  numbers,  and  the  bishop  had  many  opportunities 
to  witness  the  success  of  his  labors.  This  was  not  the  lirst 
church  building  necessarily,  seeing  how  long  the  mission  had 
been  established.  Father  Odin  erected  a  church  at  the  Osage 
mission  in  1829,  and  in  the  same  year  a  church  was  built  at  the 
Pottawatomie  station,  by  Father  Felix  Verreydt,  but  the  churches, 
BO  called,  were  mere  huts,  not  to  be  compared  with  some  of  the 
log  chapels  built  in  a  day,  in  western  New  York  and  in  Maine, 
when  the  lirst  missionaries  attempted  to  Christianize  the  Iroquois 
Nations  and  colonize  Acadia,  in  the  se\-enteenth  century.  It 
•would  be  difhcult  now  to  find  a  vestige  of.  tho.se  buildings. 

The  bishop  had  been  consecrated  for  missionary  labors  among 
the  Indians  in  March,  1851,  and  under  his  leadership  thus  tians- 
ferred  by  the  spread  of  the  Union  to  a  more  populous  Held,  the 
church  has  now  in  Kansas  202  ■  >rganizations,  the  congregatHi~s  of 
which,  nur'/oering  children  of  Catholic  parents  as  members,  ag- 
gregate 37,198  persons,  with  165  church  buildings  of  various 
kind.s,  of  an  estimated  value  of  $40ii,C00.  The  growth  of  the 
church  is  marked  and  significant. 

The  Methodist  Episcopals  came  next  in  point  of  date,  being 
second  only  among  the  Indian  nations,  and  first  among  the 
churches  to  attempt  organization  among  the  white  settlers.  The 
first  missionary  effort  among  the  Indians  was  coud  acted  by  the 


CiiuiiCH  OiiGAyizA  rioxs. 


535 


ty,  although  no 
r'ears  later  this 
,he  Indian  race, 
under  a  protec- 
iceinont  of  mis- 

the  same  date, 
c  iirst  mission 
;li  century,  had 
li  the  ancestors 
or  Cliristianity, 
lie  first  mission 
ear  1855,  when 
ihed  to  his  lirst 
irsons,  In  this 
!atholics  slowly 
y  opportunities 

not  the  lirst 
10  mission  had 
1  at  the  Osage 
vas  built  at  the 
at  the  churches, 
ith  some  of  the 
and  in  Maine, 
ze  tlie  Iroquois 
Lh  century.  It 
uildings. 
y  labors  among 
ship  thus  tians- 
lulous  Held,  the 
iongregat)ii"s  of 
IS  members,  ag- 
ngs  of  various 
growth  of  the 

t  of  date,  being 
rst  among  the 
3  settlers.  The 
id  acted  by  the 


Kcv.  Thomas  Johnson,  on  the  Kansas  or  Raw  river,  about  eight 
miles  from  its  junction  with  the  Mississippi,  in  the  year  ISol,  four 
years  after  the  beginning  of  the  Osage  mission  by  the  Eoman 
Catholics.      The  first  organization  of    a  church   took  place  in 
March,  1832,  under  the  same  pastor  and  the  lirst  converts  were 
gathered  in  from  the  Shawnces  and  Delawares;  a  chief  of  the 
latter  tribe  being  among  the  most  inlluential  upholders  of  the 
work.     There  is  no  record  to  show  how  soon  after  this  date,  tho 
first  church  was  erected  by  this  denomination,  but  an  old  log  edi- 
fice near  what  is  known  as  the  White  Church,  Wyandotte  coun- 
ty, was  probably  the  first,  and  a  frame  building,  about  five  miles 
west  of  the  large  Manual  Labor  School,  among  the  Shawnecs, 
must  have  been  built  shortly  afterwards,  as  both  were  dilapidated, 
although  still  in  use  in  the  year  184:3,  when  the  first  reliable  rec- 
ord ciMicerning  them    appears.     Probably  both  churches  were 
built  during  the  pastorate  and  under  the  superintendence  of  the 
llev.  Thomas  Johnson.     It  is  interesting  thus  to  mark  the  begin- 
nings of  labor  in  what  was  emphatically  the  day  of  small  tilings 
and  to  place  in  order  the  men  by  whom  the  work  was  accom- 
plished. 

Missionary  labors  among  the  Delawares,  Wyandottes  and 
Shawnees  were  certainly  established  as  soon  as  possible  after 
the  tribes  commenced  to  be  located  on  this  tci'ritory ;  and  a3 
soon  as  settlement  was  begun,  under  the  provisions  of  the  organic 
act,  known  as  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  several  missionaries 
were  accredited  to  preach  to  and  organize  the  community  into 
what  was  certainly  a  church  militant  for  many  years.  The 
ministers  thus  sent  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  were  the 
Kevs.  Wm.  Goode,  A.  Stell,  James  S.  Griffincy  and  A.  L.  Downey. 
They  were  all  located  at  Wyandotte,  pending  such  developments 
as  would  allow  of  their  being  more  particularly  placed,  but  soon 
afterwards,  still  in  1854,  we  find  them  distributed  to  the  Dela- 
ware mission,  Sliawnee,  Leavenworth,  Atchison,  Fort  Kiley 
and  other  places,  vigorously  extending  their  sphere  of  operations, 
organizing  congregations  wherever  possible,  and  preparing  the 
way  for  increased  usefulness. 

Church  buildings  were  commenced  in  185-1-5,  and  not  long 
after  there  was  a  special  interdict  placed  upon  the  utterances  of 


t.  y  j?.*  'j*3»rs«^Ei?sni:K^*f;?^sC''^«eFe'*' 


636 


Tittle's  JIistohv  of  Kaxsas. 


Methodist  proafhors,  wlioso  tone  did  not  accord  witli  the  views 
of  tlic  border  rnni.'Uis  tmd  tlicir  directors  ;  but  to  llic  great  glory 
of  the  church,  such  lueiiaces  did  not  prevent  the  preachers  and 
organizations  continuing  tlieir  labors.  The  ^fethodists  grew 
stronger  because  of  such  denunciations,  and  the  first  building  com- 
pleted was  the  edifice  in  the  city  of  Lawrence,  wliero  there  arc 
now  seventeen  ]irospcrous  churches  of  various  denominations. 
The  church  at  Leavenworth  was  second  in  order  of  completion 
by  the  Methodists,  and  that  edifice  stood  almost  alone,  where 
there  arc  now  twenty-seven  commodious  buildings  devoted  to  the 
"work  under  the  superintenucncy  of  the"  several  denominations. 
The  ^Methodist  P]piscopal  church  has  now  in  Kansas  621  organ- 
izations, ninety-six  church  buildings,  the  church  property  being 
estimated  at  $340,400,  and  the  mcMubership  of  the  church,  only 
reckoning  those  who  have  voluntarly  associated  themselves  with 
the  work,  being  accepted  after  due  inquiry,  reaches  the  satisfac- 
tory aggregate  of  22,696. 

The  Presbyterians  date  their  missionary  enterprise  here  from 
about  the  year  1837,  seven  years  before  the  beginning  of  white 
eettlement,  although  there  were  already  white  men  scattered  over 
the  territory  in  connection  with  Indian  agencies  or  as  traders,  or 
otherwise  associated  with  the  nations.  Highland,  about  twenty- 
five  miles  north  by  west  from  Atchison,  was  the  first  location,  as 
it  is  still  the  most  favored,  being  the  site  of  an  excellent  Presby- 
terian university;  but  the  labors  of  the  missionaries,  Revs.  Wm. 
Hamilton  and  S.  M.  Irvin,  speedily  made  them  known  all  over 
the  lerritor}'.  Most  of  the  churches  now  operating  in  the  state 
in  connection'  with  this  denomination  were  organized  by  those 
zealous  and  untiring  workers,  or  by  the  aid  of  the  missionary 
effort  in  which  they  cooperated.  The  Westminster  church  at 
Leavenworth  City,  and  tl  o  Presbyterian  church  at  Junction  City, 
near  the  confluence  of  the  Smoky  river  and  the  Republican, 
where  the  Kansas  river  is  formed,  are  the  only  exceptions  to  the 
rule  just  named.  The  first  church  organization  of  the  old  school 
Presb-terians  seems  to  have  been  formed  near  the  site  of  the  city 
of  Ottawa  in  the  year  1840,  but  the  name  of  the  founder  of  tho 
church  does  not  appear.  Thoy  were  more  intent  upon  effecting 
the  work  than  anxious  to  write  their  names  on  the  records. 


i! 


.-..■iDuj  i-)r¥.apwi-i"a»'ajafeU''t^»uimm*"pJ^ " 


i«iwiuumiwiwfc»a»;-." 


Cnviicu  Oim.iyiZA rios. 


887 


;li  the  views 
)  great  glory 
■cacliors  and 
lodists  grew 
uiklingcorn- 
!ro  there  arc 
nominations. 
[  completion 
ilono,  where 
ivoted  to  the 
nominations. 
s  621  organ- 
operty  being 
church,  only 
mselves  with 
the  satisfac- 

le  here  from 
ing  of  white 
mattered  over 
IS  traders,  or 
3out  twenty- 
;  location,  as 
lent  Presby- 
,  Revs.  AVm. 
nvn  all  over 

in  the  state 
;ed  by  those 
e  missionary 
n'  church  at 
unction  City, 

Republican, 
ptions  to  the 
:ie  old  school 
te  of  the  city 
lunder  of  tho 
pon  effecting 
jcords. 


The   second  church  was  formed   in  Doniphan  county,  some- 
where  in  the  northeastern  extremity  of  Kansas,  under  the  joint 
labors  of  the  missionaries  already  named,  but  the  exact  location 
is  not    Mccified.     This  work  dates  from  October  21,  184;],  and 
beyond  doubt,  the  prcacliers  founded  their  well  ventilated  church 
cdifuic.  under  overarching  trees,  with  the  green  sward  for  their 
luxurious  carpet.      When  territorial  organization   began,  there 
was  a  movement  toward  the  settled  districts,  but  it  was  not  rapid, 
and  it  seems  to  have  waited  for  a  call,  as  the  earliest  church 
oivmnization  in  that  troubled  era  is  recorded  on  the  first  of  .lan- 
ua°-y,   1856,  under  the  pastorate  of  the  Rev.  C.  D.  Martin,   well 
and  favorably  known  among  the  old  settlers,  as  a  sterling  worker. 
The  New  School  began  their  organizations  two  years  later,  in 
1858,  when  settled  government  was  beginning  to  be  enjoyed,  after 
the  people  had  passed  through  their  major  troubles.     The  labors 
of  the  Rev.   James  Brownlec  found  responses  at  Brownsville, 
Gardner,  Blacac  Jack,  Olatta,  De  Soto,  Spring  Hill  and  Centro- 
polls.     Churches  were  erected  at  Auburn,  Siiawnee  county,  by 
the  New  School,  and  in  Leavenworth  City  by  the  Old  School, 
soon  after  this  effort,  but  tlie  dates  have  not  been  ascertained, 
and  there  are  now  181  organizations,  82  church  buildings,  with 
church  property  in  all  valued  at  $370,800,  and  an  aggregate  of 
6,826  members.     This,  of  course,  does  not  include  the  children 
of  members  nor  any  persons  who  have  not  voluntarily  come  into 
the  several  organi;?ations  of  the  Presbyterian  chrrch. 

The  Baptists  inaugurated  their  missionary  labor  in  Kansas 
about  the  year  1837,  by  the  ministrations  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Meeker, 
among  the  Ottawas  when  that  tribe  first  made  its  settlement  in 
Kansas.  The  date  of  his  coming  is  only  approximately  given, 
but  he  began  the  work  of  translation  and  soon  afterwards  caused 
to  be  printed  in  the  language  of  the  Ottawas,  the  sacred  books  of 
the  scriptures,  making  the  word  a  true  gospel  of  glad  tidings  to 
that  nation.  He  was  amply  rewarded  for  his  enterprise,  as  a 
church  organization  was  effected  speedily,  and  nine-tenths  of  the 
Ottawas  became  members.  The  Ottawa  tribes  had  welcomed 
Jesuit  teachers  nearly  two  centuries  earlier,  but  the  truth  as  now 
presented  made  so  great  and  lasting  an  impression  that  when  the 
first  white  settlers  came  into  the  country  in  1854,  seven-eighths 


538 


TrTTLii's  lIisTonr  or  K.iss.is. 


<j[  Jill  llio  adult  males  of  the  Ottawa  nation  wcro  nicMnbcrs  of  tlio 
Baptist  cliuivli,  and  professing  Christ.  Tlic  first  organi/.alion 
among  tlio  white  suttlci's  was  made  in  1855,  in  the  month  of  June, 
nearly  twelve  months  after  settlement  eonnnenced,  when  :^evea 
members  were  formed  into  a  cluireh  under  the  pastorate  of  tho 
]{ev.  ^fr.  Ilall.  The  first  ediliee  erected  now  stands  in  the  city 
of  Atciiison,  having  been  raised  under  the  leadershi])  of  tlie  Rev. 
Mr.  Alderson.  There  are  28()  Uajitist  organizations  in  Kansaa 
with  a  mcmbcr.ship  of  12,197  persons,  and  Oo  church  edifiees  val- 
ued at  $24(5,050. 

The  Congregational  church  commenced  missionary  work  in  tho 
midst  of  the  troubles  at  Lawrence,  in  the  year  1854,  when  it  was 
doubtful  whether  the  little  handful  of  white  .settlers  would  not 
be  driven  out  of  the  territory,  or  worse,  by  the  infuriated  hordes 
by  which  they  were  menaced.  Tiie  Hev.  S.  Y.  Lum  could  not 
be  intimidated  by  the  worst  threats  of  the  border  rufTians,  and  he 
persevered  in  his  labor  .so  that  there  was  an  organization  efTccted 
under  his  jiastorate  during  the  latier  part  of  that  year.  The  first 
church  building  connected  with  the  Congregational  denomination 
in  Kansas  was  raised  in  the  same  city  in  1857,  and  the  organiza- 
tion has  since  that  time  so  extended  its  operations  that  there  are 
121  churches,  with  a  membership  of  4,458,  pos.sessing  church  edi- 
fices to  the  number  of  53,  valued  at  $25(5.550. 

The  Episcopal  church  began  its  missionary  effort  in  1850,  in 
the  city  of  Leavenworth,  when  tho  Eev.  lliram  Stone  organized 
a  parish  under  the  name  of  St.  Paul's  church,  on  the  10th  of 
December.  The  edifice  now  occupied  in  that  parish  was  com- 
pleted and  consecrated  by  Bishop  Kemper  as  St.  Paul's  church, 
on  the  7th  of  December,  1857,  after  two  years  persistent  mission- 
ary labor.  The  Right  Rev.  Thomas  II.  Vail  is  now  bishoj)  of  the 
diocese,  and  there  are  34  organizations  in  the  .state,  consisting  of 
1,130  mcmbcr.s,  with  22  church  edifices,  and  property  valued  at 
$173,000. 

The  United  Presbyterian  church  began  its  labors  at  Bcrea,  in 
Franklin  county,  in  April,  1857,  when  the  Rev.  J.  N.  Smith  rcj)- 
rcsented  the  Associated  church  or  Seceders.  In  July,  three 
months  later,  the  Rev.  B.  L.  Balbridge  was  sent  by  the  general 
assembly  of  the  Associated  Reformed  Presbyterian  church  to 


wf9iimmiiiM>n.[«mmm*MVKm 


oinbcrs  of  tlio 
,  orj,'aiii/.!\lioa 
iDiitli  oi  June, 
I,  wlien  ;^ovcn 
storato  of  tho 
Js  in  tlio  city 
p  of  the  lliiv. 
n.s  in  Kansas 
h  edifices  val- 


J'orii.ATioy. 


539 


operate  in  Lcavenwortl.,  (Jeary  City,  «.ium<lan,  and  1'^^^^  ^  '  ■ 
?,,ero  were  thus  two  organizations  in  the  IK-Ul,  but  they  coalc.  . 
in  May,  18:,«,  forming  the  Vnitc-a  I'resbytman  chur..!..  Iho 
Lt  o^anization  was  fonned  in  Herea  by  ^n^  Snuth  u.  W, 
and  in  Leavenworth  by  Mr.  J^albridge  in  18.8  church  bud- 
in.rs  being  erected  in  the  two  cities  in  1858  and  '..!)  r.spc  Uvely. 
There  are  fourteen  church  buihbngs,  valued  at  ^-ll.,200,  and 
thirty-nine  churches  with  a  inenibenihip  of  1,313. 


y  work  in  the 
I:,  when  it  was 
!rs  wouhl  not 
iriated  hordes 
am  could  not 
ifTians,  and  he 
iation  efTected 
;ar.  The  first 
denomination 
the  organ iza- 
tliat  there  arc 
ig  clmri'h  edi- 

rt  in  1850,  in 
3ne  organized 
1  the  10th  of 
•ish  was  com- 
Paul's  church, 
istent  mission- 
bishop  of  the 
,  consisting  of 
;rty  valued  at 

s  at  Berea,  in 
S^.  Smith  rej)- 
1  July,  three 
ly  the  general 
an  church  to 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

POPULATION  -  STATE  INSTITUTIONS  -RAILROADS  -  RIVERS- 
POPULAIU        ^^^^j^^^jLTURE  AND  LIVE  STOCK. 

POPULATION.     Many  curious  calculations  have  ^een  made  of 
late  vears  to  <Mve  a  definite  meaning  to  the  sentence,     Centie  of 
plra     V'^often  used  without  special  correctness  m  ordma^ 
S  .  ani  conversation.     (Jen.  Walker,  who  supermtended  the 
To  Itlon  of  the  ninth  census  of  the  United  States,  went  .nto 
particularly  nice  discriminations  on  this  subject  m  compuUng  the 
Always  chancing  centre  for  the  United  States  as  a  whole  and  for 
tXetl  ^tat^sand  territories  individually.     It  would  be   or- 
ei.n  to  our  purpo.se  to  enter  at  large  upon  tins  subject,  but    t  is 
necessary  thus  briefiy  to  say  that  the  same  process  as  that    e- 
sorted  to  by  him  has  been  substantially  applied   to  resolve  the 
centre  of  population  for  the  state  of  Kansas,   and  ,t  js  found 
that  there  haS  been  a  continuous  change  in  this  respect  fronx  the 
t     p  operly  taken  census  to  the  present  time.     The  change  was 
oleen'miL  to  the  east  on  the  same  parallel  of  hvt.tude,  from 
1860  to  1870,  since  which  date  there  has  been  a  tendency  of  the 
Itre  toward  the  southwest,  so  that  it  now  rests  m  the  northeast^ 
erlv  part  of  Lyon  county.     Popularly  speakmg,  every  city,  town 
ani  hamlet  is'a  centre  of  population,  but  when  aiming  to  speak 
with  a  scientific  accuracy,  the  term  conveys  a  retcrence  to  that 


WjWWlt^awfWKBnfflUg"''*^ 


640 


TvTTLK'S  lltSTOliY  OF  KAXflAff. 


point  \vlii(.li  is  prcini'ly  tlio  centre  of  tlio  great  nins.s  o/  human 
life  distributed  ovor  a  range  of  country  more  or  less  extended. 
The  present  eentrc  as  determined  by  careful  computation  in  1S75 
lies  in  ?>^'  ;U'  4."."  latitude,  and  longitude  9")'  nH'  2(1",  but  the 
daily  increase  and  change  of  jjopulation  and  settlement  will  con- 
tinue to  change  our  centre  as  long  as  there  ia  life  and  motion  in 
Kansas. 

When  the  census  was  taken  in  1800,  there  were  107,20(i  per- 
sons in  tlie  state  of  Kansas,  and  of  course  the  depletion  incidental 
to  the  rebellion,  which  called  from  Kansas  a  larger  proportion  of 
its  male  i)0|>nlation  than  from  any  other  state  in  the  union,  and 
the  peculiar  circumstances  under  which  our  troops  fought,  the  an- 
imus with  wliich   they  struggled  to  sustain  the  union,  as  on   the 
bloody  field   of  Chickamauga,  at  Mission    I{i,igo  and  elsewhere, 
causing  in  their  ranks  a  larger  average  of  mortality  than  among 
the  soldiers  generally  from  other  states,  it  might  be  expected  that 
our  increase  during  the  ten  years  ending  in  1870,  would  show  but 
a  small  aggregate  of  gain.     The  result  came  out  much  larger  than 
many  dared  to  hope,  as  in  1870  there  were  30-1,390  inhabitants,  as 
ascertained  by  the  census  of  that  year,  showing  an  improvement  of 
nearly  240  percent.,  or  to  speak  with  precision,  of  23.9  per  cent,  per 
year.     The  gain  of  the  United  States  as  a  whole,  during  the  .same 
term,  amomted  to  2.22  jier  cent,  for  ten  years.     The  population 
was  ascertained  in  1875  to  con-sist  of  628,437  person.s,  and  there- 
fore cannot  now  be  less  than  600.000  as  elsewhere  stated.     During 
the  five  years  from  1870,  the  ascertained  increment  was  30  percent. 
The  suHcringof  the  state  from  the  locust  visitation  during  the  fall 
of  1874,  led  to  a  very  considerable  temporary  decrease  in  popula- 
tion, as  numbers  who  have  not  abandoned  their  residences  here 
•were  absent  in  other  states  where  they  have  sj)ent  the  winter,  and 
thus  failed  to  be  enumerated,  although  still  substantially  part  of  our 
population.     The  census  was  collected  on  the  first  day  in  March, 
just  before  the  tourists  and  temporary  absentees  to  the  number  of 
thousands  returned.     Opportunities  occurred  several  months  later 
in  1875  to  test  the  population  by  a  comparison  of  our  voting 
•with  the  election  returns  of  former  years,  and  it  is  evident  after 
making  every  possible  allowance  for  error,  that  the  actual  popu- 
lation of  Kansas  in  the  fall  of  1875,  was  in  excess  of  568,000. 


ssag.vwi'tf'it'a'MB'iiwitf-'rTri'iartjiTjrmjJ^^'tgjM^fyj'^ 


Statu  IssTiTrrioys. 


6n 


IS  Ocf  Iminan 
s  c'xtondocJ. 
ion  in  1S75 
!0",  but  the 
lit  will  con- 
I  motion  in 

07,20(1  pcr- 
!i  incidental 
•ojiortion  of 
union,  nnil 
iglit,  tlic  an- 
as on  the 
clscwliore, 
,lian  among 
pccted  that 
Id  show  but 
larger  than 
abitants,  as 
ovcment  of 
icr  cent,  per 
ig  the  same 
population 
and  there- 
d.  During 
30  per  cent, 
ing  the  fall 
in  popula- 
lences  here 
-vinter,  and 
part  of  our 
in  March, 
number  of 
onths  later 
3ur  voting 
'ident  after 
tual  popu- 
>68,000. 


State  LvstITI-TIONS.  —  *V/afc  A/ojlum  for  the  DvnJ  and  n.iw''.— 
The  advanced  intclligenco  which  has  marked  the  ])r<  ..icsa  of 
the  state,  from  the  earliest  days  of  territorial  struggle,  naturally 
prepares  one  to  expect  high  tone  in  all  matters  aU'ecting  philan- 
thropic ellort,  and  the  arrangement  made  for  the  education  of 
the  deaf  and  dumb  of  the  state,  between  the  ages  of  ten  years 
and  twenty-ono,  fully  bears  out  that  idea.  The  asylum  is  lo- 
cated at  Olathe,  under  a  law  passed  in  18(5(1.  rrit)r  to  that 
time,  there  had  been  only  a  partial  assumption  of  this  important 
duty  by  the  state.  Trot.  Kmery  opened  a  school  of  this  de- 
scription in  Baldwin  City,  Bouglais  county,  in  December,  18(51, 
and,  being  a  semi-mute,  there  was  peculiar  fitness  in  his  effort. 
He  had  procured  ample  experience  in  the  Indiana  institution  of 
the  same  kind,  where  he  hud  served  as  an  instructor.  The  cir- 
cumstances of  the  time  would  not  warrant  the  state  in  establish- 
ing an  asylum  at  its  own  co.st  entirely,  but  there  was  such  an 
urgent  desire  to  efTcct  something,  that  the  legislature  passed  an 
act,  in  March,  1862,  making  an  appropriation  in  favor  of  Prof. 
Emery's  school.  Similar  appropriations  were  made  in  the  two 
years  following,  after  which  changes  were  made,  and  during  the 
year  1805,  such  further  arrangements  became  necessary  as  re- 
sulted in  the  present  asylum  coming  into  operation  in  the  year 
1866,  at  Olathe.  The  act  was  passed  in  February,  ^^^56,  ar;  I 
Prof.  Mount,  who  had  become  principal  of  the  school  lu  tht  in- 
terim, was  transferred  in  the  same  capacity  to  the  asylum.  Prof. 
Burnside,  of  Philadelphia,  assumed  that  position  in  April,  1867, 
but  having  resigned  in  the  following  November,  was  succeeded 
by  Prof.  Jenkins,  whose  services  have  given  excellent  results. 

"  The  legislature  of  1873  made  appropriation  for  the  erection  of  a 
suitable  building,  of  which  only  the  east  wing  has  yet  been  erected ; 
but  there  is  already  a  very  handsome  structure,  and  a  promise  of 
one  of  the  most  elegant  edifices  of  the  kind  in  the  United  States. 
The  government  of  this  asylum,  and  of  all  similar  asylums  for  the 
blind,  and  for  the  insane,  is  vested  in  boards  of  trustees,  appoint- 
ed by  the  governor,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  senate, 
under  limitations  to  prevent  any  one  county  procuring  a  prepon- 
derance in  their  direction,  and  any  persons  being  nominated  to 
more  than  one  such  board.    All  persona  who  are  in  need  of  the 


.  1 1 


642 


Ti'Trr.i:'s  UisntitY  of  Kassas. 


'■I 

I; 


ndviitiffvpos  ofTciiMl  by  the  !isyliiin  nro  cli^'ililc  for  adinission  upon 
coiiipliiiiicij  Willi  tho  niU'X.  Tlioro  is  no  fee  (iliargi'iihlo  for  iMwinl 
or  tuition,  nrul  no  ccrtifKvito  nor  rocommonilation  is  necossiiry. 
Tlic  proper  course  is  for  tlu'  pi-rson  who  is  intcrestod  on  belialf  of 
the  (Miniliilato  to  write  to  tho  principal,  Htatin,ur  the  particulars  of 
tlKM-asc  so  far  as  known,  ai.i'  ;is  soon  as  possible  theioalter  infor- 
mation is  sent  as  to  tin-  lime  ;,  'Ahich  (he  pui)il  will  bo  received; 
but  whenever  n  eandidate  eomcs  lov  admission  nt  tho  cominencc- 
inent  of  a  session,  he  is  received  iriiMpectivo  of  any  such  pro- 
Bcribed  formula. 

Persons  uiuler  ten  years  of  a,^'e,  or  above  twenty-one,  ean  be 
admitted  by  tho  board  of  trustees  if  they  seo  fit,  and  pupils  from 
other  states  are  rceciw^d  on  payment  of  $250  per  session  for  tui- 
tion and  maintenance,  Six  years  is  tlie  recognized  torm  during 
■which  ])U|iils  usually  reiiKii  >.  but  exceptions  may  be  made  by  the 
prinei{)al  and  trustees  in  spccinl  rases  of  merit  or  distress.  Pupils 
must  be  bron^i  t  at  the  eoniincricoment  of  each  session  well  sup- 
plied with  clothes,  and  must  remain  until  tho  end  of  the  session, 
tho  second  Weibiesday  in  June  in  every  year.  No  exceptions 
are  made  in  this  respect,  unless  in  ease  of  sickness.  Tlie  session 
commences  in  September.  The  design  of  the  trustees  is  to  ren- 
der the  institution  and  the  pupils  self-supporting  by  tho  prose- 
cution of  useful  trades.  The  girls  are  instructed  in  housework, 
needlework,  millinery,  and  such  avocations,  tho  boys  having  a 
choice  of  various  trades,  work  in  the  asylum  or  in  the  gardens 
and  on  the  farm.  The  vacation  is  customarily  spent  among  the 
friends  of  the  pupils,  and  none  are  admitted  who  are  mentally  or 
physically  incapable  of  education.  This  institution  is  clo.sely 
guarded  against  expenditures  for  any  purpose  outside  the  avowed 
purposes  of  education  and  training,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  much 
good  ean  thus  be  accomplished  under  a  perfect  system  with  com- 
paratively little  outlay,  contrasting  the  results  aimed  at  by  tlie 
asylum  with  the  appropriations  devoted  to  attain  the  end. 

There  is  a  complete  staff  of  attendants  under  Mr.  Jenkins,  and 
the  number  of  pupils  has  gradually  increased  from  28  pupils  in 
1868,  to  70  in  1874.  The  report  for  that  year  says :  "  The  male 
pupils  now  do  considerable  labor  upon  the  grounds  of  the  asy- 
lum.   They  have  this  fall  plowed  all  the  land  devoted  to  tho 


m' . 


-,.-^-;yt.;,v^i-jeTsav'?s3CEWsa»»^^ 


»<ivl-;A--;^JSiaSJte-l 


V 


iiHsion  u))nn 
ilo  for  lioiinl 
s  iioct'Hsiiry. 
:)n  beliulf  of 
.'irticulars  of 
ciiltcr  iiifor- 
bc  rcccivoil; 
)  cominetico- 
ly  such  pro- 

-one,  can  be 
pupils  from 
ision  for  t\ii- 
torm  (luring 
riiiule  by  tlie 
CriS.  Pupild 
on  well  sup- 
the  session, 

0  exceptions 
Tlio  session 

!C3  is  to  ren- 
)y  the  prose- 
housework, 
ys  having  a 

1  the  gardens 
t  among  the 

mentally  or 
in  is  closely 
;  the  avowed 
in  that  much 
m  with  com- 
ed  at  by  the 
3  end. 

Jenkins,  and 
28  pupils  iu 
"  The  male 
Is  of  the  asy- 
voted  to  the 


iii«*>. 


^^ 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


iJo 


// 


A 


/;<i'^ 


z 


y. 
^ 


1.0 


I.I 


■-1^    III  2^ 


110 


1.8 


IL25  IIIIII.4   IIIIII.6 


s' 


Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


% 


M5 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICIVIH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreprcriuctions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


.-S<*t^*-?»  5*'^4-'  ''J*^*''  ■ 


State  Institutions. 


543 


garden,  and  performed  much  other  laLor  to  prepare  it  for  the 
raising  of  vegetables.     T\wy  have,  moreover,   performed  much 
work-in  clearing  away  rubbish  made  by  the  workmen  upon  the 
east  wing,  and  otherwise  labored  to  render  the  grounds  agreeable. 
I  thiidc  the  time  has  now  arrived  for  the  introduction  of  the  trade 
of  shoemaking.     I  would  suggest  that  the  necessary  tools  be  pro- 
vided, a  room  set  apart  for  a  shop,  and  a  workman  engaged  to 
instruct  a  portion  of  the  pupils  in  that  handicraft  at  the  opening 
of  the  next  term  of  the  school.     The  female  pupils  have  per- 
formed much  domestic  labor.     Indeed,  as  tlic  number  of  male 
pupils  has  greatly  exceeded  that  of  the  female  pupils,  the  latter 
have  had  rather  more  than  their  share  of  work  to  perform.     Sev- 
eral of  the  female  pupils  have  learned  to  operate  a  sewing  ma- 
chine, and  all  will  be  taught  its  use  as  soon  as  they  are  old 
enough  to  be  trusted  with  a  machine.     They  also  do  considerable 
sewi°g  for  themselves  and   for  the   asylum."     There   are   two 
build °ig3  connected  with  the  institution,  and  besides  the  fifteen 
acre  lot°on  which  the  buildings  stand,  tliere  are  160  acres  used 
for  farm  purposes,  about  two  miles  east.     The  asylum  is  sup- 
ported by  state  aid,  but  so  nearly  has  it  become  self  supporting 
that  the  total  amount  appropriated  to  all  purposes,  except  build- 
ing, from  the  commencement,  has  been  only  $151,038,  a  mere 
bagatelle  in  such  a  relation. 

,Siate  Asylum  for  the  Blmd.—T\us  institution  is  located  at  Wy- 
andotte, and  is  free  to  all  blind  children  in  Kansas  from  the  age 
of  nine  to  twenty-one  years,  except  as  to  clothing,  traveling  and 
incidental  expenses.     The  government  of  all  the  institutions  was 
described  when  referring  to  the  asylum  for  the  deaf  and  dumb. 
There  are  ten  buildings,  and  the  institution  owns  a  site  of  ten 
acres.     The  purpose  of  the  state  has  been  to  establish  a  family 
school,  in  which  the  youthful  blind  may  be  educated  to  become 
self  supporting  so  far  as  is  possible,  considering  their  deprivation  ; 
but  the  limited  means  at  the  disposal  of  the  government  will  not 
permit  of  its  being  converted  into  an  infirmary  for  the  treatment 
of  diseases  of  the  eye,  nor  can  the  institution  be  made  into  a  hos- 
pital for  the  sick,  nor  into  a  home  for  the  ailing  and  infirm.    The 
asylum  is  necessarily  limited  to  the  preparation  of  blind  youth 
for  the  practical  duties  of  life  ;  a  design  in  every  way  bemficent. 


m 


f'fi'i 


64A 


TuTTLh's  IIlSTOIiY  OF  KaXSAS. 


The  pui)ils  are  taught  reading  in  Boston  type  and  New  York 
points,  spelling,  writing  with  grooved  cards,  arithmetic,  geogra- 
phy, grammar,  physical  geography,  rhetoric,  printing  in  New 
York  point,  ancient  history  and  history  of  the  United  States, 
together  with  its  constitution,  geometry,  and  vocal  an.I  instru- 
mental music.  Many  of  the  inmates  are  admirable  musicians,  and 
ou  the  occasions  on  which  their  accustomed  practices  are  held,  it 
is  quite  pleasant  to  watch  the  intellectual  eagerness  depicted  upon 
their  sightless  faces,  when  it  almost  seems  as  though  the  well 
tutored  nervous  system  can  be  made  to  compensate  the  lack  of 
vision.  Boys  are  taught  broom,  brush  and  mattress  making,  and 
the  girls  receive  instruction  in  sewing,  knitting  and  fancy  work. 
Many  of  the  specimens  of  bead  and  other  work  exhibited  to  vis- 
itors are  surprising  specimens  of  ingenuity  and  good  taste,  so 
much  so  that  it  is  difficult  for  one  who  has  not  seen  the  exqui- 
site effects  that  can  be  attained  by  the  sensi  of  feeling,  to  believe 
in  the  genuineness  of  the  exhibits. 

During  the  year  1868  there  were  13  pupils,  and  in  the  year 
1874  there  were  35.  With  larger  means  the  area  of  usefulness 
could  be  extended,  but  even  in  the  manner  described  the  asylum 
has  achieved  excellent  results.  Superintendent  Parker  is  a  very 
efficient  officer,  and  he  is  ably  seconded  by  the  matron,  his  wife, 
and  the  departmental  assistants  It  is  very  properly  claimed  that 
parents  and  guardians  of  the  blind  should  cooperate  with  the 
officers  of  the  institution,  by  training  them  before  they  arrive  at 
the  age  for  reception  in  the  asylum,  as  well  as  by  continuous 
effort  in  the  intervals  between  the  sessions.  Many  domestic  du- 
ties can  be  taught  at  home  and  among  relatives  more  easily  than 
by  strangers  after  the  children  are  admitted.  The  rudiments  of 
arithmetic  can  also  be  communicated  in  the  same  way,  and  the 
spelling  and  meanings  of  common  words,  with  such  facts  in 
geography  and  history  as  may  readily  occur,  forming  a  basis  upon 
which  subsequent  training  can  raise  a  superstructure.  It  is  found 
that  in  some  families  blind  children  are  petted  almost  into  imbe- 
cility, while  in  others  they  are  entirely  neglected,  as  though  the 
absence  of  one  sense  rendered  all  the  others  of  no  avail.  Blind 
children  are  as  a  rule  very  docile  under  proper  training,  and  they 
can  be  taught  almost  everything  that  is  desirable  for  persons  ia 


a  New  York 
letic,  gcogra- 
tiug  ill  New 
11  i ted  States, 
1  anil  instrii- 
lusicians,  and 
!s  are  held,  it 
lepicted  upon 
igli  the  well 
3  the  lack  o£ 
making,  and 
fancy  work, 
libited  to  vis- 
ood  taste,  so 
in  the  exqui- 
ig,  to  believe 


PHILAOeLPKIA    U.B.  AMEHIO/I   ><Xj<; 


MAYIOT'.'WOyBMBIMO"  1876. 


:^^O$»$)0^-_  1  TMPJPiaifi^gf^gg^ai^ 


':|i 


?l 


!: 


L  in  the  year 
of  usefulness 
d  the  asylum 
'ker  is  a  very 
ron,  his  wife, 
claimed  that 
rate  with  the 
key  arrive  at 
y  continuous 
domestic  du- 
e  easily  than 
rudiments  of 
way,  and  the 
uch  facts  in 
a  basis  upon 
It  is  found 
)st  into  imbe- 
i  though  the 
avail.  Blind 
ing,  and  they 
or  persons  ia 


PHILADSLPHI. 


-^og:^^rg^iaiBiiaa'^^^^»'i"^'^  '>E^ismiBi(gaM--ff:^x>^-: 


vMi 


■■-m^ 


»ji>illy,  miHljlljH  'P 


5r.i r/;  Ly^TirvTiuss. 


545 


llicir  condition,  provided  that  tlic  requisite  special  and  improved 
means  are  at  tlieir  disposal. 

The  asylum  is  so  managed,  that  imbeciles  or  persons  of  un- 
sound mind,  and  those  who  have  contracted  improper  habits,  arc 
excluded  from  its  advantages  for  the  sake  of  the  other  inmates. 
The  same  rule  applies  to  confirmed  invalids,  as  it  would  unwisely 
increase  the  expense  of  running  the  iurititution,  supposing  a  hos- 
pital and  set  of  nurses  to  be  employed  to  meet  the  wants  of  the 
sick.     The  same  rules  as  to  being  supplied  with  proper  clothing 
and  being  present  at  the  commencement  of  each  session,  apply  to 
this  asylum  as  have  been  named  in  connection  with  that  for  the 
deaf  and  dumb.     During  the  summer,  there  is  no  provision  for 
the  support  of  pupils,  consequently  they  are  returned  to  their 
friends  at  the  commencement  of  vacation.     The  institut'cn  de- 
pends upon  state  aid,  but  the  total  amount  appropriated  up  to 
November,  1875,  only  amounted  to  $90,969,  a  very  small  sum, 
considering  that  the  asylum  was  founded  in   1868.     There  are 
20,320  blind  persons  in  the  United  States,  as  represented  by  the 
census,  but  there  may  be  many  cases  of  deprivation  not  enumer- 
ated; and  there  are  twenty-seven  asylums  for  their  protection  and 
education.     There  are  only  thirty  public  institutions  of  the  kind 
in  Europe,  but  there  are  many  of  great  excellence,  which  are 
local  and  special  in  their  operation.     The  first  school  seems  to 
have  been  opened  in  Paris,  in  the  year  1784.     The  first  in   this 
country  was  opened  in  Boston,  in   1829  — the  Perkins  Institute 
and  Massachusetts  Asylum.     The  Paris  asylum  was  initiated  by 
Valentine  Hauy,  an  albe,  brother  of  the  celebrated  mineralogist 
Ilis  attention  was  called  to  the  subject  by  his  acquaintance  with 
a  blind  pianist.     The  founder  of  the  school  was  never  successful 
in  administration,  but  he  invented  the  system  of  teaching  by 
raised  letters,  and  is  properly  named  the  "  Apostle  of  the  Blind." 
It  was  said  of  Valentine  Hauy,  by  Dr.  Howe,  that  "  The  Abbe 
possessed  genius,  generosity  and  zeal,  his  only  lack  was  common . 
sense."     There  are  millions  who  are  lacking  in  common  sense, 
who  have  none  of  the  other  high  qualifications  to  call  attention 
to  their  want. 

The  world  is,  in  one  aspect,  completely  shut  off  from  the  blind. 
The  rich  feast  of  colors,  in  which  nature  delights  to  robe  the  out- 
85 


51G 


TcTTLEs  HisTonr  of  Kassas. 


\ 


wanl  semblance  of  things,  depends  largely  upon  the  adaptation 
of  the  human  eye,  and,  for  the  blind,  all  those  conditions  have 
no  existence.  Their  universe  is  circumscribed  by  the  distances 
that  can  be  reached  by  their  lingers,  save  when  the  soul  txpands 
itself  into  infinitude,  hence  they  have  a  peculiar  claim  upon  the 
more  favored  humanity  that  is  blessed  with  all  the  senses. 
Cheseldcn  cured  a  blind  boy  who  had  attained  considerable 
age  before  having  the  use  of  his  eyes,  and,  although  up  to  that 
time,  all  possible  care  and  tuition  had  been  bestowed  upon  the 
child,  it  was  two  months  before  his  optic  nerves  could  be  edu- 
cated to  know  that  pictures  were  meant  to  represent  solid  bodies; 
after  that  time,  the  truth  grailually  dawned  upon  his  intellect, 
and  then  he  was  disappointed  when  he  touched  each  picture  to 
find  that  it  was  only  a  plane  surface. 

State  Asylum  for  the  Insane.  —  This  establishment  is  located  at 
Osawatomie,  the  name  of  the  region  being  arrived  at  by  a  junc- 
tion of  the  appellations  of  two  tribes,  the  Osages  and  Pottawato- 
mies,  who  were  combined  for  state  purposes  upon  their  removal 
to  Kansas.  Hence  the  name  Osa-watomie.  The  government  of 
the  institution  requires  no  specific  description  beyond  that  already 
bestowed  upon  asylums.  The  superintendent,  steward  and  ma- 
tron arc  the  resident  officials.  There  are  160  acres  of  land  be- 
stowed upon  the  asylum,  and  the  buildings  consist  of  a  miain 
structure,  in  two  sections,  each  40  by  75  feet  and  three  stories 
high.  There  are  also  outbuildings,  an  ice  house,  a  barn  and  a 
cow  stable;  but  the  buildings  are  falling  somewhat  into  disrepair. 
The  money  cost  of  the'  asylum  used  to  be  charged  to  each  coun- 
ty, but  it  is  now  met  by  direct  appropriations  from  the  treasury, 
and  it  is  found  that  the  cost  of  maintenance  per  head  is  a  fraction 
under  20  cents  per  day  —  a  scale  that  amply  provides  a  good 
dietary. 

Patients,  who  are  to  be  supported  at  the  cost  of  their  friends, 
are  admitted  under  proper  precautions,  the  probate  judge  of  the 
county  and  at  least  one  practicing  physician  must  certify  as  to 
the  insanity  of  the  perse n  to  be  admitted,  and  sufficient  security 
is  obtained  for  the  satisfaction  of  proper  demands.  The  insane, 
who  have  no  friends  capable  of  maintaining  them,  are  admitted 
•with  much  less  ceremony,  and  the  state  assumes  full  responsibility. 


%i 


'imnaMnu'- 


i-'vlttfatoiii  ■ 


»^**r^a»  •K^-T— ^S-  *^!^ 


•iW"*^" 


lliil  1 1  l"i  H,  III   IIIWU 


Sr.ir/i?  IssTiTUTioNs. 


517 


!  adaptation 
litiona  liavo 
lie  distances 
oul  (.-xpaiuls 
m  upon  tho 
the  aeniiCH. 
considerable 
I  up  to  that 
id  upon  tho 
uld  be  edu- 
solid  bodies ; 
his  intellect, 
li  picture  to 

is  located  at 
it  by  a  jnnc- 
d  Pottawato- 
heir  removal 
)vernment  of 
I  that  already 
ard  and  ma- 

of  land  be- 
f3t  of  a  main 
three  stories 

barn  and  a 
nto  disrepair, 
to  each  coun- 
the  treasury, 
I  is  a  fi'action 
'ides  a  good 

their  friends, 
judge  of  the 
certify  as  to 
jient  security 
The  insane, 
are  admitted 
•esponsibility. 


In  the  year  ISfiS  th(>ro  were  41  pationta  in  the  asylum,  niul,  in 
the  yoiiV  187r>,  there  wore  llo,  besides  which  tho  returns  showed 
that  there  were  300  insane  i)ers()ns  in  the  itatc  not  being  treated 
in  tlic  asylum.  There  is  no  endowment,  but  the  cost  of  mana'j;e- 
inent  is  defrayed  by  annual  appropriations,  after  deducting  tho 
amounts  received  by  way  of  fees.  Tiie  appropriations  up  to  No- 
vember, 1875,  had  been  only  $338,736. 

Much  careful  thought  and  investigation  has  been  bestowed  up- 
on insanity  of  late  yeans,  and  many  curious  theories  have  resulted 
from  the  crudity  of  the  material  upon  which  men  have  arrived  at 
their  conclusions.  According  to  some  there  should  be  no  restraint 
at  all  in  cases  of  mental  aberration,  and  at  Gheel,  in  Belgium,  a 
colony  or  village  has  been  established  in  which  insane  persons 
live  together,  more  or  less  correcting  each  others'  dclusion.s,  but 
the  result  has  not  been  of  such  a  kind  as  to  render  a  continuance 
of  the  system  desirable.  The  government  exerts  particular  con- 
trol in  tho  village,  which  has  been  a  special  resort  for  idiots  and 
deranged  persons  since  the  seventh  century,  when  the  shrine  of 
St.  Dyrnphnea,  here  placed,  was  credited  with  peculiar  virtue  by 
and  for  idiots.  In  later  times  the  farmers  resident  in  Gheel  made 
the  treatment  of  such  persons  part  of  their  means  of  livelihood. 

The  number  of  lunatics  registered  of  late  years  in  every  civil- 
ized country  has  exhibited  a  marked  increase,  and  many  have 
concluded  from  that  fact  that  cerebral  derangement  is  increasing 
at  a  greater  ratio  than  population,  the  general  result  being  unfav- 
orable to  mental  culture;  but  fuller  investigaticn  shows  that  the 
average  of  cases  is  not  really  greater,  but  that  :;  .-  fineness  of  dis- 
crimination, and  the  completeness  of  registration  .ally  account  for 
the  apparent  increase.  In  England,  according  to  the  methods  in 
force  in  18-11,  there  was  one  idiot  or  lunatic  registered  for  every 
802  of  the  population,  the  proportion  increased,  in  1859,  to  1  in 
585,  and  in  1871,  to  1  in  400.  But  in  all  that  time  the  actual 
number  of  admissions  to  asylums  continued  to  average  about  1  in 
2,100  of  the  whole  population  of  the  country.  The  same  law  is 
found  operating  in  the  United  States,  where,  in  1860,  the  regis- 
tration showed  only  one  in  728,  and  in  1870  had  increased  to  1 
in  637.  Dr.  Mandsley,  a  very  high  authority,  says  that  there  is 
no  evidence  of  increase,  in  fact,  although  the  returns  are  more 


5iS 


Tl'ttlk's  UisToiir  or  Kaxsas. 


K 


ample.     The  census  bceonies  more  coiiiiilete  ami  reliable  every 
year,  and  the  number  id  increased  in  apiiearancc,  becauno  many 
persons  are  now  treated  as  insane,  who  were  of  old  times  only  s'.b- 
jeeted  to  medical  treatment.     The  rate  of  mortality  is  less  amon-r 
lunatics,  under  the  better  systems  now  in  operation,  than  it  has 
been  at  any  former  time,  which  of  eourse  accounts  for  a  larger 
number  being  in  existence  at  one  time,  without  necessitating  the 
assumption  of  a  larger  average  of  casea  occurring.     E.xercise  and 
development  of  brain  does  not   lead  to  insanity,  as  a  rule,  any 
more  than  exercise  and  development  of  the  muscular  system  pro- 
duces weakness,  unless  in  either  ease  excess  eventuates  in  injury. 
Delaware,  Florida,  Nebraska  and  Nevada  are  the  only  states  in 
the  Union  in  which  there  is  no  provision   made  by  the  state  for 
the  treatment  of  lunatics.     All  the  other  states  have  one  or  more 
asylums,  but  in  siome  cases  the  systems  found  in  operation  aro 
very  faulty,  more  esjjecially  as  afTecting  the  pauper  insane,  who 
arc  boarded  out  and  otherwise  neglected.     The  philanthropic  exer- 
tions of  Miss  D.  L.  Dix  have  contributed  very  materially  to  im- 
prove the  methods  in  operation  all  over  the  United  States,  and 
by  sympathy  over  the  whole  civilized  world.     There  are  numer- 
ous private  in.stitutions  for  the  insane  in  all  the  older  and  wealthier 
states,  but  in  communities  so  young  as  Kansas,  the  state  must  be 
relied  upon  to  provide  the  machinery  requisite  for  the  sequestra- 
tion and  treatment  of  insanity,  which  certainly  has  a  tendency  to 
affect  the  minds  of  those  who  are  continuously  engaged  in  observ- 
ing  its  wonderful  phenomena.     Kansas  seems  to  have  obst^rved 
the  happy  mean  in  the  management  of  this  branch  of  its  V'anevo- 
lent  works,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  as  its  wealth  increases 
tli.ere  will  be  still  more  liberal  provision  for  the  demented. 

*S7rtte  Pe)ntentiary.—Th\»  institution  is  located  on  a  tract  of  forty 
acres,  a  little  distance  south  from  the  city  of  Leavenworth.  The 
county  jail  of  Leavenworth  was  used  by  the  state  until  proper 
buildings  were  erected,  after  the  year  1863,  pursuant  to  a  vote 
taken  in  that  year  by  the  legislature.  The  penitentiary  is  a  com- 
modious building  of  stone,  and  the  support  of  the  institution  to 
date  has  cost  $906,940.  There  were  21  prisoners  in  1881,  and  in 
1874,  that  number  had  increased  to  425,  so  that  while  our  popu- 
lation had  increased  by  a  multiple  of  five  or  little  more,  our  crim- 


liable  every 
cauno  many 
03  only  8'ib- 
les.4  amoni^ 
than  it  has 
for  a  larger 
!aitating  the 
Cxcrcise  ami 
a  rule,  any 
system  pro- 
33  in  injury, 
nly  states  in 
the  state  for 
one  or  more 
)peration  arc 
insane,  who 
ihropic  exor- 
'rially  to  im- 
l  States,  and 
I  are  numer- 
nd  wealthier 
tate  must  be 
be  sequestra- 
,  tendency  to 
ed  in  observ- 
ive  obst^rved 
)f  its  I'onevo- 
ilth  increases 
mted. 

tract  of  forty 
worth.  The 
until  proper 
int  to  a  vote 
ary  is  a  com- 
institution  to 
1881,  and  in 
lie  our  popu- 
)re,  our  crim- 


STATh:  fssTiririos's. 


549 


in.ilsseem  to  have  incroiiscd  by  a  multiple  of  more  than  20 ;  a 
result  mainly  due  to  the  groat  improvomcnt  in  our  syst.Mii  of 
police  undt-r  settled  institutions.  Tlie  penitentiary  is  governed 
by  a  board  of  three  dirccti)rs,  one  being  nominated  every  year, 
and  the  term  of  service  being  three  years,  so  that  there  is  always 
a  change  going  on  in  the  direction,  or  at  any  rate  tlio  opi-ortu- 
nity  for  a  change  arises,  without  such  violent  disruption  as  migiit 
be  feared  if  all  the  directors  could  be  changed  at  one  time. 

The  system  observed  in  the  penitentiary  may  be  brieny  stated 
ns  foUows :  Every  prisoner  must  wear  prison  clotliing,  and  sub- 
mit to  the  operations  of  the  state  barber;  he  is  then  instructed  aa 
to  the  rules  enforced  in  the  penitentiary,  with  the  penalties  that 
will  follow  any  transgression,  and  the  rewards  that  attend  upon 
full  compliance.     Every  cell  has  necessary  articles  of  furniture, 
to  which  the  prisoner  may  add  other  prescribed  articles,  when  he 
has  earned  the  means  to  do  so  within  the  pri.son  walls  by  actual 
labor.     Cleanliness  is  strictly  enforced,  and  silence  is  peremptory. 
There  must  be  no  communications  between  prisoners  on  pain  o£ 
certain  deprivations,  should  a  discovery  of  any  breach  be  observed. 
Books  are  allowed  under  limitations,  and  those  who  have  earned 
the  means  by  honest  labor  under  duress  may  purchase  other  books, 
provided  they  are  of   a  character  approved  by  the  authorities. 
Facilities  are  aft'orded  to  improve  ihe  educational  status  of  prison- 
ers, as  it  is  found  that  ignorance  is  very  largely  associated  with 
crime,  to  such  an  extent  as  to  suggest  the  relation  of  cause  and 
effect.     Those  \vho  are  capable  of  learning  a  trade  are  assisted  in 
that  direction.     The  demand  for  labor  from  the  prisoners  is  inces- 
sant.    During  the  year  the  working  hours  average  nine  every  day  ; 
the  length  of  the  day  in  summer  being  ten  hours  and  one-half, 
and  during  the  winter  six  months  from  sunrise  to  sunset ;  so  that 
none  can  eat  the  bread  of  idleness. 

The  quantity  of  work  exacted  is  proportioned  to  the  capacity 
of  the  prisoner,  and  laziness  is  properly  punished.  All  violations 
of  the  rules  of  the  institution  have  appropriate  penalties,  but  none 
of  them  are  severe  and  degrading  except  in  the  last  extremity, 
when  appeals  to  the  better  nature  have  signally  failed.  Ball  and 
chain  punishments,  and  close  confinement  on  one  meal  per  day, 
are  among  the  heaviest  that  are  ordinarily  inflicted;  but  in  very 


r  :.^t-^s.--^-nm.jfi.m>mm00t  \  i  — 


650 


Ti  rri.i:'s  IlisTnny  of  /v.ja'.sm.v. 


n^rtrmvattvl  cascM,  dark  coll.i,  tiMnpomry  ili- privation  of  food  and 
othtr  piini-tlnnt'iits  aro  pcrHcvcTod  in  nntil  tlio  ixviuiaito  condition 
of  iniiid  luiH  boon  Hiiporiiidnoed,  unioas  tlio  lioaltli  of  tho  prinoncr 
is  iMidaii!^'i'i'od.  Prisoners  anr  OMi|)loyoil  on  oontraots  in  some 
cases,  ill  tlio  ipiarrios  and  on  .stoiio  cnttiii^'  in  otiiors,  besides 
W'liioli  tlu'ir  av'ttoations  inoludo  bnililiiigs  and  improvonionts,  work 
in  tlio  yard,  in  tho  kitohon,  dinin;^  room.-*,  bako  hoiHCS,  colls, 
driving  toatns,  in  tlio  laundry  and  repair  shops,  in  tho  fonialo 
prison,  cells,  hospitals,  and  ainoiig  tho  sick;  so  that  there  is  work 
for  every  variety  of  slroiiglh  ami  eapa'.-ity  of  intellout.  Tho  aim 
of  the  penctontiary  is,  as  it  should  bo,  tho  amelioration  of  tho  con- 
dition of  tho  condomnod  without  making  pets  of  tho  jjrisoncrs. 

There  arc  two  systems  of  jirison  discipline  now  in  force  in  this 
country,  tliat  of  I'eiinsylvania  and  that  of  New  York;  that  of 
Pennsylvania  prevents  coiiimunieations  between  prisoners  at  all 
times,  and  is  so  administered  as  that  the  individual  does  not  know 
nny  of  his  fellows,  and  cannot  bo  recognized  by  them,  should  they 
meet  under  other  eireumstaiices  after  tho  term  of  punishment  is 
concluded;  that  of  New  York  separates  the  prisoners  completely 
after  working  hours,  but  permits  of  their  laboring  together  in 
■workshops  during  the  day,  subject  always  to  the  enforcement  of 
silence  at  such  times  as  well  as  during  their  meals  in  common. 
There  is  no  corporeal  punishment  by  stripes  in  tho  Pennsylvania 
system,  but  that  of  Now  York  permits  of  such  applications  occa- 
sionally. Under  both  systems  there  is  an  efTort  to  compel  and 
encourage  gainful  industries,  and  both  places  aim  at  making  the 
prisons  self  supporting.  There  are  good  arguments  to  be  adduced 
on  both  sides,  and  cither  of  them  will  give  excellent  results  when 
well  administered  by  competent  men.  The  Kansas  method  may 
be  described  as  eclectic,  as  it  aims  at  the  embodiment  of  tho  merits 
of  each  system. 


Railkoads  IX  Kansas.  —  Ten  years  ago  there  was  hardly  a 
mile  of  railroad  in  Kansas  ready  for  operation,  and  in  view  of  that 
fact,  the  progres"  made  in  regard  to  transportation  is  surprising. 
The  Shawnee  Irgislature,  as  our  readers  will  remember,  signalized 
the  end  of  their  disgraceful  session  by  certain  acts  that  looked  to 
the  enrichment  of  members,  contrary  to  the  organic  act,  by  grant- 


L 


mmmmmtl^ 


n.\ti.uo.ir)fi. 


551 


if  food  and 
I]  condition 
ho  prisoner 
U  in  Horiio 
T.-^,  besidiid 
iiciit.s,  work 
llSCrf,  collrt, 
thu  fcnialo 
ere  i.s  work 
Tho  aim 
of  the  con- 
•isoncrs. 
)rco  in  this 
•k;  that  of 
iier.-j  at  all 
3  not  know 
ihould  they 
lishmont  is 
completely 
;ogether  in 
)rcement  of 
1  common, 
nnsylvania 
.tions  occa- 
orapel  and 
naking  the 
je  adduced 
suits  when 
ethod  may 
:  the  merits 


s  hardly  a 
iew  of  that 
surprising, 
signalized 
;  looked  to 
,  by  grant- 


ing oiVuxM,  inonop<.lieH  and  privileges,  grants  for  railroads  among 
tho  number;  but  tho  territory  was  not  benelUed  by  surh   modes 
of  operation.      In  th.;  year  mS,  th.o  Atchison  num.  wlio  had  al- 
ways enjoved  wliatever  favors  could  bo  procured  from  tho  Shaw- 
nee as.«emi.ly,  began  the  formation  of  a  railroad;  but  it  made  jts 
start  from  the  Missouri  bank  opposite  to  Atchison,  and  was  meant 
to  connect  Kansas  with  other  parts  of  the  union,  but  not  to  trav- 
erse the  terrilorv  itself.     The  advantage  aimed  at  was  for  Atchison 
merely,  which  must  tluis  become  tho  commercial  metropolis  of  tho 
infant  state.     The  road  was  completed  in  18G0,  connecting  Atchi- 
son with  the   Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph  lino  at  St.   Joseph,  Mo. 
Kansas  men  and  money  did  the  work,  but  tlie  Hue  was  in  Mis- 
souri altogetlier,  and  tho  benefit  was  to  be  local,  as  nearly  as  that 
end  could  be  secured.     This  line  was  carried  to  Weston  near 
Fort  Leavenworth  in  1801,  and  the  enterprise  made  a  stop  at  that 
point  until  the  end  of  tho  war,  although  there  had  been  i.u>ny  at- 
tcmi.ts  to  inaugurate  work  on  other  ])rojected  lines  prior  to  and 
after  the  commencement  of  the  Atchison  and  St.  Joseph  Railroad 
already  mentioned. 

While  the  civil  war  was  progressing,  the  next  cfTort  took  its 
rise  under  the  congressional  act,  which  provided  for  building  a 
road  to  the  Pacific  ;  and  the  Kansas  raeiflc  Railway  was  begun 
in  1863.  Near  Wyandotte  where  the  work  of  construction  was 
inau.rurated,  at  the  state  line,  was  than  a  dense  forest,  and  before 
tho  e°nd  of  the  summer  the  grading  had  been  carried  a  Ion-  dist- 
ance westward  up.the  valley  of  the  Kansas  river;  but  there  was 
tiothincr  to  give  immediate  promise  of  value  to  thr  undertaking;  it 
had  n^rgrip  on  east  or  west,  because  Missouri,  then  traversed  by 
United  States  troops,  guerrillas  and  confederate  forces,  was  a 
slave  state,  without  sympathy  with  Kansas,  unless  the  institution  of 
slavery  could  find  favor. 

The  man  who  was  pushing  on  the  work  of  the  railroad,  Sam- 
uel Ilallett,  was  assassinated  in  the  streets  of  Wyandotte  in  Au- 
gust 18G4,  about  eleven  months  before  the  war  came  to 
an  end  and  the  work  then  passed  into  the  hands  of  St.  Louis 
capitalists  shortly  before  the  end  of  the  war.  Mr.  John  D.  Perry 
•  became  the  director  of  the  undertaking  at  that  time,  and  the  line 
of  road  has   two  termini,  at  Wyandotte    and  at  Leavenworth, 


552 


Tuttle's  History  of  Kansas. 


I! 


H 


I! 


i 


Tvhich  join  at  the  city  of  Lawrence  to  run  in  one  line  up  the  val- 
leys of  the  Kansas  river  and  Smoky  Hill  river  through  the  whole 
state  and  thence  to  Denver,  Colorado.  A  line  of  about  one  hun- 
dred miles  then  connects  with  Cheyenne,  Wyoming,  where  there 
is  a  junction  with  the  Union  Pacific  Kailroad,  running  through 
from  Omaha  to  Salt  Lake  City  by  the  junction  at  Ogden ;  and 
through  Sacramento  to  San  Francisco.  The  line  at  Denver  has 
connections  with  all  the  railroads  of  Colorado,  besides  which 
there  is  a  branch  line  from  Kit  Carson  to  Fort  Lyon  in  the  state  of 
Colorado,  and  from  Junction  City  to  Clay  county,  Kansas. 
This  is  the  most  considerable  line  in  the  state,  and  by  far  the 
most  important  for  its  interests. 

The  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Sante  Fe  runs  across  the  state  di- 
agonally from  northeast  at  Atchison  to  southwest  at  Hutchinson, 
striking  Topeka  and  Empoi-ia,  where  it  crosses  the  Neosho  river 
and  follows  the  Cottonwood  to  its  station  on  the  Arkansas. 
From  Hutchinson  the  line  runs  up  the  valley  of  the  Arkansas  to 
Pueblo,  where  it  joins  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande  narrow  gauge 
line.  An  important  branch  runs  from  Newton  south  to  Wichita, 
where  it  strikes  the  Arkansas  and  is  intended  to  connect  with 
the  Southern  Pacific  at  some  point  in  New  Mexico. 

Junction  City  is  the  starting  point  of  the  Missouri,  Kansas  and 
Texas,  and  from  this  point  the  Kansas  Pacific  road  runs  to  the 
southeast,  striking  the  Neosho  river  at  Parkerville,  Following 
the  general  course  of  the  Neosho  the  line  crosses  the  Atchison, 
Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  at  Emporia,  and  crosses  the  Leavenworth, 
Lawrence  and  Galveston  road  at  Chanute.  After  crossing  the 
southern  boundary  line  of  the  state  this  line  crosses  the  Indian 
territory  to  Texas.  Another  line  of  the  same  road  runs  from 
Hannibal,  Missouri,  on  the  Mississippi  river  through  Missouri  en- 
tering Kansas  near  Fort  Scott  crossing  at  that  point  the  Missouri 
River,  Fort  Scott  and  Gulf  Road.  This  line  connects  with  the 
Junction  City  Branch  at  Parsons.  The  road  has  connections  at 
Dennison,  Texas,  that  run  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  A  branch 
road,  the  property  of  the  same  company,  runs  from  Holden, 
Missouri,  on  the  Missouri  Pacific  to  Paola  in  this  state. 

The  Missouri  River,  Fort  Scott  and  Gulf  Railroad,  already  men- 
tioned, runs  from  the  mouth  of  the  Kansas  river  at  Wyandotte 


JiMLIlOAIiS. 


553 


le  up  tliG  val- 
igh  the  whole 
)out  one  hun- 
f,  where  there 
ning  through 
Ogdcn ;  and 
at  Denver  has 
)esides  which 
in  the  state  of 
nty,  Kansas, 
nd  by  far  the 

the  state  di- 
t  Hutchinson, 
Neosho  river 
le  Arkansas. 
5  Arkansas  to 
larrow  gauge 
li  to  Wichita, 
connect  with 

,  Kansas  and 
]  runs  to  the 
.  Following 
lie  Atchison, 
Leavenworth, 

crossing  the 
3S  the  Indian 
d   runs  from 

Missouri  en- 
the  Missouri 
sets  with  the 
Dnnections  at 
A  branch 
ora  Holden, 
te. 

already  men- 
t  Wyandotte 


through  the  counties  of  the  eastern  tier,  to  the  southern  boundary 
of  tho^state,  crossing  the  Missouri,  Kansas  and  Texas  line  at  Fort 
Scott. 

The  Missouri  Pacific  runs  from  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  and  enters  Kan- 
sas at  Wyandotte,  from  which  point,  following  the  main  direction 
of  the  Missouri  river,  it  passes  through  Leavenworth  to  Atchison. 
This  portion  of  the  road  from  Wyandotte  to  Leavenworth  is 
known  as  the  Missouri  liivcr  Road,  and  thence  to  Atchison  it  is 
called  the  Leavenworth,  Atchison  and  Northwestern;  but  the 
Missouri  Pacific  operates  both  lines,  having  leased  them  of  the 
constructing  companies  som<^  years  since. 

The  Atchison  and  Nebraska  leads  from  Atchison  northwest  to 
Lincoln,  the  capital  of  the  sister  state,  the  distance  being ^146 
mile-s.  This  line  crosses  the  St.  Joseph  and  Denver  at  Troy, 
Kan.,  and  at  Lincoln  connects  with  the  Midland  Pacific  and 
Omaha  and  Southwestern.  A  branch  is  being  built  from  Salem, 
Neb.,  to  Nebraska  City,  and  the  main  is  being  extended  north 
from  the"  capital  to  connect  with  the  Union  Pacific  at  Fremont. 
Thus  the  Atchison  and  Nebraska,  Missouri  Pacific  and  Missouri 
Eiver,  Fort  Scott  and  G  \\i  roads  are  continuous  along  the  eastern 
border  from  the  north  to  the  south  line  of  Kansas. 

The  Central  Branch  Union  Pacific  leads  from  Atchison  to 
Waterville,  in  Marshall  county,  a  distance  of  100  miles  west. 

The  Leavenworth,  Lawrence  and  Galveston  runs  from  Leaven- 
worth, crossing  the  Kansas  Pacific  at  Lawrence,  and  through  the 
second  tier  of  counties  south  of  the  Kansas  to  the  southern  line. 
A  branch  runs  from  Cherry  Vale  to  Independence,  Mo.,  and  an- 
other from  Ottawa  to  Kansas  Cit3^ 

The  St.  Joseph  and  Denver  traverses  the  northern  counties  from 
the  Missouri  river  opposite  St.  Joseph  to  Hasting,  Neb.,  connect- 
ing with  a  line  that  joins  the  Union  Pacific  at  Fort  Kearney. 
This  line  runs  through  Kansas  about  140  miles. 

The  Kansas  Central  runs  from  Leavenworth  to  Holton,  56 
miles  west,  crossing  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  at  Grass- 
hopper Falls. 

The  St.  Louis,  Lawrence  and  Western  runs  from  Lawrence 
through  Olathe  to  Picasant  Hill,  Mo.,  where  it  joins  the  Missouri 
Pacific,  being  operated  by  that  company. 


fT? 


I 


1. 


654 


Ti'TTLE's  HlSTOIiY  OF  KaKSAS. 


The  Lawrence  and  Southwestern  extends  from  the  city  of  Law- 
rence to  Carbondale,  along  the  valley  of  the  Wakajnsa  river, 
where  it  connects  with  the  Atchison,  Topcka  and  Santa  Fe  roiid. 

The  Midland  runs  from  Topeka  along  the  valley  of  the  Xansas 
through  Lawrence  to  the  Missouri  line.  The  Atchison,  Topeka 
and  Santa  Fe  company  operates  the  Midland  road. 

A  line  from  AVathena  to  Doniphan  connects  with  the  Atchison 
and  Xebraska,  and  is  operated  by  the  company  owning  the  road 
last  named. 

The  Manhattan  and  Northwestern  is  not  yet  completed,  but 
has  been  <ir;idcd  up  the  valley  of  the  Blue  to  Irving  from  Man- 
hattan. Several  miles  of  track  have  been  laid,  and  the  work  will 
progress.  The  P\)rt  Scott,  Memphis  and  Southeastern  runs  nine 
miles  from  the  points  named,  connecting  Fort  Scott  and  Memphis. 

The  state  is  traversed  east  and  west  by  six  lines  of  railroads, 
two  running  the  whole  length,  and  it  is  spanned  by  a  line  ncitli 
and  south  along  the  eastern  1  (M-der.  The  great  valleys  of  the 
Kansas,  Arkansas,  Neosho,  and  Blue,  have  also  their  lines  of  rail- 
road. Certainly  no  staN;  of  its  age  can  compare  with  Kansas  in 
this  respect,  and  the  lines  join  the  great  railroad  systems  of  the 
continent  by  direct  routes.  From  the  eastern  states  the  Chicago, 
Eock  Island  and  Pacific  comes  to  the  borders  of  the  state,  having 
termini  at  Atchison  and  Leavenworth ;  the  Hannibal  and  St 
Joseph  has  termini  at  Atchison  and  Kansas  City;  and  the  Bur- 
lington and  Missouri  River  road  has  its  western  terminus  at 
Atchison.  The  Missouri,  Kansas  and  Texas  connects  at  Hanni- 
bal, on  the  Mississippi,  with  the  Toledo,  Wabash  and  Western, 
and  the  Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quincy,  and  crossing  Missouri 
in  a  southwesterly  direction,  enters  Kansas  near  Fort  Scott.  The 
Missouri  Pacific  comes  direct  from  St.  Louis  to  Wyandotte,  and 
running  thence  through  Leavenworth  to  Atchison,  has  branches 
that  reach  Holden,  Mo,  and  Paoli,  Kan.,  as  well  as  from  Pleasant 
Hill,  Mo.,  to  Lawrence. 

Tlie  St.  Louis,  Kansas  City  and  Northern,  is  another  direct 
line  from  St.  Louis,  which  strikes  the  Kansas  system  of  roads  at 
Kansas  City,  Wyandotte  and  St.  Joseph.  The  Kansas  City,  St. 
Joseph  and  Council  Bluffs  line  traverses  the  Missouri  valley 
along  the  east  bank  of  the  river  from  Council  Bluffs  to  Kansas 


Rivers. 


555 


jity  of  Law- 
ajnsa  river, 
ita  Fe  roud. 
the  Xansas 
ion,  Topekn 

le  Atchison 
ig  the  road 

ipleted,  but 
from  Man- 
e  work  will 
n  runs  nine 
1  Memphis. 
if  railroads, 
I  line  ncith 
lleys  of  the 
ines  of  rail- 
Kansas  in 
terns  of  the 
le  Chicago, 
■ate,  having 
)al  and  St 
id  the  Bur- 
erminus  at 
s  at  Hanni- 
il  Western, 
Ig  Missouri 
scott.  The 
ndotte,  and 
xs  branches 
ra  Pleasant 

>ther  direct 
of  roads  at 
as  City,  St. 
Duri  valley 
1  to  Kansas 


City,  with  stations  at  the  principal  Kansas  cities  on  the  Missouri 
and  at  Council  Bluffs,  affording  direct  connection  with  the  Union 
racilic  as  well  as  with  the  lines  of  Iowa  cast  and  north.  By  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  there  is  communication  with  Brownsville, 
Cherokee  county,  and  of  course  with  St.  Louis. 

There  are  eight  great  competing  lines  running  to  the  east, 
northeast,   southeast,    north    and   south,  which  connect   Kansas 
with  the  railroad  system  leading  to  the  Atlantic.     Two  great 
lines  lead  to  the  markets  of  the  mining  countries  in  Colorado, 
New  Mexico  and  Arizona  and  afford  direct  transit  to  the  Pacific 
coast.     Texas  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  are  also  easily  within  reach. 
The  crisis  of  1873,  temporarily  stayed  the  progress  of  railroads  in 
Kansas,  but  there  are  signs  that  the  recommencement  is  at  hand, 
and  the  rapid  growth  of  the  state  in  population  and  productions 
must  have  increased  facilities  until  every  portion  of  the  state  can 
be  reached  readily,  and  can  send  the  raw  material  and  the  manu- 
factured article,   which  will  unite  to  become  their  staple,  into 
every  market  in  the  union.     Works  projected  and  in  progress 
promise  to  assist  in  meeting  those  demands,  and  it  is  satisfactory 
to  observe  that  forty- nine  counties  in  Kansas  are  at  present  pene- 
trated  or  traversed   by   railroads.      There   remain   twenty-four 
counties,  or  less  than  one-third  to  be  supplied.    The  total  mileage 
of  roads  now  operated  in  the  state  amounts  to  2,084^  miles. 

The  Rivers  of  Kansas.  —  The  Missouri  is  the  great  river  of 
Kansas,  as  it  forms  the  eastern  boundary  from  Wyandotte  to 
Nebraska.  It  is  almost  always  navigable  by  steamboats  of  the 
largest  class,  and  affords  a  channel  of  communication  which  can 
only  be  le^  ^ened  in  value  by  the  development  of  competing  lines 
of  railroads,  which  must  always  find  in  the  river  a  rival  that 
will  insist  on  lowering  the  rates  of  traffic  to  their  minimum. 
Over  this  broad  stream  bridges,  ft  once  elegant  and  enduring, 
constructed  of  iron,  for  railroad  and  for  wagon  traffic,  stretch 
from  Wathena,  Atchison,  Leavenworth  uud  Kansas  City.  The 
Kansas  river  has  been  navigable  to  Fort  Riley,  but  unless  very 
considerable  improvements  are  undertaken,  that  line  of  traffic 
will  never  prove  practicable.  In  the  year  1869  a  boat  of  light 
draft  made  several  trips  from  the  Missouri  to  Lawrence,  but  since 


tm 


SI 


h 


u 


556 


TuTTLh's  History  of  Kassas. 


tliat  diite  the  stream  has  been  spanned  by  several  bridges  at 
Wyandotte,  Lawrenee,  Topeka  and  Wainego.  The  riverd  Ar- 
kansas, Neosho,  Republican,  Solomon,  Verdigris,  Blue,  Cotton- 
wood, Spring,  Marais  de  Cygne,  Delaware  and  Nemaha,  are  all 
considerable  sieams,  affording  water  powers  more  or  less  available 
at  all  seasons  of  the  year.  There  are  dams  in  tlie  Kansas  at 
Lawrence;  in  the  Blue  at  Manhattan,  Blue  Hapids,  Watervillo 
and  Marysville  ;  in  the  Neosho  at  Burlington,  Neosho  Falls,  La 
Roy,  Humboldt,  Oswego  and  at  other  iwints;  and  in  the  Delaware 
at  Valley  Falls.  There  are  few  rivers  in  the  west  that  excel  the 
water  powers  of  the  Blue,  Neosho,  Solomon,  Republican,  Cotton- 
wood, Delaware  and  Marais  de  Cygne.  There  are  few  new  states 
in  which  the  rivers  and  creeks  are  so  generally  bridged,  and 
the  bridges  are  as  rule  of  good  workmanship  and  substantial, 
materials  frequently  consisting  of  iron  on  stone  abutments  and 
piers. 

Roads  and  Highways.  —  Few  countries  can  offer  to  the  trav- 
eler such  roads  as  the  state  of  Kansas.  The  philosophy  of  this 
fact,  and  the  fact  itself,  have  before  been  set  forth  in  this  work, 
but  may  here  be  once  more  summarily  adverted  to,  in  order  that 
this  department  may  be  complete  in  itself.  The  country  is  so 
formed  that  it  gives  perfect  drainage.  The  streams  have  cut  deep 
into  the  strata  of  the  surface,  so  that  the  bottom  lands  can  be, 
and  are,  easily  drained  by  side  ditches.  There  are  no  swamps, 
and  a  f' jugh  is  very  rare.  The  surface  of  the  higher  lands,  where 
linco  of  travel  mostly  lie,  offers  a  beautiful  surface  for  vehicles  or 
pedestrians,  and  but  little  expense  is  involved  in  the  maintenance 
of  good  roads.  The  great  highways  that  passed  through  Kansas 
before  it  became  a  territory,  and  soon  afterwards  leading  to  Cali- 
fornia, New  Mexico,  Utah  and  Colorado,  followed  the  "  divides,'' 
and  the  sagacity  of  the  early  adventurers  has  been  indorsed  by 
the  continuance  of  their  routes.  The  early  legislatures  made 
those  lines  of  travel  into  public  highways,  but  more  recent  cus- 
toms have  complicated  the  first  system  by  many  zigzags,  bending 
to  township  and  section  lines. 

Electric  Telegraphs  have  kept  pace  with  the  wants  of  the 
community,  being  run  along  the  railroad  lines,  and  operated  by 


[■'■■M^WwtWwriW 


IMMI 


MMi 


— *"V;r-^"  >.■«*• 


Aguicviture. 


667 


al  bridges  at 
he  rivord  Ar- 

Blue,  Cf)tton- 
imiiba,  are  all 

less  available 
ihe  Kansas  at 
Is,  Waterville 
)sbo  Falls,  La 
I  tbe  Delaware 
that  excel  the 
)lican,  Cotton- 
"ew  new  states 

bridged,  and 
d  substantia], 
butments  and 

er  to  the  trav- 
isophy  of  this 
in  this  work, 
in  order  that 
country  is  so 
have  cut  deep 
lands  can  be, 
3  no  swamps, 
!r  lands,  where 
"or  vehicles  or 
3  maintenance 
rough  Kansas 
iding  to  Cali- 
;he  "divides,'' 
I  indorsed  by 
Matures  made 
•e  recent  cus- 
zags,  bending 

wants  of  the 
\  operated  by 


tbe  Western  Union,  so  that  nearly  every  section  ot_  the  state  is 
penetrated,  and  hardly  a  village  can  be  named  that  is  not  withm 
easy  reach  of  some  telegraph  station,  connectmg  with  all  the 
world. 

AaiiTCT-T.TUUK  IX  KANSAS.-"  Bleeding  "  and  "starving"  Kan- 
sas  is  a  paradox  and  a  pu.zlc  to  the  rest  of  the  states  because,  in 
spite  of  its  misfortunes,  it  is  one  of  the  most  fertile  and  productive 
if  not  the  most  fertile  and  productive,  of  all  the  states  in  the  union. 
The  best  pri.es  have  been  carried  olf  from  all  tbe  other  states  re- 
peatedly, in  fair  competition,  as  well  in  quantity  as  in  quality,  by 
this  stale,  at  Richmond,  Philadelphia,  New  York  and  Newark ;  its 
fruits,  its  cereals,  and  its  root  crops,  being  alike  wondrous,  and  it 
is  known  that  all  those  results  have  been  attained  while  the  state 
is  yet  in  the  infancy  of  its  development.     The  growth  of  popula- 
tion in  Kansas,  and  the  high  average  of  intelligence  evidenced  by 
census  returns,  alike  give  promise  that  the  qualities  inherent  in 
the  soil  will  be  improved  to  tbe  highest  point  of  excellence  in  the 
future,  at  no  great  distance  ;  and  it  is  moderately  certain  that  in  the 
vast  a-n-egation  of  wonders  that  are  now  being  gathered  into  the 
^vorldrshow  at  Fairmount  Park,  the  state  of  Kansas  will  be  able 
to  contribute  from  its  products  in  1875,  such  evidences  of  agricul- 
tural wealth  as  will  procure  for  her  the  very  highest  place  among 
the  states  in  the  lines  of  production  in  which  she  wih  be  a  com- 

^'ThT wonder  and  the  paradox  arise  because  the  misfortunes  of 
Kansas  have  been  crowded  into  a  few  years  of  her  life.     Ihe 
civil  war  was  an  incident  forced  upon  Kansas  by  the  quarrel  of 
north  and  south  on  the  great  issue  afterward  brought  out  on  a 
broader  field.     The  poverty  of  Kansas  when  the  drouth  came 
upon  her  was  one  of  the  consequences  of  that  war.     The  drouth 
itself  was  intensified  by  the  neglect  of  ordinay  precautions,  which 
the  state  of  war  and  the  uncertainties  of  the  season  just  closing 
had  mainly  contributed  towards.     It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
with  more  cultivation,  more  trees,  more  works  for  irrigation,  the 
dryness  of  the  summer  would  have  been  tempered  to  far  different 
conditions,  and  there  would  have  been  no  agonized  appeal  to  the 
..hole  world  in  the  name  of  Kansas.     The  civil  war  was  the  basis 


n  'wa-.it  '.^  f  w.»*f''t«|glW 


558 


TcTTi.i:'s  HisTonr  ofKaxsas. 


of  tlie  wlinlc  scries  of  misfortunes,  and  for  that  circumstance  con- 
gross  was  responsible,  in  tlic  fact  that  it  did  not  possess  the 
stamina  to  settle  the  slavery  question  by  its  own  vote,  instead  of 
relegating  the  debate  to  the  soil  of  Kansas,  to  be  determined  by 
the  arguments  and  retorts  of  the  bowie  knife  and  the  rifle.  It  is 
not  {)roposcd  to  make  congress  answerable  for  the  colcoptera  that 
ravaged  our  fields  and  devoured  our  harvests,  but  it  is  fair  that 
the  combined  wisdom  of  the  nation  should  carry  its  own  burden, 
and  leave  Kansas  with  nothing  to  damage  her  repute  as  a  state 
except  the  grasshopper  invasion. 

Kansas  was  libeled  before  it  was  even  named  as  a  territory,  by 
the  fact  tliat  its  area  was  designated  as  a  part  of  the  Great  Amer- 
ican Desert,  and  continued  to  be  thus  described  by  absent  minded 
geographers  and  map  makers  long  after  the  testimony  of  Wash- 
ington Irving  and  other  eminent,  disinterested  men  should  have 
removed  the  stigma.  The  public  mind  has  thus  been  prepared 
to  receive  the  false  impressions  about  this  state  with  great  readi- 
ness. Elsewhere  a  drouth  or  a  grasshopper  raid  would  be  treated 
as  an  exceptional  incident ;  here  it  is  easy  to  procure  the  impres- 
sion that  it  may  be  the  rule.  There  have  been  times  of  drouth 
in  other  states  which  are  still  known  to  be  good  farming  coun- 
tries, affording  on  the  average  of  years  better  profits  to  the  farm- 
ers than  to  any  other  class,  but  merely  because  of  the  time  that 
has  elapsed  since  their  first  settlement,  there  is  an  answer  to  those 
who  would  torture  the  exception  into  the  rule.  Kansas  can  only 
answer  all  those  who  assail  her  repute  as  a  producer,  by  referring 
to  the  sentence  comparatively  common  in  official  reports,  "  Kansas 
again  leads  in  the  average  yield  per  acre."  Sahara  can  present 
no  such  record  within  historic  times. 

Men  have  settled  upon  lands  in  this  state  almost  without  as 
much  money  as  would  pay  for  their  first  year's  seed,  trusting  to 
fortunate  accidents  to  pull  them  through,  with  a  faith  equal  to 
that  of  Jficawher,  that  something  would  turn  up.  In  many  of 
the  older  states  men  would  not  venture  upon  wild  land  without  >• 
capital,  stock,  implements  and  a  reserve  fund  such  as  would  be 
available  against  a  wdiole  year  without  returns;  here  there  were 
men  who  settled  down  without  any  such  aids,  and  they  were 
overtaken  by  misfortune  at  their  first  venture.     Many  came  here 


mmmmmmmum 


AcniCULTVIiE. 


559 


umstance  con- 
)t  posses.s  tVic 
ote,  insteiifl  of 
letcrmincd  by 
he  rifle.  It  is 
olcoptera  that 
it  is  fair  that 
3  own  burden, 
ute  aa  a  state 

a  territory,  by 
5  Great  Amer- 
ibsent  minded 
any  of  Wash- 
1  should  have 
3een  prepared 
1  great  readi- 
uld  be  treated 
re  the  impres- 
T>es  of  drouth 
farming  coun- 
3  to  the  farm- 
the  time  that 
iswer  to  those 
.nsas  can  only 
r,  by  referring 
irts,  "  Kansas 
I  can  present 

)st  without  as 
d,  trusting  to 
aith  equal  to 
In  many  of 
land  without  •< 
as  would  be 
re  there  were 
id  they  were 
ny  came  here 


well  provided  with  goods  and  gear,  but  the  rufTian  hordes  ran  oil 
their  stock  into  Missouri,  their  houses  were  burned  over  their 
hea<ls,  so  that  they  were  glad  to  escape  with  their  lives,  even 
though  their  last  cent  had  gone  up  in  the  smoke.     There  was  ab- 
solute bravery  in  the  persistent  resolution  with  which  such  men 
stood  up  to  wrestle  with  nature  for  further  supplies,  which  were 
to  <nve  to  the  heroic  settler  provisions  for  the  future  as  well  as  build 
up°homes  and  buy  cattle.     Their  failure  is  not  fairly  chargeable 
upon  the  soil  of  Kansas.     The  fact  remains  unquestionable  that 
Kansas  has  produced  under  ordinary  circumstances,  and  can  pro- 
duce again  as  long  as  the  earth  gives  forth  her  increase,  better  re- 
turns per  acre  upon  fair  and  adequate  farming  than  any  other 
state  in  the  union.     That  is  a  broad  and  sweeping  assertion,  but 
it  is  safe  because  of  its  truth,  as  may  be  ascertained  by  any  man 
who  will  be  at  the  pains  to  examine  the  agricultural  returns   for 
the  last  ten  years  and  compare  the  fruitfulness  of  Kansas  with 
every  state  individually  and  all  in  a  mass. 

Add  Indiana  to  New  York  and  Kansas  can  beat  them  both  in 
area ;   add  Maine  to  Ohio  and  Kansas  is  larger  ;  the  same  may  be 
said  of  Maryland,  Delaware  and  New  England.     Kansas  is  more 
extensive  than  the  aggregate  of  those  states,  so  ihat  there  is  a 
wide  range  of  country  within  which  the  competent  agriculturist 
can  seek  his  best  location  for  farming.     Four  hundred  miles  m 
length  by  two  hundred  miles  in  breadth,  give  an  immense  terri- 
tory.    Only  68  per  cent,  of  this  state,  little  more  than  two-thirds, 
85,750,600' acres  but  of  a  total  of  52,043,520,  are  comprised  in  the 
organized  counties.     The  cultivated  land  in  1875  only  aggregated 
4.748,901  acres.     Little  more  than  an  eleventh  of  the  whole  area 
is  improved,  the  remaining  ten  elevenths  being  still  wild  prairie, 
slowly,  very  slowly  exchanging  its  accustomed  verdure  for  blue 
grass  and  clover,  or  timothy.     Kansas  with  a  population  of  only 
600,000,  has  ample  scope  and  verge  enough  for  7,0C0,00O.     That 
fact  is  full  of  significance  for  the  emigrant,  with  or  without  cap- 
ital, who  is  willing  to  put  his  labor  into  the  soil,  and  is  content  to 
grow  up  with  the  place,  as  Horace  Greeley  used  to  phrase  it  in 
his  homely  and  forcible  way.  •     j        v 

The  area  yet  unorganized  lies  within  what  is  described  as  the 
third  or  western  rainfall  belt.     The  eastern  and  middle  belts  have 


, 


tMmmiUm 


iM'-^i"ilWiil>iiii^'' 


y}- 


•Tr— "" 


860 


TiTTi.ifs  IlisTour  OF  Kaxsas. 


been  favorcil  so  fnr  by  tlio  great  preponderance  of  population. 
Since  meteorological  observations  have  been  made  in  this  state,  it 
has  been  ascertained  that  the  average  rainfall  of  the  eastern  belt 
is  87  inches,  that  of  the  middle  belt,  24  inches,  and  that  of  the 
western  belt,  10  inches  ;  but  taking  tlic  mean  by  seasons  for  the 
whole  state  it  appears  that  the  western  has  a  fraction  more  rainfall 
tlian  the  middle  belt  during  the  growing  seasons.  The  winter  is 
the  season  of  the  year  in  wliich  the  least  advantage  comes  from  an 
excessive  fall  of  rain,  and  it  is  precisely  during  the  winter  that 
the  western  belt  has  its  minimum  of  pluvial  visitation.  The 
average  fall  in  the  western  belt  during  winter  is  only  one  and  a 
half  inches,  or,  to  be  precise,  rather  less  than  that  amount  The 
middle  belt  has  then  four  inches,  and  the  eastern  belt  five  inches. 
For  stock  raising  purposes  dry  winters  are  desiderata,  and  no- 
where in  the  wopld  can  such  vast  ranges  of  nutritious  grass  bo 
found  for  the  winter  feed  of  cattle  as  here.  Buffalo  have  fattened 
here,  guided  by  their  unerring  in.stincts.  Surely  then  the  situa- 
tion must  be  well  adapted  for  an  industry  which  depends  on  the 
presence  of  grasses  and  the  skill  of  the  practical  herdsman. 
Those  who  have  made  their  ventures  in  this  line  in  the  western 
belt  are  not  among  the  men  who  complain  about  Kansas  ;  they 
are  increasing  their  capital  with  tolerable  rapidity,  and  as  that 
multiplies  they  are  steadily  doubling  and  trebling  their  invest- 
ments ;  so  that  there  is  tolerably  good  ground  for  the  conclusion 
that  the  area  known  as  the  western  or  third  rain  belt  will  prove 
tolerably  successful  in  the  long  run  for  a  deserving  class  of  men. 
When  Kansas  was  organized  as  a  territory,  in  1854,  its  best 
lands  were  Indian  reservations,  whereon  the  nations  from  New 
York  state,  the  Pottawatomies,  Delawares,  Ottoes,  Kaws,  Kicka- 
poos,  Missouris,  Sacs  and  Foxes,  Wyandottes,  Shawnees  and  oth- 
ers, were  assembled  in  the  eastern  section  ;  while  the  west  was 
occupied  in  a  semi-predatory  and  nomadic  life,  by  the  Comanches, 
Cheyennes,  Arapahoes,  Kiowas  and  other  wild  and  warlike  tribes. 
When  men  migrate  to  any  other  territory  to  build  a  state,  they 
mean,  primarily,  to  farm ;  that  was  not  the  case  with  the  men  that 
came  to  Kansas  in  1854-5-6,  to  anything  like  the  same  extent. 
They  came  primarily  to  settle  the  question  of  a  free  soil,  and  so 
strongly  were  they  imbued  with  that  sentiment,  that  when  the 


I,. 


f  population. 
1  this  state,  it 
3  eastern  belt 
1  that  of  the 
asoiis  for  the 
more  rainfall 
rhe  winter  is 
ornes  from  an 
e  winter  that 
tation.  The 
ly  one  and  a 
iiount  The 
t  five  inches, 
rata,  and  no- 
ous  grass  be 
lave  fattened 
len  the  situa- 
pends  on  the 
d  herdsman. 
1  the  western 
vansas ;  they 
and  as  that 
their  invest- 
le  conclusion 
ilt  will  prove 
jlass  of  men. 
.854,  its  best 
s  from  New 
Haws,  Kicka- 
lees  and  oth- 
the  west  was 
5  Comanches, 
arlike  tribes. 
a  state,  they 
the  men  that 
same  extent. 
i  soil,  and  so 
at  when  the 


;l 


€  ' 


I 

I' 


-  ■    ■  ■  I  '  ■-^'' 


vmn  I 


AaiiicvLTntK. 


661 


war  for  the  Union  cvciituatctl,  tlic  Htato  conlriltuU'd  to  the  Holii- 
tiori  of  thnt  proljicm  'iO,Olt7  sohliors,  or  nearly  oiieliflh  <»f  the 
total  sutu  of  tliu  whole  population  of  the  state  in  1801.  Kan&as 
gave  .'S,  i.'!3  men  more  than  her  quota,  under  cireunistance.s  which 
sli(nil(l  have  minimized  her  responno,  but  for  the  faet  tliat  tlie  pop- 
ulation comprised  men  warring  for  an  idea,  witli  more  than  the 
average  of  the  John  Brown  inspiration  in  tlieir  nerve  power. 
The  state  may  well  bo  proud  of  such  men  and  their  dced.^,  and 
the  nation  has  cause  to  be  thankful  ;  but  the  soil  was  not  likely 
to  get  more  than  the  average  of  fair  play  at  their  hands,  and  in 
the  actual  fact  they  were  not  agriculturists. 

Until  the  war  was  ended  Kansas  industries  as  a  whole  were 
fstagnaiit.  The  men  who  sowed  did  not  know  who  would  reap. 
The  men  who  built  a  workshop  did  not  feel  sure  but  that  the 
brand  of  the  incendiary  would  swallow  up  the  fruits  of  long  years 
of  labor  and  skill.  The  men  of  daring  were  in  the  tield  already, 
or  they  were  prepared  to  fight  guerrillas  at  a  moment's  notice. 
That  frame  of  mind  was  not  favorable  to  commercial  and  manu- 
facturing enterprise.  Until  the  war  came  to  an  end,  so  complete- 
ly were  the  people  absorbed  by  the  contemplation  of  the  great 
issue  that  agricultural  statistics  were  absolutely  neglected  here 
until  the  year  1865.  That  fact  tells  its  own  .story  as  significantly 
as  the  figures  themselves  could  possibly  have  done  had  they  been 
prepared  and  preserved.  The  department  of  agriculture  supplies 
some  data  touching  Kansas,  from  the  year  1862,  but  they  are  in- 
complete to  such  ah  extent  as  to  render  them  little  better  than 
random  guesses  at  important  facts.  There  appear  to  have  been 
405,468  acres  of  improved  or  partially  improved  land  in  the  state 
in  1860,  and  in  ten  years  from  that  time  only  1,971,003,  and  as  if 
to  indicate  how  many  conflicting  causes  had  been  at  work  in  that 
interval  of  ten  years,  more  especially  in  the  first  half,  the  increase 
within  the  next  five  years  brought  up  the  total  to  4,748,901. 
The  increase  in  the  first  ten  years  was  1,565,535  acres,  against 
4,343,433  acres,  in  fifteen  years. 

The  inclination  to  immigrate  was  minimized  during  the  war, 

and,  when  the  term  of  hostility  had  come  to  an  end,  there  was  a 

lack  of  means  as  well  as  of  inclination  among  the  persons  in 

every  grade  most  likely  to  emigrate  to  assume  new  risks.     We 

86 


UMiMiHia 


MMUk«««\U»>.W^ 


562 


Trrn.K's  llisronv  or  Kaxsas. 


Imtl  11  (io[)uIiitii)n  of  S,(|(»l  in  iS.Vt,  wliich  increased,  in  ppitc  of 
nil  tlniwliiicks,  to  107,'2(l(S  in  1S(I0.  but  tlic  next  five  \onvn  only 
niliU'il  iiliont  ;i;{,(Mj(i  to  our  wniltli  of  liuman  lifo.  In  1870,  tliero 
wore  Jii;4,;i!»i) ;  in  187(5,  over  528,4^7,  nnd  wc  Imvo  now  over 
(500,000  nt  the  most  inodonitc  o.stinwite.  Tim  figun.-rt  just  quoted 
arc  clofiucnt  nnd  descriptive  to  an  extent  seldom  pos.siblo  within 
the  rani^c  of  arithmetic.  Kansas  drew  from  the  northern  states 
to  the  extent  of  very  nearly  100,000  within  live  years  prior  to 
1860,  for  no  reason,  more  surely,  than  because  tlio  people  were 
committed  to  a  struggle  on  belialf  of  human  rights.  They  came 
not  to  bargain  for  town  lots  so  mueli  as  to  remove  a  stain  with 
which  a  certain  i)arty  was  proceeding  to  lower  the  moral  status 
of  the  territory.  They  came  not  to  ft  farm,  nor  to  a  laboratory, 
but  to  a  battlefield,  nnd  they  prosecuted  their  design  with  the 
chivalry  of  Crusaders,  with  this  dilTerence,  of  course,  that  the 
territory,  m  a  commercial  and  agricultural  sense,  was  well  worthy 
of  the  struggle,  as  the  city  of  .leru.salctn  was  not  supposed  to  be ; 
but  that  fact  hardly  entered  into  their  calculation  at  the  time. 

When  the  war  had  concluded,  the  people,  who  had  on  a  large 
Bcale  fought  the  battle  of  this  state,  as  Kansas  on  a  more  re- 
stricted field  had  been  engaged  in  battling  for  the  I'nion  five 
years  before  Sumter  was  threatened,  turned  their  attention  to  the 
land  which  had  been  seen  from  afar,  and  had  won,  meantime,  a 
repute  Un-  value  scarcely  second  to  Ilymcttus,  whose  bees,  per- 
liaps,  do  not  really  make  honey  sweeter  than  that  of  their  neigh- 
bors. The  era  of  hostilities  did  not  favor  migration.  Immi- 
grants from  over  sea  enlisted  to  fight,  or  they  found  employment 
in  the  great  cities  of  the  free  states  beyond  the  arena  of  war. 
The  peacefully  disposed  would  as  soon  have  thought  of  taking 
their  children  to  settle  in  the  sulphurous  glades  of  Inferno  as  of 
bringing  them  here  to  colonize  Kansas  while  the  state  was  send- 
ing its  manhood  to  remote  battle-fields,  and  at  home  was  being 
desolated  by  the  followers  of  Quantrell.  We  only  increased  a 
fraction  over  six  per  cent,  per  annum  for  five  years  after  the  war 
began  ;  but  then  came  a  time  of  preparation  to  move  towards  the 
west  Around  camp  fires,  and  on  the  march,  soldiers  had  told 
their  comrades  about  the  soil,  the  mineral  resources,  the  sites  for 
cities,  the  rivers  and  water  power.s,  and  the  exhilarating  atmo- 


1 1.— 


iiiili 


AaFrrvLTCRB. 


663 


,  in  ppitc  of 

0  voarH  only 
II  1870,  tliero 
ro  now  over 
«  just  quoted 
issiblo  williiii 
rthoiii  states 
iiwA  prior  to 

pe()j)lo  were 
Tlicy  ciituo 

ft  stiiiii  with 
nionil  status 
ft  laboratory, 
lign  witli  the 
irse,  that  the 
s  well  worthy 
)  posed  to  be ; 

the  time, 
id  on  a  large 

1  a  more  re- 
Q  Union  five 
fcntion  to  the 
,  meantime,  a 
■»sc  bees,  per- 
t  their  neigh- 
ition.     Immi- 

employment 
irena  of  war. 
;ht  of  taking 
[nferno  as  of 
ite  was  send- 
ne  was  being 
y  increased  a 
after  the  war 
e  towards  the 
iers  had  told 
,  the  sites  for 
xrating  atmo- 


pphero  of  Kiinsas,  about  nil  which  thoy  eouM  bo  eloquent; 
statesmen  looked  "  this  diieetion,  and  the  press  soutnled  our 
praiscrt  — an  exodus  on  a  irrcat  scale  was  inovitablo. 

TIkto  was  a  pause  ui\td  men  could  realize  advantageously 
upon  their  ohl  investments  in  the  north,  a  little  time  within 
which  to  enjoy  tlio  sc<;ic-ty  of  friends  fi'OMi  whom  they  had  been 
long  parted,  and  tlieu  Kansas,  no  longer  blockadetl  on  the  river 
at  Lexington  or  elsewhere,  no  longer  recpiiring  an  array  such  as 
that  known  as  "Lane's  army,"  became  the  eynosure  of  all  eyes. 
From  that  time,  until  1878,  investments  for  capital  were  in  dc- 
niaiiil,  greenbacks  Were  plentiful  altliougii  gold  was  at  a  premium, 
and  properties  readily  found  purchasers.  Kansas  began  to  re- 
ceive a  population  intent  on  imlustries,  bringing  with  them  capi* 
tal  available  for  iuvestments,  or  even  for  speculation.  The  re[)Uto 
of  Kansas  grew  with  every  day,  but  the  collapse  of  1873  rudely 
stayeil  the  stream  of  immigration  just  as  it  was  broadening  and 
deepening  at  every  source.  Men  that  would  have  sold  their  pos- 
sessions in  more  northern  states  to  move  this  way,  had  no  longer 
a  market  available,  unless  they  would  give  away  their  property; 
still  there  has  been  a  large  increase  within  the  past  five  years  — 
from  8(U,3<.)9  in  1870,  to  528,437  in  1875  — rather  more  than  130 
per  cent.,  but  a  large  margin  below  that  of  the  preceding  five 
years  — from  140,179  to  804,399,  or  almost  190  per  cent. 

Several  circumstances  have  helped  toward  this  result.  The 
corn  crop  Huctuated  in  1872,  and  afterwards,  then  the  crisis  in 
1873,  and  immediately  following  the  perturbations  of  Wall  street, 
the  visitation  of  locusts  in  1874.  The  corn  crop  receded  29,000,000 
bushels  in  1873,  a  fall  of  87  per  cent,  on  the  crop  of  the  former 
year.  This  incident  affected  Kansas  materially,  although  the 
failure  applied  not  to  this  state  in  particular.  Other  products 
suflfered  in  degree  from  the  same  causes,  and  the  means  of  the 
people  were  narrowed  before  the  crisis  applied  its  terrible  squeeze 
to  the  sponge.  All  those  circumstances  slackened  the  stream  to 
Kansas,  and  of  course  the  locust  temporarily  turned  the  tide  in 
other  directions;  but  there  are  signs  of  the  times,  such  as  cannot 
be  misunderstood,  pointing  to  a  compensating  growth  again  within 
the  next  decade.  Even  now  we  can  see  by  looking  back  that 
there  has  been  no  positive  cessation  of  effort  through  all  the  timea 


vtif*vJM^it^»^»eimiSi^''' 


664 


Tuttle's  His  tor  r  of  Kaxsas. 


J 


of  disaster,  judging  from  tlie  area  of  land  brought  under  cultiva- 
tion, as  the  figures  amply  prove.  In  giving  the  few  statistics 
necessary,  no  harm  can  accrue  from  stating  in  round  nuiibers, 
dropping  in  every  case  the  hundreds,  making  them  rate  as  a 
thousand  if  they  come  above  five  hundred,  and  dropping  them 
altogether  for  the  sake  of  brevity  of  statement,  when  they  fall  be- 
low that  mean. 

During  the  war  it  seems  probable  that  the  actual  area  was  below 
that  cultivated  in  1860,  at  all  times,  and  in  1864  there  was  only 
244,000  acres  under  improvement.  The  next  year  gave  an  in- 
crease of  30,000  acres ;  in  1867  there  was  an  area  of  562,000,  or 
more  than  doubled  in  two  years,  a  rate  of  increase  which  was  ex- 
ceeded in  1868,  when  the  area  rose  to  1,360,000  acres.  The  year 
1872  brought  up  the  aggregate  to  2,531,000,  and,  the  corn  crop  to 
the  contrary  notwithstanding,  there  was  mi  advance  to  3,038,000 
in  1873,  which  in  spite  of  the  crisis  grew  to  3,670,000  in  1874, 
nor  could  the  grasshopper  cause  it  to  recede  in  1875 ;  our  last 
record  as  the  acreage  then  tilled  was  4,750,000.  The  figures  here 
given  are  authentic  except  as  to  hundreds,  as  before  mentioned. 

Authorities  are  now  recommending  that  Kansas  should  in  the 
future  give  more  attention  to  wheat  and  less  to  corn,  because  the 
easier  and  larger  crop  is  subject  to  such  distressing  fluctuations. 
No  wise  farmer  will  carry  all  his  eggs  in  one  basket,  and  no  harm 
can  come  from  increasing  the  number  of  productions,  more  espe- 
cially when  the  average  of  profit  can  be  increased  thereby.  In 
1870,  corn  gave  only  17,000,000  ;  in  1872,  it  grew  to  47,000,000, 
and  in  1874,  it  had  fallen  to  16,000,000,  while  wheat  was  increas- 
ing steadily  all  the  time  from  2,391,000,  in  1870,  to  13,209,000 
bushels  in  1875.  Certainly  it  should  be  recorded  that  in  1875, 
corn  reached  the  enormous  aggregate  of  80,799,000,  but  that  only 
serves  to  illustrate,  in  a  manner  more  marked,  the  fluctuation  in- 
cidental to  that  crop,  which  has  no  corresponding  uncertainty  in 
wheat  by  way  of  set  off.  The  practice  in  Kansas  is  gradually 
changing  toward  the  cultivation  of  wheat,  and  will  become  more 
decided. 

The  increase  of  wheat  cultivation  has  become  an  ascertained 
and  indubitable  fact,  and  it  is  well  for  Kansas  that  it  should  be 
so.     Climate,  soil,  and  market  alike  indicate  wheat  as  the  best 


^ 


ifffW— 


Stock. 


565 


under  cultiva- 
e  few  statistics 
•ound  nuTibers, 
them  rate  as  a 
dropping  them 
en  they  fall  be- 

area  was  below 
there  was  only 
fear  gave  an  in- 
i  of  562,000,  or 
!  which  was  ex- 
3res.  The  year 
the  corn  crop  to 
ice  to  3,038,000 
170,000  in  1874, 

I  1875  ;  our  last 
rhe  figures  here 
ifore  mentioned. 
IS  should  in  the 
)rn,  because  the 
ng  fluctuations. 
;et,  and  no  harm 
ions,  more  espe- 
id  thereby.  In 
V  to  47,000,000, 
leat  was  increas- 
},  to  13,209,000 
3d  that  in  1875, 
0,  but  that  only 
e  fluctuation  in- 
;  uncertainty  in 
ias  is  gradually 

II  become  more 

B  an  ascertained 
bat  it  should  be 


beat  as  the  best 


product.     The  rainfall  of  Kansas  is  especially  adapted  to  wheat, 
and  far  less  dangerous  in  its  fluctuations  to  that  crop  than  to  corn. 
It  falls  when  it  is  wanted  for  the  one,  and  it  is  apt  to  cease  when 
the  lack  is  fatal  to  corn.     The  state  is  specially  favorable  to  win- 
ter wheat,  and  the  farmer,  finding  that  crop  a  good  paying  invest- 
ment, is  steadily  increasing  his  area.     Figures  could  be  quoted  to 
prove  this  statement,  incontestably,  but  the  reader  sliall  not  be 
deluged  with  arithmetic.     Practical  farmers  have  advanced  from 
2,391,008  bushels  in  1870,  to  13,209,403  in  1875,  the  increase 
being  steady  all  the  time,  and  apparently  beyond  uncertainties, 
to  an  extent  that  must  make  the  crop  more  and  more  a  favorite 
among  producers,  and  winter  wheat  is  preferred  over  the  spring 
growth  by  a  wide  margin.     Kansas  will  make  its  very  best  show- 
ing in  that  direction. 

Stock  in  Kansas.  —  Stock  must  be  an  object  in  every  farm- 
ing country,  but  in  Kansas  that  branch  of  industry  has  peculiar 
claims  upon  attention.     Dry  winters  will  become  better  under- 
stood as  experience  widens  to  indicate  that  Kansas,  more  espe- 
cially in  the  western  belt,  is  adapted  for  stock  raising.     The  mini- 
mum of  shelter  is  required,  the  maximum  of  food  is  provided  by 
nature,  a..d  the  wide  range  of  country  available  gives  to  the  pru 
dent  operator  every  possible  advantage.     There  is  a  steady  m- 
crease  in  the  capital  invested,  the  grade  of  cattle  is  being  im- 
proved still  more  rapidly  than  even  the  advance  in  numbers.     In 
the  year  1860  there  were  only  93,000  cattle  and  138,000  swine, 
which  had  change. .  by  the  end  of  the  war  in  1865,  to  202,000 
and  95,000  respect!  .-ely.     There  are  now,  or  rather  there  were  m 
1875,  703,000  of  the  one  and  293,000  of  the  oiher.     Sheep  also 
are  securing  attention,  as  in  1860  there  were  only  17,569,  and  in 
1875  they  had  increased  to  106,224.     Since  that  return  was  col- 
lected large  investments  have  been  made  in  sheep,  and  there  is 
good  reas°on  to  believe  that  mutton  and  wool  will  become  in 
everv  year  more  important  items  in  our  aggregate  of  wealth ;  pro- 
vided always,  that  some  means  can  be  devised  to  stay  the  rav- 
ages of  worthless  curs,  that  are  more  destructive  and  worrying  to 
sheep  in  Kansas,  than  the  dingo  or  wild  dog  on  the  sheep  runs 
of  Australia. 


Wff'Jf'^y^^^tfT^t^f*'^*  *»»]^.  ■jrf*t<ff'q 


iMv^  :^iiii4|wi 


066 


Tittle's  Histovy  of  Kaxsas. 


In  tlie  west  sliccp  are  licrdi-'d  in  large  flock.?,  with  an  almost 
unlimited  range  of  country,  and  the  sparse  settlements  scattered 
at  wide  intervals  do  not  supply  a  sulRcient  number  of  d()g.<  to 
affect  this  arm  of  enterprise  ;  but  where  farmers  give  part  of  their 
attention  only  to  small  flocks,  the  dei)redations  of  dogs  are  sim- 
ply ruinous  to  the  effort.  About  75,000  dogs  are  reported  by 
the  assessors,  and  they  are  said  to  have  destroyed  no  less  than 
5,200  sheep,  at  an  aggregate  value  of  over  $12,000.  It  will  soon 
become  necessary  to  determine  which  is  of  the  most  value,  the 
dog  or  the  sheep,  and  the  most  valuable  should  be  preferred  by 
actual  legislation.  A  dog  that  kills  sheep  is  worth  one  bullet,  or 
a  small  dose  of  strychnine,  and  the  case  should  be  attended  to 
without  an  hour's  dela}-.  Wool  and  mutton  are  invaluable,  as 
any  one  may  discover  wiio  will  consider  the  growth  of  the  sheep 
runs  in  Australia;  year  after  year ;  and  the  western  belt  of  Kansas 
could  produce  as  fine  wool  and  as  good  mutton  with  the  same 
average  of  attention,  besides  being  nearer  to  the  best  wool  mar- 
kets of  the  world.  The  middle  and  western  belts  are  rapidly 
developing  this  industry.  Eussell  and  Osborne  counties  have 
added  27,000  to  their  flocks  since  the  return  was  obtained,  and 
increases  have  been  largely  progressing  in  other  counties  by  im- 
portations fiom  Colorado  and  Isew  Mexico.  The  best  Merino 
stock  is  being  cultivated,  and  Cotswolds  are  also  in  favor  wher- 
ever the  dog  nuisance  can  be  abated.  The  climate  is  found  pref- 
erable to  that  of  Michigan,  Illinois,  Iowa  and  New  York  for 
sheep  raising,  and  the  diseases  of  sheep  in  Kansas  are  almost 
nominal.  A  cross  of  Merinos  with  the  Southdown  is  said  to  be 
the  best  for  all  purposes,  except  in  fenced  pastures,  when  Cots- 
wolds are  preferred. 

This  branch  of  industry  requires  peculiar  training  and  experi- 
ence to  win  success,  and  in  that  respect  it  does  not  differ  from 
other  pursuits.  The  successful  practitioner  in  any  line  is  he  that 
has  added  first  class  experience  to  good  capacity.  The  sheep  far- 
mer wants  nothing  more.  The  climate  banishes  foot  rot  and 
catarrh,  which  are  the  scourges  of  the  Australian  squatter,  and 
other  diseases  common  among  sheep  are  here  unknown.  It  is 
even  claimed  that  sheep  already  affected  by  disease  before  com- 
ing into  Kansas  find  the  climate  specific,  but  there  is  no  such 


■     iii|inmjj«»q»>'n>»ix 


Stock. 


66T 


th  an  almost 
nts  scattered 

r   of   (l()g;<  to 

part  of  their 
ogs  are  sim- 

re  ported  by 
no  less  tlian 

It  will  soon 
it  value,  the 
preferred  by 
)ne  bullet,  or 
!  attended  to 
iivaluable,  as 

of  the  sh  eep 
3lt  of  Kansas 
th  the  same 
st  wool  mar- 
!  are  rapidly 
aunties  have 
>btained,  and 
anties  by  im- 

best  Merino 

favor  wher- 
i  found  pref- 
w  York  for 
1  are  almost 
is  said  to  be 
,  when  Cots- 

;  and  experi- 
t  differ  from 
ne  is  he  that 
he  sheep  far- 
Eoot  rot  and 
quatter,  and 
lovvn.  It  is 
before  com- 
e  is  no  such 


mass  of  evidence  as  to  establish  the  statement ;  still  there  arc  so 
many  a.ivantages  within  the  reach  of  the  sheep  raiser,  as  must 
make  the  pursuit  increasingly  popular  every  year. 

Shepherds  must  be  employed  in  Kansas  to  look  after  the  largo 
herds,  and  the  sheep  must  have  a  wide  range  because  of  the  dogs, 
wolves  and  cayotes  on  the  one  hand,  and  further,  because  ni  the 
absence  of  tame  grasses  the  native  pasture  would  be  destroyed  i 
eaten  too  close,  as  sheep  will  eat  when  kept  withm  a  Inu.ted 
ran^^e.     Good  sheds  during  the  winter  .nonths  and  a  summer  cor- 
ral°where  the  flock  can  be  protected  at  night,  with   moderate 
attention  in  the  matter  of  food,  and  a  flock  is  a  fortune.     Mocks 
will  average  as  much  as  seven  pounds  per  fleece  unwasiicd.     The 
mild  climate,  short  winter,  dry  rolling  prairie,  abundant  streams 
and  ample  feed  are  justly  praised,  and  when  tame  grasses  can  be 
added  the  results  will  be  .till  better.     One  flock  of  full  blooded 
Merinos  is  reported  as  giving  nearly  ten  pounds  per  fleece  of  un- 
washed wool!     Clearly,  the  purer  the  blood  and  the  Ingher  the 
grade,  the  better  the  product. 

One  man,  writing  on  the  wool  question,  says :     M\  e  can  raise 
as  much  wool  on  land  worth  from  $5  to  $10  per  acre  as  can  be 
raised  in  New  York  on  land  worth  $100,  and  we  can  send  our 
wool  to  that  market  for  three  cents  per  pound.'      It  is  said  that  a 
farmer  can  raise  one  sheep  for  every  acre  farmed  without  inter, 
ting  with  his  farming  operations.     In  Ellis  --ty,  sheep  we  e 
only  corraled  about  four  days  during  the  winter  of  187-1,  and 
e^ en  when  the  wenther  was  at  its  coldest,  found  feed  in  the  ravines 
and  broken  ground ;  but  it  is  laid  down  as  an  axiom  that  what  i 
expended  on  food  is  more  than  repaid  in  wool      More  might  be 
safd  on  this  subject,  but  enough  has  been  placed  before  the  reader 
to  indicate  the  immense  value  of  Kansas  as  a  field  for  the  opera- 

tions  of  sheep  raisers.  ,  •     b„o 

Horses  have  increased  by  nearly  90,000  -  -f  ^  "i.^^^ 
years,  from  1870,  as  the  last  returns  show  a  total  of  207,376  ui 
March,  1875  ;  but  ju.t  at  that  time  horseflesh  was  in  Poor  dmand 
and  the  rates  of  value  were  consequently  very  low ;  hence,  the 
stimated  worth  was  only  increased  $1,240,353.  ^^^^^^^ 
have  given  very  great  attention  to  improvecl  grades  of  late  years^ 
The  Indian  and  Mexican  pony  stock  is  disappearing,  and  that 


tfirti  ■imiiiir <ufiimm 


I -;n,  11.11  mtwrttmrnmr^. 


AH. 


TuTTLtfs  History  of  Kashas. 

fact  will  not  fail,  in  the  long  run,  to  make  this  market  one  of  the 
main  resorts  of  purchasers  who  require  first-class  animals,  and 
will  not  have  weeds  at  any  price.  There  will  be  still  greater  im- 
provements, in  all  respects,  now  that  breeders  have  given  the 
matter  substantial  attention. 

In  the  year  1870,  the  total  number  of  asses  and  mules  in  Kan- 
sas, as  returned  to  the  state  board  of  agriculture,  only  amounted 
to  11,786,  and  in  1875  that  aggregate  had  improved  to  24,964,  or 
1,392  more  than  cent,  per  cent,  of  increase.  The  improvement  of 
value  in  five  years  was  just  $608,474. 

f^  The  increase  of  milch  cows  was  very  large  within  the  same 
term,  as  in  1875  there  were  225,028 ;  there  were  in  1870,  only 
123,443,  so  that  101.585  had  been  added.  Butter  and  cheese  have 
been  very  noticeably  increasing  on  the  whole,  although  some 
counties  show  a  decrease  in  each  article,  the  results  on  the  whole 
state  being  an  increase  in  cheese  of  1,014,003  pounds,  and  in  but- 
ter of  over  3,805,000  pounds.  The  nutritious  native  grasses,  the 
brevity  of  the  winter,  the  genial  mildness  of  the  climate,  and  the 
bufialo  grasses  on  the  plains,  which  are  generally  available  all 
through  the  winter,  afford  such  advantages  as  few  states  can  rival 
for  the  prosecution  of  dairy  farming;  and  this  industry  is  clearly 
yet  in  the  infancy  of  its  developement.  The  native  grasses  per- 
mit of  being  cured  with  little  labor,  and  the  nutritive  qualities, 
although  lessened  by  the  process,  are  still  considerable.  The  in- 
crease of  cattle  other  than  milch  cows  has  been  very  large  during 
the  five  years  indicated,  almost  amounting  to  cent,  "^er  cent  The 
returns  obtained  by  the  state  board  of  agriculture  show  that  up 
to  March,  1875,  there  had  been  an  improvement  in  point  of  num- 
bers to  the  extent  of  227,768  head,  a  result  that  will  be  its  owa 
comment 


CHAPTER    XXY.  ^     ■ 

THE   PLAGUE    OF   LOCUSTS. 

The  term  grasshopper  is  frequently  misapplied,  to  cover  a 
family  much  larger  than  that  to  which  it  really  belongs,  as,  for 


warn 


et  one  of  the 

animals,  and 

11  greater  im- 

ve  eriveu  the 


(lules  in  Kan- 
nly  amounted 
.  to  24,964,  or 
provement  of 

hin  the  same 
in  1870,  only 
d  cheese  have 
Ithough  some 
on  the  whole 
Is,  and  in  but- 
e  grasses,  the 
mate,  and  the 
■  available  all 
tates  can  rival 
stry  is  clearly 
e  grasses  per- 
tive  qualities, 
ible.  The  in- 
i  large  during 
ler  cent  The 
show  that  up 
point  of  num- 
ill  be  its  own 


3,  to  cover  a 
elougs,  as,  for 


The  Plague  of  Locusts. 


569 


instance,  it  is  often  used  to  indicate  the  Kocky  Mountain  locust 
{calopteuus  q>reUis),  a  true  locust,  of  the  same  family  with  that 
which  is  named  in  scripture  among  the  plagues  of  Egypt  and  else- 
where; we  may,  therefore,  be  excused,  it,  without  venturing 
further  into  the  realm  of  technical  phraseology,  we  give  some  few 
particulars  about  locusts  in  general,  and  the  llocky  Mountain 
locust  in  particular.  They  are  known  all  over  the  globe,  and  are 
only  welcomed  in  some  few  places,  where  people  of  cultivated 
palates  use  them  for  food.  Pulling  off  their  vrings,  the  bodies 
are  said  to  be  very  pleasant  articles  of  diet  when  fried  in  butter 
or  in  oil,  or  pickled  for  the  table.  Wc  do  not  pretend  to  envy 
the  locust  eaters  their  peculiar  and  costly  delicacy.  The  noise 
produced  by  the  locust  is  not  vof',al  but  mechanical  merely,  as  the 
elytra,  or  wing  covers,  come  in  contact,  and  the  rubbing  of  the 
one  against  the  other  produces  the  harsh  sound  referred  to. 

The  mi<^ratory   locust  is  very  destructive,  and  it  moves  in 
swarms      The  vegetation  immediately  surrounding  its  place  of 
birth  being  consumed,  it  takes  flight  to  adjoining  districts,  and 
continues  its  raid  until  every  green  thing  has  disappeared.     Some- 
times the  mass  is  so  great  as  to  shut  out  the  sun  at  noon  day, 
and  the  spots  upon  which  the  visitors  alight  are  at  once  converted 
into  a  desert.     In  some  parts  of  Central  Europe,  in  Egypt,  in 
Syria  generally,  and  nearly  all  over  the  south  of  Asia,  the  locust 
comes   periodically,  spreading  dismay  at  every  visitation,  and 
leavincr  little  besides  starvation  for  the  people.     In  the  southern 
portions  of  Europe  rewards  are  offered  for  collecting  the  eggs 
and  the  perfect  insects,  and  by  such  means  the  frequently  recur- 
ring placrue  has  been  effectually  fought  and  reduced.     The  same 
method  lias  been  pursued  with  good  results  in  China  and  in 
Turkey.     There  is  a  record  that  in  one  season,  in  the  year  1613, 
a  sum  equal  to  $4,000  was  paid  in  this  way,  and  considering  the 
difference  in  money  values  then  and  now,  that  is  about  equiva- 
lent to  an  outlay  of  $20,000  in  our  own  time.     Southern  Africa 
is  sometimes  visited  by  terrible  swarms  of  locusts  of  very  gorge- 
ous colors.  .  ,  A    t    u 

The  scriptures  abound  in  descriptions  of  the  locust,  and  of  the 
manner  and  completeness  of  the  destruction  which  procured 
for  them  the  repute  of  special  ministers  of  the  vengeance  of  an 


wiTrii'ii 


570  Trrruc's  History  OF  K.iysAs. 

offendea  Deity.     Tliey  covered  the  whole  hirul  in  Egypt  so  that 
the  carlli  \va.s"'darkenecl,  and  tliey  devoured  every  green  herb  of 
the  earth  and  tlie  fruit  of  every  tree  that  the  hail  had  left.     Ka-.- 
sas  is  not  the  only  state  in  the  union  that  has  suffered  from  visita- 
tions of  the  locust,  as  we  find  that  in  the  years  1818-19  vast 
hordes  of  those  insects  called  grasshoppers,  but  really  locusts, 
appeared  in  Minnesota,  covering  the  ground,  as  Kiell  mentions  in 
his  historv  of  that  state,  three  and  four  inches  thick,  and  destroy- 
ing cvcrytliing  in  their  track.     Canada  has  sometimes  been  vis- 
itLHl,  and  the  lied  river  country  in  Manitoba  has  suffered  terribly. 
About  the  year  1820  or  '21  the  western  counties  of  Missouri  were 
desolate<l  by  their  presence,  as  they  devoured  every  green  thing, 
but  they  came  late  in  the  season,  the  country  was  then  but 
sparsely  settled,  and  only  a  few  old  residents  besides  the  Indians 
can  give  any  account  of  their  ravages.    The  locusts  filled  the  earth 
with  their  eggs,  which  were  hatched  in  the  following  spring,  but 
the  insects  took  flight  as  soon  as  their  wings  were  developed,  and 
comparatively  little  harm  was  done  in  the  second  year.     Those 
portions  of   Missouri  in  which  cotton,  flax,   hemp,  wheat  and 
tobacco  were  planted,  are  said  by  another  authority  to  have 
suflered  much  in  the  second  year,  but  corn  was  not  injured. 

Kansas  was  included  in  that  raid,  beyond  question,  ns  its  posi- 
tion between  Missouri  and  the  Kocky  mountains,  the  habitat  of 
the  locust  would  necessitate  a  passing  call,  and  the  late  arrival  in 
Missouri  argues  a  prolonged  stay  here  en  route.     They  were  again 
in  Kansas  just  after  settlement  began,  in  the  autumn  of  1854, 
when  the  few  residents  near  Lawrence  were  much  occupied  by 
the  encroachments  of  other  plagues,  and  there  were  but  few  crops 
to  be  destroyed,  except  at  the  missions  and  on  the  Indian  reserva- 
tions ;  so  that  few  particulars  can  be  ascertained.     A  resident  in 
the  Delaware  Mission  says  that  there  was  no  visitation  from  the 
time  of  his  arrival,  in  1837,  until  thirty  years  later,  nine  years 
ago ;  but  a  resident  at  the  Osage  Mission,  whose  experience  com- 
menced in  1847,  remembers  the  locusts  desolating  the  country  in 
1854,  after  a  very  dry  summer.     The  grasshoppers,  he  says,  came 
like  a  fall  of  snow,  covering  everything,  destroyir.,,  -"rdons,  even 
eating  the  bark  oflf  peach  trees.     They  went  away  in  Octcber, 
after  filling  the  earth  with  eggs.     The  winter  was  particularly 


7"iiE  Plague  of  Locusts. 


871 


;pt  so  that 
n\  herb  of 
ah.     Kiv.- 
rom  visita- 
S-iy  vast 
ly   h)custs, 
lentions  in 
id  (lestroy- 
3  been  vis- 
;d  terribly. 
5Souri  were 
reeii  thing, 
5  then  but 
he  Indians 
!<!  the  earth 
spring,  but 
sloped,  and 
;ar.     Those 
wheat  and 
ty  to  have 
jurcd. 

as  its  posi- 
3  habitat  of 
te  arrival  in 

were  again 
m  of  185-i, 
occupied  by 
jt  few  crops 
lian  reserva- 
L  resident  in 
on  from  the 
,  nine  years 
erience  com- 
3  country  in 
e  says,  came 
-^rdens,  even 

in  Octc'ber, 

particularly 


severe,  bat  that  did  not  destroy  the  eggs  buned  m  he  sod  and 
on  hard  roads,  so  that  when  spring  came  tliey  were  hatched,  and 
much  destruction  followed.  Oats,  corn  and  the  grass  on  the  praines 
were  destroyed.  Corn  was  thrice  planted,  but  destroyed  as  often 
and  the  horses  had  to  be  sent  ^o  Missouri.  Uad  the  v.s.tat.on 
been  general,  there  would  have  been  some  record  of  so  much 
suffering  among  the  settlers,  and  at  the  other  missions.  Natur- 
ally, those  who  were  visited  in  1854-5  would  come  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  whole  country  was  desolated  in  the  same  way  as  the 

Osage  Mission.  „      , 

There  was  another  passing  call  in  the  autumn  of  18b6,  when 
the  locusts  are  said  to  have  descended  like  a  rain  on  the  gardens 
and  in  a  few  days  all  vegetation  was  destroyed      i^- j-s  m 
September,  and  the  fields  and  gardens  were  alike  destroyed.    Ihe 
crops  had  been  saved  before  they  came  that  year  but  their  egg 
were  hatched  in  the  spring  of  1867  very  early,  and  U.ere  seemed 
a  prospect  of  a  terrible  visitation,  when  a  freshet  washed  away  the 
microscopic  plague  from  the  Osage  mission,  and  the  crops  were 
saved.     Some  distance  from  the  mission,  where  the  local  freshet 
did  not  avert  disaster,  there  is  said  to  have  been  much  suffermg 
from  the  locusts  in  1867 ;  but  the  statistics  of  the  time  only  re- 
cord that  there  were  562,120  acres  of  land  under  cultivation  m 
that  vear  in  the  state,  and  that  the  produce  in  wheat  and  corn 
e    e  S^ely  amounted  to  1,537.000  bushels  of  the  forn^r   and 
6,487,000  of  the  latter.     The  corn  crop  -rtainly  was  not  a    air 
averaee    and  perhaps  the   locust  is   answerable  for  that  fact 
CI     ly  the  prosper  w'y  to  derd  with  the  locust  plague  xs  to  offer 
a  p    m'ium  lor  their  eggs  in  the  first  place,  and  then  or  the  per^ 
feet  insect,  before  the  ovipositor  has  been  emptied  in  the  other,  so 
that  a  war  of  extermination  may  be  carried  into  the  enemy  s 
country  as  a  precautionary  measure.  ^ 

ThI  Book/Mountain  locust  only  diSers  from  the  common  lo- 
oust  n  being  monger,  and  therefore  capable  of  a  ^or.goTi,^> 
wi  U  »o  rf  iucing  its  power  a,  to  render  it  easy  to  combat  the 
lie.  The  female  has  two  pairs  of  horny  valves,  wh.ch  can  be 
•  fo^  in  the  ground  and  then  opened  by  a  great  muscular  eHo.t, 
wiTthe  time  comes  for  depositing  ova ;  that  operatmn  bemg  per- 
rormed,  the  eggs  fill  a  space  almost  equal  in  s,.e  to  the  abdomen, 


.■A 


ftrfV"it;"  ■"■""»'*'^'^''^''''^"'-^- 


572 


TUTTLhj'a  IflSTOLV  OF  KA^fSAS. 


m 


which  lills  the  hole  bored  by  the  valves,  ami  the  eggs  arc  custom- 
arily buried  about  an  inch  below  the  surface.  The  eggs  are  held 
in  position  by  a  lluid  something  like  the  white  of  an  egg,  wl\ioh 
probably  serves  some  nutritive  purpose  also.  Sometimes,  but 
rarely,  the  eggs  are  placed  much  deeper  in  the  earth  where  some 
root  may  have  been  devoured  and  a  cavity  occasioned,  which 
gives  the  insect  a  new  starting  point.  The  number  of  eggs  will 
vary  from  30  to  100  in  the  sheath  or  pod,  and  the  envelop  is 
closed  over  the  eggs.  From  the  first  hatching  to  the  develop- 
ment of  wings,  about  two  months  will  elapse,  so  that  there  is  a 
plenty  of  time  to  lay  bare  a  considerable  range  of  country  with 
fair  diligence,  before  an  opportunity  for  flight  can  offer. 

The  young  are  said  to  fly  toward  the  southeast  as  a  rule,  and  it 
is  claimed  that  the  matured  insect  moves  in  the  same  direction, 
sometimes  even  -flying  in  the  very  eye  of  the  wind  to  preserve 
that  course.  The  insects  travel  most  by  day,  but  they  are  most 
ravenous  at  night ;  still  they  seldom  appear  to  suffer  from  want 
of  appetite.  They  never  make  long  flights  except  in  cases  of  ne- 
cessity, and  although  it  is  not  easy  to  drown  them,  they  avoid 
broad  streams  whenever  possible,  having  perhaps  heard  that  some 
of  their  ancestors  had  been  relished  by  fish  in  such  transits. 
When  the  insects  have  their  choice,  it  is  clear  that  they  prefer 
depositing  their  eggs  on  dry  and  compact  ground.  Meadows  and 
pastures  are  often  used  when  the  grass  is  bare  and  the  earth  not 
swampy.  Newly  broken  and  plowed  land  is  too  loose  to  accord 
with  their  ideas.  Abundant  opportunities  have  been  afforded  to 
entomologists  to  study  this  very  curious  and  destructive  insect  in 
every  portion  of  its  economy,  or  perhaps  it  would  be  more  proper 
to  say  of  its  extravagance,  for  there  is  very  little  economy  in  a 
flight  of  locusts. 

The  damage  came  from  the  northwest  and  approached  the 
southeast  in  1874,  and  the  eastern  parts  of  Kansas  suffered  least, 
because  the  crops  had  been  mainly  secured  before  the  arrival  of 
the  pest.  In  the  western  portion  of  the  state,  the  young  corn, 
which  happened,  moreover,  to  be  the  principal  crop,  suffered  ter 
ribly  in  1874,  but  the  insects  passed  on  before  depositing  their 
eggs  to  any  great  extent  In  the  longitude  of  Topeka,  eggs  were 
deposited  largely,  and  much  fear  was  entertained  that  the  whole 


Tin:  PL.invK  or  LocrsTs. 


673 


!  arc  custom- 
'ggs  are  held 
a  egg,  \vl\ioli 
nctinies,  but 

where  some 
ioucd,  which 
of  eggs  will 
3  envelop  is 
the  ilevelop- 
lat  tlierc  is  a 
iiountry  with 
Eer. 

a  rule,  and  it 
ne  direction, 

to  preserve 
liey  are  most 
2r  from  want 

cases  of  ne- 
1,  they  avoid 
rd  that  some 
uch  transits. 
;  they  prefer 
leadows  and 
the  earth  not 
3se  to  accord 
a  afforded  to 
tive  insect  in 

more  proper 
conomv  in  a 

•roached  the 
uffered  least, 
;he  arrival  of 
young  corn, 
suffered  ter 
lositing  their 
:a,  eggs  were 
lat  the  whole 


lig- 


of  the  crop  of  1875  would  be  destroyed  in  co,>scqucnct      The 
urcs  for  Ihe  two  years  show  that  in  If  "t/ -— «  »^f 'J^ 
acres  of  land  under  cultivation,  and  in  the  following  >'  -  "i' '  ^^ 
901;  the  respective  yields  of  wheat  and  corn  f"^'!     ;"  >f^ 
being,  in  1874,  9,881,383  bushels  of  wheat,  and  lo,0  9,0  8  o 
eorn;  in  1875,  18,209,403  bushels  of  wheat,  and  f  ^'^^-J*  ■'  "^ 
eorn     so  that  there  was  no  substantial  ground  for  alarm  m  187o 
The  insects  continued  to  deposit  from  the  tune  of  thor  arnval 
in  and  near  the  longitude  of  Topeka,  until  they  had  crossed  the 
eLtern  line  of  the  state  into    Missouri,  late   m  the  season,  by 
which  time  the  crops  were  safe.  ,      i    „u 

The  operafons  of  the  locust  family  in  1875  were  closely  ob- 
served  in  the  neighborhood  of  Lawrence.     The  young  were  first 
en  on  the  southern  slope  of  Mount  Oread,  which  foru.s  the  er- 
^aUon  of  the  ingh  prairie,  and  is  one  <^  the  blufls  a^  the  ,n^r- 
section  of  the  valleys  of  the  Kansas  and  Wakarusa.     The  Indian 
pla  tain  was  being  fed  upon  by  some  of  the  locusts,  but  myriads 
were  at  rest  on  the  ground,  and  could  have  been  destroyed  eas.ly 
They  were  minute,  almo.t  microscopic,  but  would  jump  abou 
two  or  three  inches  high,  when  disturbed.     Ncirly  Jwo  Imnc  -d 
were  caught  by  one  sweep  of  the  hand  ^/f  ^^"t  ^f' 
and  the  process  of  hatching  was  very  widely  distributed.     They 
were  firs^  seen  early  in  April,  but  their  movements  caused  no 
Lious  apprehensions  until  the  10th  of  May,  and  even  then  coin- 
Led  and'systematized  destruction  would  have  preserved  a  wide 
ran.^e  of  country.     Ten  days  later  their  ravages  were  terribly  ap- 
parent and  it  was  seen  that  much  valuable  time  had  been  inex- 
cusably lost.     Many  even  then  were  able  to  save  their  crops  by 
..    the  ditchiuK  process,  as  the  insects  were  still  wingless,  and  could 
be  ar  etd  or  deflec'ted  by  slight  obstacles.     Three  men  whose 
cropB  were  in  danger  ditched  and  destroyed  320  bushels  of  locusta 
in  ten  days,  by  actual  measurement. 

The  city  of  Lawrence  was  invaded  on  the  25th  of  May,  and 
nearly  all  the  gardens  were  destroyed  soon  after,  so  that  a  green 
spo  was  an  oasis  for  the  eye  to  rest  upon,  except  where  moder- 
1  precautionary  measures  had  been  taken  to  save  the  trees,  a 
the  insects  were  still  unable  to  fiy  and  cou^d  be  confined  to  the 
lawns  and  flowering  shrubs.    Seventy  bushels  of  the  pests  were 


ms0im 


574 


Trrnj.'s  Ifisronr  ofKaxsas. 


destroyed  by  one  man  wlio  valued  liis  garden  and  grounds  at  tho 
price  of  so  much  effort  and  outlay  as  was  involved  in  the  oxter- 
iiiination  of  some  millions  of  the  locust  army.  About  a  sixt':  of 
the  city  of  Lawrence  stands  between  the  river  and  the  paved 
streets,  and  neither  of  those  lines  of  fortification  could  be,  or  were, 
crossed  by  the  scourge,  consequently,  tho  gardens  and  grounds 
were  safe  in  that  area.  Many  farms  were  saved  by  some  such  tri- 
vial incidents  oflcring  insuperable  obstacles  to  the  army  of  glut- 
tons. The  size  of  tho  locust  was  still  so  inconsiderable  that 
128,000  were  found  in  one  busliol  in  the  beginning  of  June,  but 
from  that  time  they  increased  in  bulk  very  rapidly,  doubling 
their  dimensions  within  five  days.  Fifty-five  days  elaj)sed  from 
the  time  that  the  first  larva  was  seen  until  the  first  winged  locust 
was  observed,  and  the  departure  from  tho  neighborhood  of  Law- 
rence coinmence(|  about  the  third  and  concluded  about  tho  fif- 
teenth of  June. 

Difiorent  observers  give  widely  varying  descriptions  as  to  the 
direction  of  tiio  flight  of  the  locust,  some  saying  that  they  always 
fly  southeast,  and  others,  that  they  persistently  fly  northwest; 
probabh-  the  fact  may  be  that  they  are  governed  by  local  circum- 
stances, and  that  each  looker  on  has  pronounced  ex  cathedra,  upon 
a  basis  of  observation,  too  narrow  to  ?.jver  a  general  conclusion. 
Locusts  arc  said  to  sufTer  much  from  parasitic  insects  as  well  as 
from  birds,  and  it  is  believed  by  some  that  the  outcome  of  eggs 
not  laid  and  hatched  in  the  mountainous  region  are  not  so  strong 
as  those  that  start  from  the  Bocky  Mountains. 

The  ravages  of  the  locust  in  Kansas  in  1875  were  confined  to 
a  narrow  strip  on  the  eastern  border,  and  even  there  the  injury 
that  was  eftected  was  sufficiently  early  in  the  season,  to  permit  of 
replanting,  so  that  the  crops  of  that  year  covered  the  losses  of  the 
year  preceding,  and  have  increased  the  wonder  of  the  union  at 
large  by  the  abundant  evidence  afforded  of  the  fertility  of  the 
state.  The  suflferings  endured  by  the  people  of  Kansas,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  locust  invasion  of  1874,  have  already  been  re- 
ferred to  in  the  preliminary  chapters  of  this  book,  but  there  are 
matters  of  detail  which  could  not  then  be  given,  and  which  ought 
not  to  bo  omitted  from  the  record.  The  legislature  was  convened 
in  an  extra  session  and  made  such  arrangements  as  were  then 


"■-la     i"  ~    t.,*.. l,=Jt.. 


•oiinda  at  tho 
in  the  extcr- 

nt  a  sixth  of 
1  tlic  pilVCtl 
il  bf,  or  vvure, 
mil  grounds 
ome  sucli  tri- 
rmy  of  glut- 
ilorablo  tlmt 
of  June,  but 
ly,  doubling 
.'laj)scd  from 
'ingod  locust 
ood  of  Law- 
bout  the  flf- 

ns  as  to  the 
they  always 
■  northwest; 
local  circum- 
tthedra,  upon 
conclusion. 
Its  as  well  as 
ome  of  eggs 
lot  so  strong 

!  confined  to 
e  the  injury 
to  permit  of 
losses  of  the 
the  union  at 
tility  of  the 
nsas,  in  con- 
uly  been  re- 
jut  there  are 
which  ought 
as  convened 
s  were  then 


Tut:  Plaove  or  Locvsts. 


675 


possible  to  meet  tlio  noccssilics  of  the  case,  being  seconded  there- 
in by  those  wlio  were  in  a  position  to  assist  the  needy  by  loans  or 
other  temporary  aids. 

Tlio  legislature  was  convened  for  its  regular  session  in  Janu- 
ary, 1875,  and,  in  anticip-ation  of  that  event,  the  ful!e-t  informa- 
tion was  procured  from  ail  sources  as  to  tlie  amount  of  destitu- 
tion arising  from  the  destruction  of  crops  by  the  locust  plague  in 
the  state.  An  elTort  was  also  made  to  ascertain  ai  that  time  what 
amount  of  help  would  be  reipiircd  to  supply  rations,  clothing, 
seed  and  feed  for  animals  requiri'd  in  the  working  of  farms,  to 
tide  over  tho  difliculties  of  the  suffering  class,  and  enable  them 
to  resume  their  customary  avocations  with  tho  least  possible  de- 
lay. Gov.  Osborn  submitted  the  facts  that  could  be  obtained 
prior  to  the  20th  of  January,  1875,  in  a  message  to  the  legisla- 
ture, and  in  that  report  there  were  returns  from  all  the  organized 
counties  except  Comanche,  Harper,  Kingman  and  Ness.  The 
state  was,  in  the  report  submitted,  divided  into  live  groups  of 
counties,  and  rejiortcd  upon  in  that  order. 

In  the  first  group  of  23  counties,  with  a  population  of  about 
270,000,  part  of  tho  returns  being  from  an  earlier  census,  there 
■were  1,680  persons  in  need  of  rations,  300  men  and  300  women  in 
■want  of  clothing,  and  729  children  in  tho  same  condition.  Neo- 
sho, Lyon  and  Woodson  were  the  distressed  localities,  but  in 
Lyon  only  one-thirteenth  of  the  population  would  accept  help ; 
in  Neosho,  one-twentieth,  and  in  Woodson,  one  twenty-fourth ; 
the  proportion  fov  the  whole  group  being  about  one  one-hundred- 
and-sixtieth  part. 

In  the  second  group,  including  19  counties,  with  a  population 
of  160,000,  there  were  7,927  in  want  of  rations,  2,201  men,  3,217 
women,  and  6,103  children  in  want  of  clothing,  besides  some 
places  wanting  clothing,  but  giving  no  estimates  as  to  numbers 
and  amount  of  required  relief.  Jackson,  Marion  and  Marshall 
proposed  to  deal  with  their  own  distress  without  assistance  irom 
beyond  their  own  borders. 

In  the  third  group,  comprising  nine  counties  with  a  population 
of  60,089,  there  were  8,015  in  want  of  rations,  3,164  men,  3,976 
women,  and  5,808  children  in  want  of  clothing.  In  the  fourth 
group  of  nine  counties,  with  a  population  of  35,703,  there  were 


^1 


i\ 


l! 


I 


67e 


Tvtti.k's  IlisTonr  of  K.iss.is. 


0,02(1,  or  ovoroiicfoiii'tli,  in  want  of  ration^  ami  l,!SnO  men,  1,042 
wcmu'n,  and  ;;,4;iti  chil.liv.i  wanting  clotl.o.s.     Tlio  iHtli  group  of 
twelve  oiganizcil  couiiticH,  and  two  other«,  including  a  popnluiion 
of  13,038,   had  r.,841,  or  (J78  lo^s  than  one   halt  of  the  wliolo 
population  in  want  of  rati..ns,  and  522  men,  (123  wonu-n  and  SK)2 
children   in   want  of  clothing.     In   the  gross,  there  were  32,(114 
requiring  to  be  s-upplied  with  rations,  and  there  were  upplieantB 
for  clothing  to  the  number  of  8,077  men,  y,7.j8  women  and  10,472 
children      It  was  proposed  to  supply  rations  where  re(iuired  untd 
Juno  1,  187.-,,  that  is  to  say,  fi)r  120  days,  and  the  estimated  cost 
was  !?r.47,01o.     Many  of  the  counties  subsequently  increased  tho 
number  of  jiersons  requiring  aid,  because  many  who  had   been 
hoping  to  bear  up  against  the  disaster  unaided  were  compelled  to 
surrender  to  their  necessities  at  last. 

The   returns  niade  by  tlie  several  counties  were  not  actual 
transcripts  of  suilering  from  the  locu.st  plague,  as  in  some  counties 
there  was  a  determination  to  keep  their  sorrows  at  home,  and  in 
others  there  was  an  evident  resolve  to  tabulate  all  distress  to  pro- 
cure as  much  aid  as  po.ssible  from  all  sources.     In  some  instances, 
where  the  answer  was  made  that  the  counties  would  be  self-sus- 
taining, there  were  agents  sent  from  those  counties  soliciting  re- 
lief from  other  states,  and  of  course,  every  agent  that  addressed 
an  audience  was  bound  to  have  telling  facts  to  reach  the  sympa- 
thies of  hia  hearers,  whether  he  succeeded  in  giving  a  just  pic- 
ture  of  the  condition  of  Kansas  or  not.     Thus  it  iiappened  that 
there  were  several  different  stx)ric3  going  the  round  of  the  press 
and  of  the  community  at  the  same  time  as  to  the  suffering  in 
Kansas,  which  some  would  deny  m  toto,  while  others  magnified 
to  the  utmost  of  their  power. 

The  want  of  seed  was  severely  felt,  and  the  estimated  value  of 
the  assistance  demanded  was  in  all,  $78,795 ;  being  for  the  first 
croup  $14,789  ;  for  the  second,  $18,780 ;  for  the  third,  $16,032  ; 
for  the  fourth,  $18,516 ;  and  for  the  fifth  group,  $10,676  This 
estimate  was  based  upon  the  actual  planting  in  1874,  and  deduct- 
ing  such  areas  as  were  certain  to  be  planted  by  the  owners  or 
tenants  without  external  aid.  There  was  an  effort  made  by  those 
acting  on  behalf  of  the  government  to  vary  the  crops  in  the  state, 
beneficially  in  some  respects,  by  offering  only  such  seeds  freely  as 


.T'-Viiiifi  y  •'-  •*^-"  •^■'•■^^  ■■' 


lO  men.  1,042 
fill  group  of 
n  populiiiion 
of  tin;  wliolo 
noil  anil  5»U2 

vvcro  32,01-4 
ro  applicants 
m  ftiid  10,472 
•o(iuirc(l  until 
stimatcil  cost 

incrcascil  tho 
lio  had   been 

compelled  to 

re  not  actual 
some  couutiea 
home,  and  in 
listress  to  pro- 
oine  instances, 
d  be  self-sus- 
i  soliciting  re- 
hat  addressed 
,ch  the  sympa- 
ng  a  just  pic- 
iiappened  that 
I  of  the  press 
,e  suffering  in 
lers  magnified 

mated  value  of 
ng  for  the  first 
third,  $16,032 ; 
$10,676.  This 
r4,  and  deduct- 
the  owners  or 
made  by  those 
)ps  in  the  state, 
I  seeds  freely  as 


TiiH  Pi.torp:  OF  LnrrsT!^. 


577 


were  known  to  he  best  adapted  to  give  fair  rct.n-n..  I  here  was 
specially  an  attempt  to  increase  the  area  occupied  n,  the  grow  h 
„f  flux,  as  that  cr.,p  is  very  prodtablc  and  desirable  as  a  possible 
U«M.s  of  Other  industries. 

Most  of  the  flax  cultivated  in  Kansas  has  been  under  a  kind 
of  mortgage  to  the  proprietors  of  oil  nulls  in  Missouri  and  else- 
wnere,  outside  the  limits  of  the  state.     'Phe  propnet<,rs  loan  to 
farmers  a  limited  quantity  of  seed  on  (..nditions,  that  f.r  every 
bushel  advanced  li  shall    be  returned,  and  tho  whole  crop  bo 
sold  t<,  them  at  a  price  llxcd  by  the  parties  making  the    oa.. 
The  borrowing  farmer  must  eontn^et  to  deliver  the  whole  of  lis 
crop  to  his  creditors  at  their  price  an.l  at  their  p  ace,  besides 
.ivL'  2:.  per  cent  interest  for  the  u.se  of  the  seed.     The  arrange- 
inent^is  objectionable  from  every  point  of  view,  and  on    hat 
account  the  government  endeavored  to  change  tho  basis  of  flax 
cultivation,  but  the  monopolists  mot  them  at  every  P"'"*-;^''"^ 
gling  to  maintain  the  system  which  secures  to  them  ••ons.deruble 
returns  at  a  minimum  of   risk  and  a  complete  control  of  the 
,narket  below  ruling  prices.      The  rccommendut.ons  of  the  gov- 
crnor  on  the  basis  suggested  by  the  state  board  of  a   riculturo 
were  eminently  judicious,  and  as  a  rule  the  a,ms  of  tne  govern- 
ment  were  seconded  in  a  liberal  spirit  by  outsiders  from  all  parts 

the  union.  r  t     1  r     i,-^,^,. 

Calculations  had  to  be  made  for  the  supply  of  feed  fui  ...... 

to  be  employed  in  farm  work  until  the  farmers  could  get  their 
work  advanced  .to  a  point  at  which  they  could  depend  on  their 
own  capital,  credit  and  exertions.  That  item  alone  uwolved  an 
estimated  outlay  of  $123,645.  The  largest  amoun  '-^"o"^;^^^; 
one  group  being  $31,648  to  the  fourth  group,  and  the  smallest, 

<{?19  050,  to  the  first  .  .      ,  -i  j 

The  attempt  to  meet  the  dilTiculties  by  legislative  action  faded, 
because,  while  everybody  admitted  the  urgent  necessity  of  the 
:Z,  some  wanted  to  grant  a  loan,  merely,  whdc^  others  argued 
for  a  gift,  and  in  the  end  the  needy  j.ere  left  -^^bout  ass.sUnce^ 
There  w^re  other  impediments  to  legislative  action,  which  looked 
in  the  direction  of  local  jealou.ies;  but  the  result,  eertainly 
pitiful  and  blamable  in  the  extreme,  was,  that  the  urgent  demand 
i  the  interests  of  sound  policy  and  generous  sympathy  remained 
87    ^      - 


,4JI«««1UIIW!«MJ...lllW 


578  TuTTLtfs  HisTony  of  Kansas. 

untouched  by  the  men  who.T  special  business  it  should  have 
been  to  meet  the  woes  of  the  state  from  its  own  resources,  by  a 
direct  levy,  or  by  contracting  a  public  loan  for  the  purpose. 
The  two  houses  differed  and  could  not  be  reconciled  on  the  ques- 
tions of  the  hour,  although  conference  committees  were  appointed, 
and  the  appropriations  fell  through. 

The  state  board  of  agriculture  w(is  worked  throughout  the 
time  of  trial  with  singleness  of  purpose  and  an  energy  that  never 
flagged,  and  failing  to  procure  appropriations  from  the  legislature, 
there  remained  no  resource  but  to  use  such  outside  help  as  could 
be  procured.  Seeds  of  various  kinds  were  sent  from  persons, 
departments,  societies  and  institutions,  all  of  which  were  dis- 
tributed according  to  the  known  wants  of  districts  upon  the  basis 
already  given  ;  but,  of  course,  there  were  cases  of  extreme  ^^'ant 
that  could  not  be  adequately  dealt  with  upon  means  so  limited. 
In  many  cases  there  were  two  or  three  different  authorities  acting 
in  reference  to  the  wants  of  one  group,  while  another  procured 
only  ixpro  rata  allotment  of  seeds  from  the  state  board,  but  such 
results  were  inevitable  where  proper  concerted  action  had  not 
been  secured  from  the  first 

The  Kansas  central  relief  committee  issued  an  address  to  the 
people  of  the  state  in  November,  187i,  at  the  instance  of  the  gov- 
ernor and  leading  citizens,  setting  forth  the  necessity  for  such 
action  as  was  then  taken  ;  and  the  people  of  the  eastern  states 
were  reached  by  the  same  document.  It  was  necessary  to  answer 
those  at  a  distance  who  were  continually  asking  for  authentic  in- 
formation touching  the  needs  of  Kansas,  and  it  was  desirable  that 
there  should  be  unity  of  action  among  Kansans  themselves,  i  he 
fact  was  duly  promulgated  that  many  exaggerations  had  been  re- 
sorted to  by  interested  parties  for  specific  purposes;  but  above 
and  beyond  all  such  misstatements,  the  reality  of  distress  was 
properlv  urged  upon  all  classes  capable  of  affording  a  degree  of 
relief  '  Winter  had  then  set  in,  and  it  was  known  that  there  were 
families  and  neighborhoods  to  a  large  extent  destitute  or  very 
poorly  supplied  at  the  best  with  clothing,  fuel,  food,  bedding,  and 
other  essentials  to  sustain  life;  more  especially  among  pioneers 

and  new  arrivals.  ,     .1     i     •  i 

The  failure  of  the  government  to  meet  the  case  by  the  legisla- 


,   ^j  -..-..  — ■:.^    ^  ..   -»-- ..-^^- 


should  have 
^sources,  by  a 

the  purpose. 
[  on  the  ques- 
jreanpointeil, 
'  \ 

roughout  the 
■gy  that  never 
be  legislature, 
help  as  could 
from  persons, 
ich  were  dis- 
jpon  the  basis 
extreme  want 
ins  so  limited, 
horities  acting 
ither  procured 
Dard,  but  such 
ction  had  not 

address  to  the 
tice  of  the  gov- 
essity  for  such 
eastern  states 
5sary  to  answer 
r  authentic  in- 
5  desirable  that 
;mselves.  The 
IS  had  been  re- 
563 ;  but  above 
of  distress  was 
ing  a,  degree  of 
that  there  were 
istiiute,  or  very 
i,  bedding,  and 
mong  pioneers 

by  the  legisla- 


The  Placue  of  Locusts. 


579 


ture  in  special  session,  a  foreshadowing  of  the  ultimate  failure, 
already  mentioned,  was  pointed  out,  and  it  was  stated  that  the 
distress  was  limited,  not  general,  inasmuch  as  the  older  counties, 
long  settled  and  comparatively  rich,  could  deal  with  the  want 
arising  within  their  own  borders,  but  could  not  cope  with  the  dis- 
tress known  to  be  prevalent  in  other  counties  newly  organized, 
or  not  yet  organized,  and  where  no  machinery  of  benevolence 
could  ijome  between  the  necessitous  and  starvation.  In  the  fron- 
tier counties  there  was  distress  because  a  great  tide  of  worthy  citi- 
zens had  poured  into  that  portion  of  the  country  within  a  few 
years,  and  the  visitation  had  overtaken  them  completely,  swamp- 
ing their  means  before  they  could  be  expected  to  have  established 
a  reserve  fund  in  any  form.  Such  men  certainly  deserved  gen- 
erous aid  from  every  source.  The  wants  that  should  be  met  were 
briefly  stated,  and  while  the  fact  was  insisted  upon  that  very 
many  of  the  worthy  suffering  class  could  hardly  be  said  to  be 
citizens  of  Kansas,  so  recently  had  they  arrived ;  still  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  they  were  bona  fide  settlers  honestly  aiming  to  make 
homes  for  their  families  and  themselves  in  the  state,  it  was  the 
duty  of  the  older  residents  to  protect  them  from  want  until  they 
should  be  able  to  provide  for  themselves.  Justice,  charity,  and 
sound  policy  combined  to  render  it  advisable  that  the  state  should 
deal  with  its  own  distress,  however  arising,  assuming  that  course 
to  be  possible.  The  central  committee  offered  itself  as  the  medi- 
um for  distributing  assistance,  and  the  urgency  of  its  appeal  to 
churches,  societies,  and  other  organizations,  produced  excellent 
results  in  regard  to  promptitude. 

The  unworthy  motives  of  soma  of  the  parties,  who  were  then 
in  the  eastern  states  soliciting  aid  in  the  name  of  Kansas,  were 
glanced  at  in  such  a  manner  as  must  have  led  to  the  discourage- 
ment of  their  efforts,  and  if  after  that  publication  any  persons  in 
the  east  gave  their  money  to  unknown  and  unauthorized  men, 
when  they  might  have  sent  it  to  the  central  committee  with  a 
certainty  of  fair  dealing,  they  were  merely  offering  a  premium  to 
dishonest  solicitors  and  fraud.  With  emphasis  and  truth  the 
committee  asserted  what  must  long  continue  to  be  believed  of 
Kansas,  that  its  citizens  lacked  none  of  the  essentials  of  true  man- 
hood and  womanhood,  although  they  had  been  overtaken  by  mis- 


580 


Tvttle's  History  or  Kas'sas. 


fortune,  and  it  is  due  to  the  people  of  the  eastern  states  to  say 
that  the  appeal  to  their  sterling  generosity  was  not  made  in  vain. 
The  results  were  not  adequate  tc  permit  of  complete  and  satioiac- 
torj  aid  being  given  to  every  known  case  of  want,  but  there  was 
mitigation,  and  that  amounted  to  a  great  deal  where  every  man 
and  woman  was  striving  to  accomplish  all  that  was  possible.  The 
central  committee  received  in  cash  from  many  sources  $73,863, 
and  besides  that  there  were  supplies  of  various  kinds,  amounting 
to  265  carloads  and  11,049  packages.  The  carloads  were  brought 
by  all  the  railroad  companies  free  of  charge,  and  they  were  ave- 
raged at  $400  each  in  value  ;  the  packages  were  found  to  be  worth 
in  money  about  $5.00  each,  so  that  the  supplies,  independent  of 
cash,  were  worth  on  the  whole  about  $161,245.  As  distributed 
by  the  committee,  most  of  those  supplies  were  worth  more  than 
they  would  have  brought  if  sold  for  cash  ;  but  on  that  basis  the 
amount  apportioned  by  the  committee  was  §235,108. 

The  time  is  now  past  and  gone,  and  it  is  hoped  that  the  lessons  of 
thrift  and  economy  then  taught  in  the  hard  school  of  experience 
•will  hereafter  benefit  Kansas,  so  that  no  future  misfortune  will 
place  her  before  the  world  a  postulant  for  its  benevolence,  but 
should  that  time  ever  arrive,  it  may  be  hoped  that  the  first  step 
of  the  constituted  authorities  will  be  of  such  a  kind  as  to  dis- 
courage individual  solicitation  from  the  cities  and  states  at  a  dis- 
tance witliout  such  indorsements  as  will  satify  the  generous 
givers  that  they  are  not  bestowing  their  aid  in  vain.  There 
is  not  a  state  in  the  union  that  deserves  more  from  its  sister  states 
than  Kansas,  and  there  is  not  one  in  which  the  spirit  of  self  help 
and  proper  pride  is  better  developed.  ,  • 

The  state  has  resources  which  will  command  support  in  the 
future,  and  will  give  returns  upon  sound  investment.  The  mines, 
tiie  quarries,  the  rivers,  the  soil  and  the  pastures  of  the  state  in- 
vite an  ever  increasmg  immigration.  Men  who  have  money  can 
find  here  openings  for  its  employment.  Men  who  can  offer  nothing 
more  valuable  than  clear  heads,  sound  bodies  and  honest  inten- 
tions cannot  fail  to  discover  in  Kansas  their  proper  spheres  of 
activity.  The  rural  districts  and  the  cities  are  both  increasing  in 
importance  and  in  wealth,  and  the  whole  state  is  broad  based 
upon  natural  advantages,  such  as  hardly  one  component  of  the 


HrfwiilAaMWMi 


11 


County  SKErciiKf!. 


m 


st.ites  to  say 
lade  in  vain, 
ami  pati'jiac- 
ut  tberc  was 
•e  every  man 
issible.  The 
rces  $73,863, 
i,  amounting 
(vere  brought 
ley  were  ave- 
i  to  be  worth 
dependent  of 
.s  distributed 
,h  more  than 
that  basis  the 

the  lessons  of 
)f  experience 
isfortune  will 
3Volence,  but 
the  first  step 
nd  as  to  dis- 
tates  at  a  dis- 
the  generous 
vain.  There 
;s  sister  states 
t  of  self  help 

ipport  in  the 
The  mines, 
:  the  state  in- 
/e  money  can 
1  offer  nothing 
honest  inten- 
per  spheres  of 
I  increasing  in 
broad  based 
ponent  of  the 


United  States  can  e.xcel  in  every  particular.  Kansas  has  endured 
trials  and  vicissitudes  enough  to  test  the  courage  of  a  nation,  and 
has  come  through  tlie  fire  of  persecution  and  suffering  undiinmed. 
Let  us  hope  that  her  days  of  privation  have  gone  by  forever. 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 


COUNTY  SKETCHES. 


The  counties  of  Kansas  are,  Allen,  Anderson,  Atchison,  Bar- 
bour, Barton,  Bourbon,  Brown,  Butler,  Chautauqua,  Chase,  Cher- 
okee, Clay,  Cloud,  Coffey,  Comanche,  Cowley,  Crawford,  Davis, 
Dickinson,  Doniphan,  Douglas,  Edwards,  Elk,  Ellis,  Ellsworth, 
Ford,  Franklin,  Greenwood,  Harvey,  Harper,  Howard,  Jackson, 
Jefferson,  Jewell,  Johnson,  Kingman,  Labette,  Leavenworth,  Lin- 
coln, Linn,  Lyon,  Marion,  Marshall,  McPherson,  Miami,  Mitchell, 
Montgomery,  Morris,  Nemaha,  Neosho,  Ness,  Norton,  Osage,  Os- 
borne, Ottawa,  Pawnee,  Phillips,  Pottawatomie,  Pratt,  Reno,  Re- 
public, Rice,  Riley,  Rooks,  Rush,  Russell,  Saline,  Sedgwick, 
Shawnee,  Smith,  Sumner,  Wallace,  Wabaunsee,  Washington, 
Wilson,  Woodson  and  Wyandotte. 

Allen  County  was  organized  in  the  first  year  after  the  pass- 
ing of  the  organic  act  through  congress  in  185-4,  consequently  its 
history  commences  with  1855.  The  governor  of  Ohio  has  the 
honor  of  being  perpetuated,  if  not  immortalized,  by  his  name 
being  given  to  this  county  because  he  favored  the  doctrine  of 
popular  sovereignty  as  applied  to  Kansas.  The  county  contains 
504  square  miles,  and  in  1875  had  a  population  of  6,638,  having 
decreased,  in  five  years,  384,  after  increasing  in  the  preceding  ten 
years,  3,940.  The  sexes  are  evenly  balanced  in  Allen  county 
which  is  in  that  respect  a  fair  reflex  of  the  world,  as  there  are 
3,419  males  to  3,219  females.  Every  state  has  contributed  to  the 
population  of  this  county,  and  so  have  most  of  the  countries  of 
Europe.     Manufactures  and  raining  contribute  to  the  employment 


ir  ■»)i.i.|.l».r-* -T*.*^ 


IM 


682 


TuTTLtfs  HisTOJir  OF  Kaxsas. 


of  the  population,  to  a  small  extent,  but  o\'cr  67  per  cent  are  en- 
gaged in  agriculture.  lola  is  the  county  seat,  79  miles  from  To- 
pcka,  to  the  south.  The  general  surface  is  level,  with  bottom 
lands  averaging  about  one  and  a  half  miles  in  breadth  and  com- 
pri.sing  one-tenth  of  the  county.  There  is  a  fair  averag^^  of  tim- 
ber land,  but  94  per  cent,  of  Allen  county  is  prairie.  The  princi- 
pal streams  are  the  Neosho,  Little  Osage  and  Marmaton.  The 
chief  creeks  are  Indian,  Martins,  Doer,  Elk  and  Elm.  The  Neo- 
sho and  Marmaton  run  from  northwest  to  southeast,  the  Osage 
from  southwest  to  northeast.  Springs  and  well  water  are  moder- 
ately plentiful.  Coal  has  been  found  in  the  county  in  veins 
about  three  feet  below  the  surface.  There  is  good  building  stone, 
red  sandstone  and  blue  and  red  limestone  abound.  The  county 
is  traversed  by  two  lines  of  railroad,  the  Leavenworth,  Lawrence 
and  Galveston,  and  the  Missouri,  Kansas  and  Texas.  lola,  the 
capital,  is  78  miles  south  of  Lawrence,  by  the  L.  L.  «fe  G.  R.  R. 
The  village  has  a  bank,  three  churches,  and  some  manufactories 
of  furniture  and  other  goods,  that  give  a  fair  average  of  cmjjloy- 
ment,  for  which  the  Neosho  river  gives  water  power.  There  is  in 
lola  an  artesian  well  which  affords  mineral  water  much  valued  in 
some  diseases,  and  an  inflammable  gas  which  would  supply  a 
large  town  with  fuel  and  illumination  if  properly  utilized.  The 
village  has  a  postoffice,  which  accommodates  the  township  and  a 
population  of  1,759  persons.  There  is  a  good  weekly  paper,  the 
Neosho  Valley  Register.  The  agricuHuial  resources  of  the  coun- 
ty a-ssist  to  build  up  the  capital,  cud  there  are  good  prospects  for 
the  village  and  district,  although  there  has  been  temporarily  a 
falling  oflE  in  population.  The  distress  in  Allen  county,  after  the 
locust  visitation,  was  not  excessive ;  about  300  persons  were  rep- 
resented as  in  need  of  rations  and  300  women  and  children  as  in 
need  of  clothing.  Humboldt  is  another  very  considerable  village 
in  Allen  county,  on  the  Neosho  river  and  on  the  L.  L.  &  G.  R.  R., 
as  well  as  on  the  M.  K,  &  T.  R.  R.,  80  miles  south  of  Lawrence. 
The  Neosho  is  here  crcssed  by  a  bridge.  The  village  has  a  pop- 
ulation of  1,200,  and  the  township  of  2,000.  There  is  a  weekly 
paper  and  a  monthly  periodical  published  in  the  village,  and  a 
coal  mine  near  the  village  which  has  also  several  fine  business 
houses,  a  bank,  a  cigar  factory  and  other  industries  of  some  im- 


wtmmk 


County  Sketches. 


583 


cent  are  en- 
lies  from  To- 
with  bottom 
Ith  and  com- 
srago  of  tim- 

The  prir.ci- 
naton.  The 
.  The  Neo- 
St,  the  Osage 
T  are  moder- 
nty  in  veins 
ailding  stone, 
The  county 
th,  Lawrence 
IS.  lola,  the 
..  &  G.  R.  R. 
nanufactories 
e  of  cmjjloy- 

There  is  in 
eh  valued  in 
lid  supply  a 
tilized.  The 
vrnship  and  a 
ly  paper,  the 
1  of  the  coun- 
prospects  for 
emporarily  a 
nty,  after  the 
)n3  were  rep- 
hildren  as  in 
Table  village 
i.  &G.R.  R, 
)f  Lawrence. 
;e  has  a  pop- 
!  is  a  weekly 
illage,  and  a 
ine  business 
of  some  im- 


portance, including  two  steam  flouring  mills  and  a  steam  furni- 
ture factory.  There  are  al.so  in  the  county,  at  Geneva,  a  steam 
saw  and  grist  mill ;  at  Osage  and  at  Deer  Creek  similar  mills  run 
by  steam  power.  The  county  has  57  school  districts  and  55 
school  houses,  the  number  of  churches  of  the  various  denomina- 
tions is  equally  liberal,  but  unfortunately  there  are  no  returns  as 
to  libraries  and  it  seems  probable  that  there  are  none  in  the  coun- 
ty available  for  public  use.  Dairy  products  have  exhibited  a 
marked  increase  in  butter  and  cheese  since  1870,  and  sheep  farm- 
ing would  be  largely  followed  but  for  the  ravages  of  dogs,  which 
are  far  more  destructive  to  flocks  than  even  the  wolves  are. 
Farms  are  well  managed  in  Allen  county,  and  the  vineyards, 
orchards  and  nurseries  here  attract  and  deserve  much  attentioa 
for  the  skill  with  which  they  are  managed. 

Anderson  County  was  organized  at  the  same  time  as  Allen 
county,  in  1855,  by  the  Shawnee  legislature,  being  named  after 
Col.  Anderson,  of  Lexington,  one  of  the  first  members  elected 
by  Missouri  interposition  to  the  territorial  legislature  of  Kansas 
The  area  of  the  county  is  576  square  miles,  and  the  population 
5,809,  in  which  the  males  exceed  the  females  by  233,  and  all 
countries  seem  to  have  contributed  to  make  up  the  total.     The 
growth  of  the  last  five  years  has  been  quite  slow,  only  about  two 
per  cent,  per  annum,  but  prior  to  that  time,  had  been  very  rapid 
:?or  ten  years.     There  are  about  7  per  cf  it  engaged  in  mining  and 
manufactures,  and  over  75  per  cent,  in  agriculture.     Forest  and 
prairie  divide  the  land  in  the  proportion  of  6  of  the  first  to  94  of 
the  latter,  and  10  per  cent  is  bottom  land,  the  bottoms  averaging 
about  two  miles  in  breadth.     The  Pottawatomie  is  the  main 
stream,  with  two  forks,  the  north  running  east,  and   the  south 
northeast     There  are  smaller  streams,  such  as  the  .Cedar  creek, 
the  Sac,   lantha,  Thomas,   Indian,   Deer,  Little  Osage,  Big  and 
Little  Sugar.     Well  water  is  found  usually  at  from  fifteen  feet  to 
twenty- five,  and  springs  are  numerous.     There  is  good  coal,  but 
the  seam  is  not  thick,  as  it  varies  from  eight  to  twenty-two 
iiiches,  but  it  is  free  from  sulphur  and  is  only  about  four  feet 
below  the  surface  at  the  deepest,  within  the  range  of  the  county. 
It  is  mined  for  domestic  use  only,  and  in  the  scarcity  of  timber 


684 


Tuttlk's  IIistoky  of  K Ays  as. 


i 


k 


for  fuel  is  of  much  value.     There  is  good  building  stone  in  the 
county  and  excellent  fire  clay  nine  inches  in  thickness,  besides 
rvhieh  lead  has  been  found  in  two  places,  and  a  vein  of  ochre, 
which  will  become  of  commercial  value.     There  are  three  rail- 
road stations,  at  Garnett,  Wf  idon  and  Colony,  on  the  L.  L.  and 
G,  li.  R,  which  runs  through  the  whole  county.     The  distress  in 
Anderson,  arising  from  the  locust  plague,  was  very  considerable, 
as  about  12  per  cent,  of  the  whole  population  were  in  need  of 
rations,  and  326  were  in  want  of  clothing.     There  has  been   a 
decrease  of  cultivation  since  that  time,  to  the  extent  of  about  or 
nearly  2,000  acres.     In  th.o  county  also  the  value  and  number  of 
sheep  killed  by  dogs  exceed  the  ravages  by  wolves.     Cheese  and 
butter  have  increased  in  quantity  in  this  county  during  the  last 
five  years,  but  not  very  largely.     Bees  are  kept  to  some  extent, 
and  orchards,  vineyards  and  nurseries  occupy  about  2,000  acres. 
There  are  four  excellent  water  powers  in  the  county,  but  they 
are  comparatively  little  used,  and  could  be  made  of  great  value 
with  a  small  outlay  of  capital  for  manufactures.     The  city  of 
Garnett  is  the  capital,  and  it  is  58  miles  in  an  air  line  southeast 
of  Topeka.     The  city  has  a  railroad  station,  three  grist  mills,  one 
saw  mil),  a  cheese  factory,  a  furniture  factory  utilizing  the  native 
•woods,  an  oil  mill  and  a  planing  mill.     There  is  also  a  saw  mill 
at  Central  City.     There  are  two  banks  at  Garnett  and  two  weekly 
papers.    The  Paola,  Garnett  and  Fall  Kiver  line  intersects  the  L.  L. 
and  G.  R  R  at  this  point.     There  are  8  churches  in  the  citv  .md 
a  college  under  the  auspices  of  the  United  Presbyterians.     The 
village  is  well  built  and  all  departments  of  business  well  repre- 
sented, the  population  being  1219.     The  union  school  building 
is  extensive  and  admirable  in  every  way.     The  city  lies  52  miles 
south  of  Lawrence.     There  is  a  Catholic  parochial  school  at  Gar- 
nett, there  are  two  at  Emerald,  and  at  Scipio  there  is  a  monas- 
tery, with  a  college  and  parochial  school  attached.     There  are 
sixty-five  organized   school   districts  in   the   county,  sixty- two 
schools,  and  the  school  property  is  valued  at  $68,586.     There  are 
nine  church  edifices  in  Anderson  county  and  seventy-five  private 
libraries  are  registered,  with  an  aggregate  or  7,381  volumes,  dr 
more  than  100  volumes  in  each.     The  other  principal  towns  have 


tmnt-itxL. 


issssmmasmmmmam 


"^ 


CouxTY  Sketches. 


585 


stone  in  the 
kness,  besides 
rein  of  ochre, 
re  tliree  rail- 
the  L.  L.  and 
ho  distress  in 
considerable, 
re  in  need  of 
1  has  been   a 
t  of  about  or 
id  number  of 
Cheese  and 
ring  the  last 
some  extent, 
.  2,000  acres. 
ity,  but  they 
great  value 
The  city  of 
ine  southeast 
ist  mills,  one 
ig  the  native 
10  a  saw  mill 
I  two  weekly 
3Cts  the  L.  L. 
the  city  and 
erians.     Tlie 
s  well  repre- 
3ol  building 
lies  52  miles 
ihool  at  Gar- 
!  is  a  monas- 
There  are 
V,  sixty-two 
.     There  are 
-five  private 
volumes,  dr 
towns  have 


been  named,  but  the  mineral  and  manufacturing  resources  of 
Anderson  have  been  hardly  touched. 

Atchison  County  was  named  in  honor  of  the  proslavery 
leader  David  K.  Atchison,  whose  zeal  deluged  the  territory  in 
sorrow  for  several  years.     He  was  for  a  short  time  vice  president 
of  the  United  States,  and  evidently  hoped  that  his  zeal  for  slavery 
would  give  him  the  higher  nomination.     There  are  409  square 
miles  of  territory  in  tne  county,  with  a  population  in  1875  of 
20,187,  having  increased  nearly  5,000  since  1870.     The  males  ex- 
ceed the  females  by  785  in  this  county.     Manufactures  and  min- 
ing occupy  about  19  percent  of  the  population,  agriculture  81 
pe"  cent.,  and  trade  and  transportation  about  3-1  per  cent.     The 
capital  seat  is  Atchison,  long  the  head  quarters  of  the  proslavery 
party  and  the  locale  of  the  squatter  sovereign,  but  now  much 
more  wisely  engaged  and  prosperous  in  proportion.     The  face  of 
the  county  shows  about  15  per  cent,  of  bottom  lands,  the  rest  be- 
ing upland.     Prairie  and  forest  divide  the  area  '  :i  the  proportions 
of  90  and  10.     The  bottom  lands  range  from  two  miles  to  one- 
fourth  of  a  mile  in  breadth.     The  timber  growing  in  this  county 
is  valuable  for  manufactures.     The  principal  streams  are,  the  In- 
dependence creek,  which  runs  east  to  the  Missouri;    the  Big 
Grasshopper,   which  runs  south  to  the  Kansas ;  and  the  Little 
Grasshopper,  its  tributary ;  Deer  creek,  tributary  to  Independence ; 
Walnut  creek,  flowing  into  the  Missouri;  Camp,  Little  Stranger 
and  Big  Stranger  creeks,  which  empty  into  the  Kansas.     The 
county  has  good  well  water  at  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet  in  depth, 
and  springs  are  numerous.     Coal  has  been  found,  but  so  far  only 
in  small  quantities ;  the  other  mineral  treasures  found  are  sand- 
stone and  limestone,  well  nigh  inexhaustible,  yellow  oxide  of 
iron,  in  and  around  the  capital,  fire  clay  of  good  qualtity,  and 
excellent  pottery  clay.     The  city  of  Atchison  has  a  very  charm- 
ing appearance  on  the  western  bank  of  the  Missouri  river  at  the 
extreme  western  point  of  the  great  bend.     This  city  is  the  western 
terminus  of  the  Missouri  Pacific,  the  Chicago,  Rock  Island  and 
Pacific,  and  the  Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph  railroads ;    it  is  the 
northern  terminus  of  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  line ; 


586 


TuTTLtfa  History  of  Kansas. 


the  eastern  torniinus  of  the  central  branch"  of  the  Union  Pacific ; 
the  southern  terminus  of  the  Atchison  ard  Nebraska ;  and  the 
western  terminus  of  the  Burlington  and  Missouri  line.  Tlie 
Kansas  City,  St.  Joseph  and  Missouri  Kiver  line  al.so  runs  through 
Atchison ;  hence  the  city  is  a  great  railroad  centre,  ar.d  one  of 
the  chief  commercial  towns  in  Kansas,  There  are  published  in 
the  city,  three  daily,  three  weekly,  and  three  monthly  papers, 
the  principal  of  which  are  the  Daily  Champion,  Patriot  and 
Courier,  the  last  named  being  German.  The  Champion  of  Sun- 
day, June  13, 1875,  was  published  on  the  first  paper  manufactured 
in  the  state,  at  Blue  Rapids.  There  are  two  national  banks  and 
two  private  banks  in  the  city.  There  are  four  public  school 
buildings,  the  principal  of  which  cost  $50,000,  besides  St.  Bene- 
dict's college  and  three  private  academies.  There  is  a  very  hand- 
some Catholic  cathedral,  and  seven  other  admirable  church  build- 
ings. There  is  also  an  iron  and  brass  foundry  of  considerable 
dimensions,  and  there  are  four  large  furniture  factories  run  by 
steam,  three  steam  flouring  mills  with  a  capital  of  $110,000,  a 
steaia  saw  mill  with  a  capital  of  $70,000,  cigar  factories,  brew- 
eries, wagon  and  carriage  factories,  agricultural  implement  facto- 
ries, a  steam  stone  dressing  factory,  and  other  important  works. 
The  city  has  a  population  of  10,927.  The  papers  published  in 
Atchison  supply  the  whole  county. 

There  are  other  centers  of  less  importance,  but  considerable, 
and  among  them  are  distributed  a  water  power  flouring  and  grist 
mill  in  Grasshopper  township,  with  a  capital  of  $2,000 ;  a  saw  and 
grist  mill  in  Walnut  township ;  two  water  power  flouring  and 
grist  mills  in  Kapiowa  township  ;  two  wind  power  flouring  mills 
in  Centre  township ;  and  a  cheese  factory  at  Effingham.  The 
water  powers  on  the  Grasshopper  are  very  valuable,  but  they  are 
only  utilized  partially,  and  will  eventually  give  employment  to 
many  thousands  of  both  sexes  before  many  years  havt  passed. 
When  the  locust  plague  fell  upon  Kansas  in  1874,  Atchison 
county  was  self  supporting,  and  received  no  external  help  as  might 
have  been  expected,  from  the  fact  that  the  county  was  the  first  to 
become  connected  with  the  railroad  system  of  the  continent,  and 
was  the  only  county  in  Kansas  so  placed  before  the  war.  There 
are  67  organized  school  districts  in  the'  county,  and  71  school 


Jiiion  Pacific ; 
iska;  and  tho 
ri  line.  Tho 
i  runs  through 
p,  ar.  i  one  of 

published  in 
mthly  papers, 

Patriot  and 
ipion  of  Sun- 
manufactured 
lal  banks  and 
public  school 
des  St.  Bene- 
!  a  very  hand- 
church  build- 
;  considerable 
tories  run  by 
f  $110,000,  a 
ictories,  brew- 
jlement  facto- 
ortant  works, 
published  in 

considerable, 
ring  and  grist 
)0 ;  a  saw  and 
flouring  and 
flouring  mills 
ngharn.  The 
,  but  they  are 
iployment  to 
have  passed. 
7i,  Atchison 
help  as  might 
as  the  first  to 
ontinent,  and 
war.  There 
id  71  school 


)«JP^4*(WM«|H^V 


Cor  STY  SKhriciiES. 


687 


buildings,  the  properly  being  valued  at  $120,000;  besides  which 
there  are  other  faeilitierf  fur  ediieation,  including  St.  Benedict  Col- 
lege, in  charge  of  the  Benedictine  Friars;  an  academy  for  ladies 
under  the  patronage  of  the  sisters  of  the  Benedictines;  and  a 
large  parochial  school  connected  with  tho  same  church.  Tho 
churches  in  Atchison  county  number  altogether  thirteen  edifices, 
which  belong  to  the  Presbyterians,  Baptists,  Congregational, 
Methodist,  Episcopal,  Catholic  and  Lutheran  organizations.  The 
central  branch  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company  owns  all 
the  unsold  lands  in  the  county.  There  is  no  information  afforded 
by  the  returns  as  to  libraries,  public  or  private,  but  the  latter 
must  be  numerous  and  extensive.  There  are  2,673  acres  of  land 
in  the  county  occupied  as  nurseries,  orchards  and  vineyards,  and 
apiaculturo  has  commanded  much  attention,  as  there  are  505 
stands  of  bees  returned,  from  which  3,874  pounds  of  honey  were 
collected  in  1874.  The  bridge  over  the  Missouri  River  at  Atchi- 
son is  a  very  handsome  and  substantial  structure  of  iron  on  stone 
abutments,  and  supported  by  stone  piers.  It  is  used  for  railroad 
purposes,  and  is  sufficiently  high  to  permit  the  navigation  of  the 
river  to  proceed  unimpeded.  \'  ■ 

Barbour  County  was  named  in  honor  of  a  very  estimable  free 
settler,  who  was  killed  in  sheer  wantonness  by  a  proslavery  pick- 
et, during  the  troubles  in' Douglas  county  in  1855,  as  he  was  re- 
turning home  from  Lawrence.  There  are  1,134  square  miles  of 
territory  in  Barbour  county,  but  tho  population  is  very  small  in- 
deed, being  only'366  in  1875,  of  which  all  save  seventeen  were 
born  in  the  United  States.  There  are  thirty  more  males  than  fe- 
males. The  larger  part  of  the  population  is  engaged  in  agricul- 
ture. Medicine  Lodge  is  the  county  seat,  198  miles  from  Topeka, 
in  an  air  line  southwest  Only  one  per  cent  of  the  area  is  tim- 
bered, the  rest  being  prairie.  About  ten  per  cent  is  bottom  land. 
No  coal  has  been  found,  but  large  beds  of  gypsum  will  become  of 
great  value,  and  they  extend  over  one-fourth  of  the  county. 
There  are  no  railroads,  but  the  cultivated  area  extends  annually, 
the  increase  in  1874  being  1,411  acres.  The  population  suffered 
much  from  the  locust  plague,  as  there  were  262  needing  rations, 
and  about  the  same  number  in  want  of  clothes,  when  tho  state 


588 


Tuttlk's  HisTonr  of  Kas'sas. 


Wrd  of  agriculture  procured  returns  early  in  1875  for  the  infor- 
mation of  the  logisliiture.  The  population  prior  to  the  locust  in- 
vasion wns  over  600.  The  county  contuina  twelve  orginized 
school  districts,  and  only  one  school  house.  The  vacant  lands 
are  mainly  Osago  trust  lands,  or  belong  to  the  government. 
There  are  two  saw  mills,  no  banks,  no  newspaper,  and  only  one 
church  organization,  the  Roman  Catholic.  The  county  was 
organized  in  1873,  or  the  name  might  not  have  been  permitted. 

BAHTOiSi  CoUNTV  was  organized  in  1872,  and  named  in  lionor 
of  a  lady  philanthropist  well  known  for  her  services  in  the  cause 
of  sanitary  reform  during  the  war  for  the  Union.  There  are 
1,332  square  miles  of  te/ritory  in  Barton,  and  a  population  of 
about  2,100.  In  1870,  there  were  only  two  persons  in  the  area. 
The  males  exQeed  the  females  by  ibout  seventy.  The  bulk  of 
the  population  is  engaged  in  Jigriculture.  Great  Bend  is  the 
county  seat,  174  miles  from  Topeka,  westerly.  There  are  forty 
per  cent,  of  bottom  lands,  but  only  one  of  forest.  The  bottom 
lands  on  the  Arkansas  river  range  fully  seven  miles,  and  on 
the  creeks  about  two  miles.  The  uplands  are  undulating  but 
available  for  cultivation.  The  Arkansas  is  the  great  river 
giving  the  name  to  the  county  seat  Walnut  creek  and  Little 
Walnut,  its  tributary,  fall  into  the  Arkansas.  There  are  three 
other  creeks  worthy  of  note  — Blood,  Deception  and  Cow  creeks. 
The  county  has  few  springs,  but  well  water  can  be  reached  at 
from  ten  feet  on  the  bottoms  to  sixty  feet  on  the  uplands. 
Coal  or  lignite  is  found  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  about 
twenty  inches  thick.  Sandstone  is  abundant,  and  so  is  limestone 
in  the  west  and  north.  The  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe 
Railroad  has  station'^  at  Ellwood  and  Great  Bend.  There  has 
been  an  increase  of  over  7,000  acres  in  cultivation  in  the  last 
twelve  moaths  reported.  The  dogs  are  not  so  numercuc  &i>d  de- 
structive here  as  in  some  counties.  There  is  good  water  ])ower 
on  Walnut  creek,  but  no  manufactures  appear  to  be  located  there. 
Great  Bend  is  the  post  village  and  capital,  and  is  situated  on  the 
Arkansas  river,  very  near  the  center  of  the  state.  There  is  a 
bank,  one  newspaper  —  the  Great  Bend  Register,  a  weekly,  a  fine 
brick  court  house,  an  excellent  graded  school,  churches,  hotels, 


I  for  the  infor- 
3  the  ItKMist  in- 
elve  orgmized 
3  vacnnt  IiuhI.h 
c  g»)vornmciit. 
,  and  only  one 
0  county  was 
;n  pertnitted. 

imed  in  lionor 
es  in  tlie  causo 
»n.     There  are 

population  of 
IS  in  the  area. 
Tiic  bulk  of 
t  Bend  is  the 
here  are  foi'ty 
The  bottom 
miles,  and  on 
mdulating  but 
le  great  river 
eek  and  Little 
'here  are  three 
id  Cow  creeks, 
be  reached  at 

the   uplands. 

county,  about 
so  is  limestone 
and  Santa  Fe 
d.  There  has 
3n  in  the  last 
nercue  ai'd  de- 
i  water  }>ower 
J  located  there, 
situated  on  the 
?.  There  is  a 
weekly,  a  fine 
lurches,  hotels, 


CovsTV  SiaiTcir^iJ. 


680 


and  a  good  trade.  There  are  in  tlic  conuiy,  01  urgruu/cd  «ch..ol 
districts  and  22  school  houso.x,  with  i)r(.p.-rty  valued  at  $23,5)20. 
There  are  no  libraries,  but  there  are  ten  chinch  organizations. 
The  locust  plaeue  afTected  Barton  heavily,  as  there  were  1,000 
persons,  or  nearly  half  the  then  population,  wanting  rations  and 
other  help  in  1874. 

Boi'KHoN  County  is  one  of  the  earliest  organizations,  dating 
from   1855.     There  arc   637  .square    miles   of   territory,  with  a 
l)opiilation  of    15,07fi,  which  has  increased  within   the  last  live 
years  1,753.     Rather  more  than  half  the  population  is  engaged 
in  farming,  and  about  one-eighth  in  mining  and   manufactures. 
The  capital  of  the  county  is  at  Fort  Scott,  100  miles  from  To- 
peka  to  the  southeast.     There  is  about  10  per  cent,  of  forest  in 
the  countv,  and  the  bottom  lands  are  about  17  \viv  cent.,  with  an 
average  breadth  of  one  mile.     The  timber  is  usually  of  valuable 
varieties.     The  principal  streams  are  the  O.sage  river,  with  Lime- 
stone creek,  its  tributary;  Marmaton  river,  with  Mill,  Wolverine 
and  Shiloh  as  its  northern,  and  Yellow  Paint,  Pawnee,  Hock  and 
Moore's  Branch  as  its  southern  tributaries.     Drywood  is  another 
stream  on  tl    south  line,  with  Walnut  creek  as  its  northern  tribu- 
tary.     Springs  are  numerous,  as  usually  is  the  case  near  wood- 
lands, and  well-water  varies  from  live  to  twenty-flvc  feet  in  depth. 
Coal  has  been  found  under  about  one-third  of  the  county,  varying 
in  depth  from  one  foot  to  fifty,  and  in  thickness  of  vein  from  six 
inches  to  three  -feet.     This  deposit  must  materially  affect  the  fu- 
ture of  the  county.     During  1874-5,  the  mines  were  worked  to 
the  extent  of  about  150,000  tons,  and  the  quality  is  moderately 
good  bituminous.     The  expense  of  working  is  very  light,  as  the 
coal  can  be  supplied  at  the  pit  mouth  for  $1.90  per  ton.    Lime- 
stone, sandstone,  hydraulic  cement,  mineral  paint,  fire  clay  and 
pottery  clay  are  all  plentiful,  and  lead  has  been  found,  but  not  m 
paying  quantities.     Fort  Scott,  the  capital  of   the  county,  has 
stations  on  the  Missouri  River,  Fort  Scott  and  Gulf,  and  on  the 
Missouri,  Kansas  and  T^xas  Railroads,  which  bisect  each  other 
at  that  point,  and  traverse  the  county  completely.     This  city  is 
880  miles  west  of  St  Louis,  Mo.,  and  98  miles  south  of  Kansas 
City,  and  is  situated  on  the  Mariniton  river.    There  are  three 


111 


I 


I 


jl  • ' 


I't 


I- 


600 


Ti'TTI.k's   lllSTOIlY  OF  K.iS-flAS, 


iiowHpapci'n  i)nblislic(l  hero,  ono  diiily  (tlic  Fort  Snott  Monitor), 
ami  two  wiokly.  Tlio  mini's  and  rnini'ral  paints  and  oolircs  lead 
to  nmny  important  iiulnstrios  already,  but  tlicy  arc  yet  in  tho  in- 
fancy of  their  development.  The  liydraulic  eement  works  must 
become  very  extensive,  ns  the  quality  of  the  article  supplied  is 
cxcellpiit. 

Anionj,'  tho  enterprises  now  flourish  in  j,'  in  the  city  of  Fort  Scott 
nro  a  steam  brewery,  two  steam  flouring  mills,  steam  paint  and 
cement  works,  steam  planing  mill  and  eabinet  works,  steam  flour- 
ing mill  and  elevator,  steam  foundry  and  ma('hin(5  shops,  steam 
castor  oil  works,  steam  woolen  mills,  wagon  and  carriage  factories, 
marble  works,  several  eabinet  factories,  lire,  pressed  and  building 
brick  mai:u factories,  breweries,  soap  factories,  cigar  and  tobacco 
factories,  and  in  addition  the  state  grange  has  recently  erected 
valuable   works,  so   that    the   aggregate   of   capital    invested    is 
already  more  than  $400,000  in   industries  which  arc  certsiin   to 
grow  with  increase  of  population.     Many  businesses  of  great  im- 
portance have  not  been  enumerated,  and  the  poi)ulation  of  Fort 
Scott  ii-  4.072.     The  county  of  Bourbon  did  not  rerpiirc  help  dur- 
ing the  locust  plague.     There  are  no  water  powers  utilized  in  Fort 
Scott,  nor  more   than  one  in   the  county  of  Bourbon,  although 
many  such  could  bo  made  available  at  little  cost;  but  steam 
power  is  preferred  because  it  is  so  steady   in  its  operation,  and, 
therefore,  more   economical   in  the  main.     The  other  principal 
manufactures  in  the  county  are  in  P>eed<im  town.ship,  where  there 
is  a  steam  saw  and  flouring  mill ;  at  Timber  Hill  town.«hip,  simi- 
lar works;  at  Scott  township,  a  steam  flouring  mill ;  in  Franklin 
township,  a  saw  mill ;  at  Xenia,  a  flouring  mill ;  in  Marion  town- 
ship, two  steam  saw  mills  and  one  flour  and  saw  mill,  driven  by 
water  power;    and  at  Cato,  one  flour  mill  and  one  saw  mill. 
There  are  only  two  banks  in  the  county,  those  at  Fort  Scott,  the 
First  National  and  the  Merchants'  National,  with  an  aggregate 
capital  of  ,$250,000. 

There  are  in  the  county  eigty-seven  organized  school  districts 
and  eighty-six  school  houses,  valued,  with  furniture  and  appur- 
tenances, at  $63,216,  besides  which  the  Catholic  Church  has 
established  a  school  for  young  ladies.  Seven  townships  only 
have  made  returns  as  to  libraries,  in  which  are  included  one  pub- 


Scroti  Monitor), 
uiul  oftircM  lead 
re  yet  in  the  in- 
cnt  works  must 
icio  hiipplicd  is 

ty  of  Fort  Seott 
Lcntn  pnint  nnd 
•ks,  Htcatn  flour- 
1(5  sliopn,  Htcnin 
irrinj,'i'  factories, 
!d  iuid  building 
ar  and  tobacco 
ecently  erected 
tul    invested    is 
are  oortiiin  to 
!es  of  groat  iin- 
ilation  of  Fort 
quire  lielp  dur- 
utilized  in  Fort 
irbon,  although 
ost;  but  steam 
operation,  and, 
:)ther  principal 
ip,  where  there 
township,  simi- 
I ;  in  Franklin 
1  Marion  town- 
lill,  driven  by 
one  saw  mill. 
Fort  Scott,  the 
1  an  aggregate 

chool  districts 
•e  and  appur- 
3  Church  has 
jwnships  only 
iided  one  pub- 


COVSTV  SKKTCllKf!. 


m 


lie  and  eiKhty-8cvei>  private  collections,  of  13,087  volumes  alto- 
gether. Dogs  are  numerous  and  destructive,  as  more  sheep  have 
been  destroyed  by  dogs  than  by  wolves  by  more  than  three  to 
one.  l^itter  and  cheese  are  largely  nuulo  in  thi.-,  county,  and 
there  are  nearly  5,000  acrea  planted  in  vineynrds,  nurseries  and 
orchards, 

Bnowx  County  was  organized  in  1855,  and  named  in  honor 
of  a  senator  and  ex  governor  of  Mississippi,  wlio  seceded  with 
Jefferson   Davis  in   18»;i.     The  territory  comprises  f.07  square 
miles,  and  has  a  population  of  nearly  10,000,  which  is  still  in- 
creasing; the  males  preponderate  about  040  over  the  females.   . 
Over  80  per  cent,  arc  employed  in  farming,  and  about  11  per  cent, 
in  trade,  transportation,  mining  and  manufactures.     The  county 
seat  is  at  Hiawatha,  fifty-seven  miles  from  Topeka,  to  the  north. 
There  is  only  about  two  per  cent,  of  bottom  lands  and  eight  per 
cent,  of  timber.     The  forest  woods  are  of  good  quality.     The 
principal  streams  arc  Walnut  creek,  Grasshopper,  Wolf,  Boy's 
creek.  Spring  and   Mulberry  creeks.     Well  water  ranges  from 
twenty-five  to  forty  feet  in  depth,  and  springs  arc  plentiful,     Coal 
has  been  found,  but  the  extent  is  unknown.     Where  found  near 
.  the  surface,  it  runs  from  sixteen  to  twenty-two  inches  in  thick- 
ness, and  is  not  of  very  good  quality.     Limestone  is  found  of 
good  quality  in  the  western  part  of  the  county.     The  county  seat 
at  Iliawathk  is  also  the  principal  station  on  the  St.  Joseph  and 
Denver  City  railroad,  which  traverses  the  county  nearly  cast  and 
west.     St  Joseph  city  is  distant  only  forty-two  miles  east.     There 
are  four  fine  churches,  a  bank,  two  newspapers,  several  schools, 
a  steam  flouring  mill  and  two  elevators.     Th    capital  is  in  the 
center  of  a  fine  agricultural  country  and  does  an  excellent  busi- 
ness.    The  water  powers  are  excellent,  but  they  ate  mostly  unde- 
veloped,  and  there  is  only  one  water  mill  in  the  whole  county, 
on  Walnut  creek.     There  is  a  8te£\m  saw  mill  in  Robinson  town- 
ship, a  water  flouring  mill  in  Hamlin  township,  and  a  grist  mill 
in  Padonea  township.     The  population  of  Hiawatha  is  under  800 
souls.     Barnett,  Morrill  &  Co.  are  the  bankers  at  Hiawatha. 
There  are  in  the  county  72  organized  school  districts,  with  69 
school  houses,  valued,  with  all  appurtenances,  at  $80,814.    There 


—viPMmvm'  K  ■i>m<m^" ' 


592 


TuTTLE's  IIlSTOltY  OF  KaXSAS. 


lire  six  churches  erected  in  the  county,  but  many  organizations 
have  no  buildings.  There  are  four  public  and  eighty-one  private 
libraries  reported,  with  an  aggregate  of  6,728  volumes.  Brown, 
being  one  of  the  oldest  counties,  required  no  help  at  the  time  of 
the  locust  plague,  but  the  dogs  are  a  plague  from  which  the 
county  continually  suffers,  in  the  damage  inflicted  on  sheep 
farmers.  . 

Butler  Counts  was  organized  in  1855,  being  named  in  honor 
of  one  of  the  proslavery  champions  representing  South  Carolina. 
The  territory  comprises  1,428  square  miles,  and  has  a  population  of 
nearly  10,000,  in  which  males  preponderate  to  the  extent  of  about 
900.  Nearly  30  per  cent,  are  engaged  in  farming,  and  about  9 
per  cent,  in  trade,  transportation,  mining  and  manufacturing. 
The  county  seat  is  at  Eldorado,  about  107  miles  from  Topeka 
southwest,  on  tlie  Walnut  river.  The  town  has  a  national  bank, 
a  newspaper,  an  academy,  two  churches,  two  flouring  mills,  and 
good  water  power  which  cannot  fail  to  be  improved  eventually,  as 
it  stands  in  the  midst  of  a  fine  farming  country.  The  population 
of  Eldorado  in  1875  was  1,136,  and  amoug  the  other  industries 
not  mentioned  are,  a  tannery,  a  cheese  factory,  and  a  furniture 
factory  for  the  promotion  of  which  the  native  woods  are  well 
adapted.  Elsewhere  in  the  county  are  two  water  mills  and  one 
steam  mill  for  flouring.  At  Augusta,  there  is  a  steam  lumber 
mill,  at  Towanda  a  water  grist  mill  and  a  cheese  factory,  and  at 
Douglass  two  steam  saw  mills.  There  is  only  one  bank  in  the 
county  besides  that  at  Eldorado,  the  second  institution  of  the 
kind  being  at  Augusta,  where  also  the  Southern  Kansas  Gazette 
is  published.  There  are  in  the  county  124  school  districts  organ- 
ized, and  90  school  houses,  valued  inclusive  at  $80,500.  Libra- 
ries are  but  partially  reported,  and  they  show  an  aggregate  of 
1,332  volumes  in  one  public  and  37  private  collections  in  seven 
townships.  There  are  only  two  church  buildings,  but  the  organ- 
izations are  much  more  numerous.  Butler  suffered  heavily  in 
the  locust  plague,  as  nearly  one-ninth  of  the  population  wanted 
food,  and  190  wanted  clothing,  as  appears  by  the  report  of  the  state 
board. 

Chautauqua  County  is  one  of  theyou:,g  counties,  having 


ippji.  t,i»^-m>t.i,f-mim' 


County  Sketches. 


593 


y  organizations 
hty-onc  private 
umes.  Brown, 
p  at  the  time  of 
rom  which  tho 
cted   on   sheep 

lamed  in  honor 
iouth  Carolina, 
a  population  of 
extent  of  about 
g,  and  about  9 
manufacturing, 
i  from  Topeka 
national  bank, 
ring  mills,  and 
d  eventually,  as 
The  population 
)ther  industries 
nd  a  furniture 
voods  are  well 
mills  and  one 
steam  lumber 
factory,  and  at 
le  bank  in  the 
stitution  of  the 
vansas  Gazette 
districts  organ- 
80,500.  Libra- 
m  aggregate  of 
ctions  in  seven 
but  the  organ- 
ered  heavily  in 
mlation  wanted 
port  of  the  state 

Dunties,  having 


been  organized  in  1875.  It  has  an  area  of  651  square  miles,  and 
a  population  of  7,417,  having  been  prior  to  its  separate  organiza- 
tion part  of  Howard  county,  which  was  made  into  two  counties, 
Elk  being  the  other.  Howard  had  only  19  inhabitants  in  1860, 
and  when  divided  it  possessed  13,632.  Fully  85  per  cent,  of  tho 
population  of  Chautauqua  is  employed  in  farming,  aud  nine  per 
cent  in  trade,  transportation,  mining  and  manufactures.  Sedan, 
the  county  seat,  is  135  miles  from  Topeka,  towards  the  south. 
The  village  has  but  little  manufacturing,  no  bank,  and  but  one 
journal,  a  weekly.  The  manufactures  of  the  county  consist  of  a 
water  power  saw  and  grist  mill  at  Peru ;  a  saw  and  grist  mill, 
and  a  steam  saw  mill  at  Cloverdale ;  a  water  power  saw  and  grist 
mill,  and  another  driven  by  steam  at  Boston  ;  a  saw  mill,  a  grist 
mill,  and  one  mill  combining  both  branches  at  Cedarville ;  a 
steam  saw  and  grist  mill  and  a  grindstone  manufactory  at  Graf- 
ton ;  a  steam  saw  and  grist  mill  at  Matanzas :  a  steam  saw  mill 
at  Salt  Creek,  and  a  steam  saw  mill  at  Elk  City.  There  are  80 
organized  school  districts  and  71  school  houses,  valued  inclusive- 
ly at  $32,555.  The  Baptists  have  ten  organizations,  but  no  church 
building.  There  are  libraries  public,  and  private,  4  and  87,  with 
an  aggregate  of  5,914  volumes.  In  this  county  as  in  every  other, 
dogs  are  destructive.  Chautauqua  was  organized  at  the  time  of 
the  locust  plague,  but  as  part  of  Howard  it  was  included  in  the 
list  of  sufferers,  as  that  county  stands  rated  at  600  needing 
rations  and  1,500  in  want  of  clothing 

Chase  County  was  organized  in  1859,  and  named  in  honor 
of  the  chief  justice.  The  change  in  administration  within  the  ter- 
ritory is  broadly  marked  between  Atchison  and  Chase.  The  ter- 
ritory includes  750  square  miles,  and  has  a  population  of  3.116 
in  1875,  the  males  preponderating  by  412.  Three-fourths  of  the 
population  are  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  over  one-tenth  in 
mining  and  manufactures.  The  county  seat  is  located  at  Cotton- 
wood Falls,  67  miles  southwest  from  Tokepa,  as  the  crow  fliea. 
The  land  is  divided  into  bottom  and  prairie,  12  and  88 ;  about  5 
per  cent  is  timbered.  The  valleys  of  the  streams  are  shut  in  by. 
bluffs,  but  otherwise  the  country  is  undulating.  The  timber  is 
good  for  manufacturing  purposes.  The  principal  streams  are  Cot- 
88  ~ 


*  '. 


iUlii 


1^lKn9»»S^-'-^' 


Tvtti.e's  History  of  Kansas. 

tonwood  river,  and  its  tributaries  on  the  north,  Ruckeye,  Peyton, 
Fox,  Diamond,  Middle,  Silver  and  French  creeks ;  and  on  the 
Bouth   Jacobs,  Bloody,  South  Fork,  and  othei-s  mucli  smaller. 
The  county  is  pretty  well  supplied  with  springs,  and  well  water 
of  good  quality  may  be  found  at  about  a  depth  jf  25  feot.     Coal 
has  been  found,  but  not  in  quantity.     Building  stone  of  excellent 
quality  may  be  procured  in  abundance.     Magnesian  limestone  of 
very  choice  kinds,  raised  and  quarried  in  this  county,  ornamenta 
most  of  the  great  cities  in  the  state,  and  is  in  great  demand.    Cot- 
tonwood Falls  is  a  depot  for  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe 
Eailroad,  and,  as  the  name  implies,  the  county  seat  is  located  on 
the  banks  of  the  Cottonwood.     There  is  at  this  point  an  excellent 
series  of  water  powers,  but  little  used  at  present,  although  there 
are  manufactories,  chief  among  which  are  two  flouring  mills  run 
by  water  powQT,  and  stone  sawing  works.     The  Chase  County 
Bank  is  at  Cottonwood  Falls,  and  there  are  two  newspapers,  the 
Leader  and  the  Courant,  both  weekly.     There  are  nine  public 
libraries  in  this  young  county,  containing  an  aggregate  of  1,252 
volumes,  and  43  private  collections,  with  a  total  of  3,816  volumes. 
There  are  36  organized  school  districts  in  the  county,  and  32 
school  houses,  valued  inclusive  at  $31,563.     There  is  one  denom- 
ination  school.  Catholic,  at  Cottonwood  Falls.     There  are  three 
church  buildings  in  the  county,  valued  at  $6,800,  but  there  are 
many  more  organizations  with  small  memberships.    Chase  County 
court  house  displays  the  magnificent  taste  of  its  projectors.     The 
manufactures  of  the  county  have  progressed  but  little  up  to  the 
present  time,  but  there  are  valuable  works  rising  into  local  and 
general  importance,  among  which  are :  a  flouring  mill  at  Bazaar 
township ;  a  water  power  and  hand  loom ;  a  water  power  flouring 
mill  at  Toledo ;  a  flouring  mill  at  Falls  township ;  a  flouring  mill 
at  Diamond  Creek;  a  grist  mill  at  Cedar  Point;  a  saw  mill  at 
Elmdale ;  a  saw  mill  and  a  saw  and  grist  mill  at  Silver  Creek,  and 
a  saw  and  grist  mill  at  Safford.     The  amount  of  capital  invested 
in  these  several  works  is  not  large,  but  the  industrial  enterprises 
mentioned  pay  tolerably  well,  and  will  develop  with  time  and 
population  to  much  greater  dimensions.     In  this  county  it  is  a 
noticeable  fact  that  the  dogs  are  not  so  destructive  among  sheep 
as  the  wolves.     The  locust  raid  did  not  very  severely  affect  this 


keye,  Peyton, 
;  and  on  the 
luch  smaller, 
id  well  water 
15  feot.     Coal 
le  of  excellent 
1  limestone  of 
ty.  oni  amenta 
leraand.    Cot- 
and  Santa  Fe 
;  is  located  on 
t  an  excellent 
Jthough  there 
ring  mills  run 
Chase  County 
3wspapers,  the 
'e  nine  public 
■egate  of  1,252 
},816  volumes, 
ounty,  and  32 
!  is  one  denom- 
'here  are  three 
I,  but  there  are 

Chase  County 
ojectors.  The 
little  up  to  the 

into  local  and 
mill  at  Bazaar 
power  flouring 
a  flouring  mill 
;  a  saw  mill  at 
Iver  Creek,  and 
apital  invested 
irial  enterprises 
with  time  and 
i  county  it  is  a 
^e  among  sheep 
jrely  affect  this 


^j<»f^  y  ^jif.^l^lllilB.j.i  I 


CousTY  Sketches. 


65)6 


county,  as  only  50  persons  required  assistance  with  clothes  and 
rations,  and  the  people  helped  one  another. 

Cherokee  County  was  originally  named  McGee,  but  was 
changed  in  1868,  in  consequence  of  the  Indian  reservation  named 
being  partly  included.  The  organization  was  first  effected  in 
1855,  and  McGee  was  one  of  the  Missouri  legislature  at  Shawnee. 
The  area  of  the  county  is  589  square  miles,  and  it  contains  a  pop- 
ulation of  12,223,  by  steady  increase  since  the  people  became 
masters  of  their  own  government.  The  preponderance  of  males 
in  this  county  is  about  700.  The  population  of  this  county  has 
come  mainly  from  Illinois,  Missouri,  Iowa  and  Indiana,  in  the  or- 
der in  which  the  states  are  named,  and  about  72  per  cent,  are  en- 
gaged in  agriculture,  10  per  cent  in  mining  and  manufactures, 
and  over  11  per  cent,  in  personal  and  professional  services.  The 
county  seat  is  at  Columbus,  135  miles  southeast  from  Topeka. 
This  county  suffered  from  the  locust  raid  considerably,  but  the 
people  were  old  residents  to  a  large  extent  and  no  outside  help 
was  accepted.  Columbus  is  a  post  village  as  well  as  capital  of 
the  county,  and  it  has  a  population  of  1,279.  It  is  fifty  miles 
south  of  Fort  Scott,  and  it  supports  two  newspapers,  the  Journal 
and  the  Courier.  There  is  a  water  power  flouring  mill  here,  and 
many  small  industries,  giving  a  large  aggregate  of  employment 
There  are  three  banks  in  the  county,  but  the  principal  is  that  at 
Columbus,  the  house  of  Hobart  &  Middaugh.  There  are  two 
other  papers  published  in  the  county,  at  Cherokee  and  at  Baxter 
Springs,  both  weeklies,  and  the  manufactures  beyond  those  al- 
ready ;numerated  are  four  water  power  flouring  mills  at  Lowell 
township  ;  two  water  power  flouring  mills  and  saw  mills  at  Shaw- 
nee township;  stejim  spelter  mills  at  Cherokee  ;  and  a  cigar  fac- 
tory and  a  brewery  at  Baxter  Springs.  There  are  90  organized 
school  districts  and  83  school  houses,  valued  inclusive  at  $64,650. 
Libraries  are  not  returned  in  the  voluminous  records  from  which 
we  quote,  but  there  are  five  church  edifices  and  more  numerous 
organizations  from  which  the  presence  of  libraries  may  be  in- 
ferred. Butter  and  cheese  are  very  successful  industries  in  Cher- 
okee county,  but  sheep  farming  is  robbed  of  its  profits  by  the 
ravages  of  dogs,  the  loss  in  that  way  being  valued  at  $582,  while 


/      [ 


'      i  - 


—'»^''^l-  *-i 


,r:^,;jf  -^tm 


696 


Tuttle's  History  of  Kaxsas. 


wolves  have  only  destroyed  within  the  same  time  to  the  amount 
of  $37.  Nurseries,  orchards  and  vineyards  occupy  over  4,000 
acres  in  the  county,  and  bees  are  being  every  year  more  highly 
valued  as  additions  to  profit  with  little  outlay  or  trouble. 

Clay  County  was  named  in  honor  of  the  compromise  states- 
man, but  for  whom  the  quarrel  between  north  and  south  might 
have  fallen  at  a  much  earlier  date  when  the  outcome  would  prob- 
ably have  been  less  advantageous  for  humanity.  This  county 
was  organized  the  year  after  the  conclusion  of  the  war  in  1866. 
The  territory  is  660  square  miles,  the  population  6,672,  and  the 
increase  continuous  from  the  first  organization.  Males  prepond- 
erate by  nearly  500.  There  are  37  per  cent,  employed  in  farm- 
ing, mining,  manufactures.  Trade  and  transportation  only  employ 
about  8  per  cenf.  Clay  Centre,  the  county  seat,  is  81  miles  from 
Topeka  to  the  west,  and  125  miles  west  of  Leavenworth,  on  the 
banks  of  the  Republican  river.  This  village  has  a  station  on  the 
Junction  City  and  Fort  Kearney  Eailroad,  operated  by  the  Kan- 
sas Pacific  Company,  and  one  newspaper,  the  Dispatch,  an  able 
weekly.  The  population  of  Clay  Center  is  1,134.  This  county 
suffered  much  during  the  locust  plague  but  only  70  became  charge- 
able upon  the  general  fund  lor  rations  and  110  for  clothing,  when 
the  population  was  6,000.  There  are  two  steam  grist  and  saw 
mills  at  Clay  Centre,  and  a  similar  mill  worked  by  water  power, 
besides  other  enterprises  on  a  smaller  scale.  The  Clay  County 
Bank  of  J.  Higginbotham  is  conducted  at  the  county  seat  The 
number  of  organized  districts  is  85  ;  the  schools  number  63,  and 
the  value  of  buildings  inclusive  is  $29,794.  There  are  four 
church  edifices,  but  many  organizations  are  not  supplied  with 
buildings  for  worship.  There  are  eleven  townships  in  the  county 
and  of  these  six  report  100  libraries  with  an  aggregate  of  8,811, 
all  private  collections  except  as  to  eight  volumes.  The  returns 
before  us  are  incomplete  as  to  the  other  manufactures  prosecuted 
in  Clay  county.  The  water  powers  in  this  district  are  valuable, 
but  they  are  not  much  used  so  far.  There  are  about  450  acres 
laid  out  in  orchards,  vineyards  and  nurseries  here..  Butter  is  au 
increasing  branch  of  industry,  but  cheese  decreases  in  Clay  coun- 
ty.   The  land  is  good,  11  per  cent,  being  fertile  bottom  lands, 


■"W^\. 


Couyrr  Sketches. 


697 


3  the  amount 
f  over  4,000 
•  more  highly 
uble. 

romise  states- 
south  might 
I  would  prob- 
This  county 
war  in  1866. 
1,672,  and  the 
[ales  prepond- 
yed  in  farm- 
1  only  employ 
31  miles  from 
iworth,  on  the 
station  on  the 
by  the  Kan- 
tpaich,  an  able 
This  county 
ecame  charge- 
slothing,  when 
grist  and  saw 
'  water  power, 
Clay  County 
ity  seat     The 
imber  63,  and 
acre  are  four 
supplied  with 
in  the  county 
gate  of  3,811, 
The  returns 
res  prosecuted 
are  valuable, 
lout  450  acres 
Butter  is  an 
in  Clay  coun- 
bottom  lands, 


•with  an  average  breadth  of  three-fourths  of  a  milo.  Forest  only 
covers  about  4  per  cent,  but  the  wood  U  of  good  quality.  The 
principal  streams  are  the  Republican  and  a  number  of  creeks  in- 
cluding Petes,  Five,  Timber,  Lincoln,  Fancy,  Otter  and  others. 
There  are  few  springs,  and  wells  must  be  sunk  about  30  feet  on 
the  bottoms,  and  on  the  uplands  from  60  to  75  feet 

Cloud  CouNTr  was  organized  is  1866,  and  named  after  Col, 
Cloud,  who  distinguished  himself  as  commander  of  the  second 
Kansas  cavalry.     The  area  includes  720  square  miles,  and  the 
population  is  7,170.     Males  preponderate  about  450.     About  84 
per  cent  are  employed  in  farming,  and  6  per  cent  in  mines  and 
manufactories.     The  county  seat  is  at  Concordia,  111  miles  from 
Topeka,  northwest,  60  miles  from  Junction  City,  on  the  Republi- 
can river.     There  are  two  weekly  newspapers  in  Concordia,  the 
Empire  and  the  Expositor.     There  are  no  banks  in  the  county. 
The  manufactures  of  the  city  and  county  are  in  the  city,  a  water 
power  flouring  mill,  a  steam  flour  mill,  a  carriage  and  wagon 
factory,  and  a  brewery.     Some  salt  springs  of  great  apparent 
value  have  been  found,  and  a  company  formed  for  the  purpose 
will  test  the  practicability  of  salt  works.     There  is  in  Buffalo 
township  one  saw  mill,  and  in  Lincoln  township  a  steam  grist  and 
saw  mill ;  besides  these,  there  are  in  Meredith  and  Elk  townships 
two  steam  saw  mills,  and  in  Solomon  township  a  water  power  flour 
and  saw  mill  and  a  steam  saw  mill.     Cloud  county  suffered  con- 
siderably from  the  locust  plague,  as  775  wf-^e  in  want  of  rations, 
and  nearly  twice  that  number  in  want  of  winter  clothing,  besides 
other  assistance.     There  are  no  railroads  in  this  county.     There 
is  about  10  per  cent  of  bottom  land  and  3  per  cent  of  woodland 
in  this  county ;  the  remainder  is  upland  prairie,  but  all  cultivable 
soil.     The  bottoms  of  the  Republican  average  four  miles  across, 
and  of  the  Solomon,  eight  miles.     The  timber  only  follows  the 
streams  in  belts  of  from  10  to  80  rods  in  breadth.     The  principal 
streams  are  the  Republican  with  its  tributaries,  Camp,  Hay,  Salt, 
Little,  Upton  and  Elk  creeks  on  the  north ;  end  Mulberry,  Beaver, 
Elm,  Plum,  Oak,  Lost  and  Buffalo  creeks  on  the  south;  the 
Solomon  river  with  its  tributaries,  Asher,  Fisher,  Yockey,  Criss, 
Mortimer  and  Pipe  creeka     Chapman  creek,  one  of  the  feeders 


r^'^* m^m\ _mmft^  t^- 


698 


TvTTLE's  I/isTony  of  JCu\sas. 


of  the  Kansas,  nses  in  this  county.     There  are  but  few  springs 
and  wells  vary  from  10  feet  to  100.     Coal  is  found  under  hS 
the  county  near  the  surface,  from  15  to  80  inches  in  tK  Lne 

about  2o  feet  below  the  general  surface,  running  shafts  in  from 
the  s>dcsof  ravines,  and  the  eoal  can  be  put  in  the  market  fo^ 
about  $2.50  or  $3.00  per  ton.     Stone  of  p'oor  qualhyl  t    d 
mostly  foss.l,ferous  limestone  and  sandstone.      Pottery  clay  is 

LsLr'oT    r''  'P'"^^  "'^  "''''  "'"-g*b«  advanfages  pos 
Bessed  by  Cloud  county.     There  are  verv  encouragin..  report^  as 
to  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  apparent./reliable,  show^inTretl: 
o    21  bushels  per  acre  of  spring  wheat  in  one  case,  and  20  in  an- 
other, the  first  planting.     Another  report  shows  70  bushels  per 
acie  of  corn  after  five  crops  had  been  raised ;  others  speak  of  33 
bushels  of  barley  to  the  acre  on  bottom  lands,  and  23  bushels  of 
spnng  wheat,  63  lbs  to  the  bushel,  and  800  bushels  per  acre  of 
potatoes.    There  are  many  more  such  reports,  which  speak  vol- 
umes  for  the  fertility  of  Cloud  county,  which  will  soon  be  able  to 
bid  defiance  to  locusts  if  the  settlers  can  maintain  such  returns. 

mer^hiruuT":  "'"^  '''^'''''''^  ^"  1^^^'  ^«'"g  named  after  a 
member  of  the  temtonal  council.     The  area  of  the  county  is  648 

square  m.les,  and  the  population  7,235.     Males  preponderate  to 
the  number  of  350.     Illinois.  Indiana,  Ohio,  lowf  and  Missouri' 
in  the  order  named,  sent  the  largest  quotas  of  population.     There 
are  seventy-seven  per  cent  engaged  in  farming,  five  per  cent  ia 
trade  and  transportation,  and  nine  per  cent  in  mines  and  manu- 
factures.    There  ,s  about  thirteen  per  cent  of  bottom  land,  and 
eight  per  cent  of  forest,  the  timber  being  of  valuable  kinds. 
Burlington,  the  county  seat,  is  59  miles  southwest  from  Topeka. 
28  mdes  southeast  of  Emporia  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Neosho 
Kiver,  on  the  Missouri,  Kansas  and  Texas  ]?ailroad,  which  has 
here  a  good  station.     The  water  power  is  abundant,  and  there  are 
two  good  weekly  papers,  the  Patriot  and  Independent ;  a  national 

mOOO,  two  steam  saw  mills  and  a  flouring  mill,  water  power 
With  a  capital  of  $55,000.    There  are  elsewhere  i;  the  county  a 


iiiit.ii,i..y  .1..  II  •mmmmmtn 


but  few  springs, 
•11  nd  under  half 
les  in  thiclcness, 
been  worked  at 
J  shafts  in  from 
I  the  market  for 
uality  is  found, 
Pottery  clay   ia 
idvantages  poa- 
iging  reports  as 
showing  returns 
J,  and  20  in  an- 
70  bushels  per 
ers  speak  of  33 
1  23  bushels  of 
els  per  acre  of 
lich  speak  vol- 
3oon  be  able  to 
iuch  returns. 

named  after  a 
county  is  648 
reponderate  to 
and  Missouri, 
lation.     There 
re  per  cent  ia 
les  and  manu- 
;om  land,  and 
iluable  kinds, 
from  Topeka, 
•f  the  Neosho 
d,  which  has 
and  there  are 
it ;  a  national 
J  which  cost 
a  capital  of 
J^ater  power, 
the  county  a 


iiii,rwii|M»'liwyfW' 


Couyrr  Sketches. 


m 


steam  saw  mill  in  Hampden  township  ;  a  steam  flouring  mill,  a 
water  flouring  mill,  a  steam  saw  mill  and  a  brewery  in  Leroy 
township,  and  a  water  power  saw  mill  at  Strawn.     The  water 
l)()wers  of  the  Neosho  have  not  been  one  tithe  developed.     Bur- 
lington is  a  handsome  village  laid  out  with  great  regularity,  with 
unbounded  space  for  expansion.     The  Neosho  is  the  principal 
stream  in  Coffey  county,  and  its  tributary  creeks  are  Spring,  Long, 
Wolf,  Turkey,  Big,  Rock,  Lebo,  Crooked  and  Crow.    The  Potta- 
watomie and  other  small,  streams  completely  drain  the  n.-n  and 
give  abundant  water  for  all  purposes.     Well  water  of  ex  oUent 
quality  can  be  found  at  a  depth  of  about  twenty  feet.     Coal  is  re- 
ported as  underiying  the  whole  county  with  a  thickness  of  about 
fifteen  inches,  and  at  depths  varying  from  the  surface  to  100  feet 
below.     The  quality  of  the  vein  is  highly  praised,  but  up  to  this 
time  it  has  been  mainly  used  in  the  locality,  although  some  has 
been  shipped  by  the  Missouri,  Kansas  and  Texas  Railroad.     The 
quarries  of  building  stone  near  Buriington  are  good,  and  deposits 
of  gypsum  abound  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county.     Cheese 
and  butter  are  largely  manufactured  here,  ani  sheep  farming 
would  flourish,  but  the  profits  go  to  the  dogs.    There  are  over 
4,500  acres  of  land  planted  in  orchards,  nurseries  and  vineyards; 
bees  are  much  cared  for,  and  the  returns  are  good.     School  houses 
to  the  number  of  63  correspond  with  the  number  of  school  dis- 
tricts, and  the  stated  vilue  inclusive  is  $86,700.     There  are  ten 
church  edifices,  but  organizations  are  more  numerous ;  and  returns 
as  to  libraries  show  two  public  and  ninety-five  private  collections 
of  books,  amounting  to  10,771  volumes.    This  county  suffered 
considerably  from  the  locusts,  but  the  people  bore  their  own  bur- 
den and  assisted  each  other,  the  answer  to  outside  sympathizers 
being  that  Coffej  county  is  self  supporting. 

Cowley  County  was  organized  in  1870,  being  named  ia 
honor  of  an  officer  in  the  ninth  Kansas  cavalry,  who  died  at 
Little  Rock,  Arkansas,  after  the  Camden  expedition.  The  area 
of  Cowley  is  1,112  square  miles,  and  the  population  8,963,  males 
preponderating  to  the  number  of  715.  There  was  in  1874  a  much 
larger  population  before  the  locust  famine  overtook  the  locality, 
And  since  the  census  for  1875  was  collected,  the  number  has 


.if»ii.ia>#i<fiiit  ■'•ritfiifnifrhfittiii 


iisimf 


m 


m 


TuTTLhfs  History  of  Kaxsas. 


increased  ngnin  very  considerably.  When  the  report  was  pre- 
pared in  1874-5,  to  submit  to  the  legislature  of  Kansas,  there 
urere  475  in  want  of  rations,  and  1,400  in  want  of  clothing  for 
■winter.  Unfortnately,  the  legislators  bickered  among  them- 
selves, and  there  was  not  as  much  appropriated  as  would  pay  for 
framing  the  report.  Illinois  gave  the  largest  quota  of  population 
to  this  county,  Missouri  next,  then  Towa,  Indiana  and  Ohio. 
Agriculture  employs  eighty-two  per  cent,  of  the  population, 
manufactures  and  mining  seven  per  cent  and  trade  and  trans- 
portation a  little  over  three.  Winfield  is  the  county  seat  of 
Cowley  county.  It  is  144  miles  from  Topeka  in  a  southwesterly 
direction.  Bottom  lands  rise  in  this  county  to  the  average  of 
thirty-three  per  cent,  so  that  it  will  be  seen  that  Winfield  is  the 
center  of  a  fine  agricultural  county.  Woodlands  average  six  per 
cent,  the  timber  being  of  choice  varieties,  valuable  for  manu- 
facturing, such  as  walnut,  oak  and  other  such  woods.  The  bot- 
tom lands  of  Arkansas  river  average  five  miles,  the  Walnut  twa 
miles.  Grouse,  Dutch  and  Rock  creek,  one  mile.  The  principal 
Btreams  are  the  Arkansas  river  and  its  tributaries,  Walnut  and 
Grouse.  The  Walnut  tributaries  are  the  Rock,  Dutch  and  Tim- 
ber creeks.  The  Grouse  has  one  important  tributary,  Silver 
creek.  This  county  has  good  springs,  and  excellent  well  water 
can  be  procured  at  depths  varying  from  fifteen  to  forty  feet. 
The  mineral  resources  of  the  county  are  coal  and  building  stone. 
The  quantity  of  coal  is  yet  unknown,  but  the  quantity  and 
quality  of  magnesian  limestone  are  both  excellent  No  railroads 
have  yet  been  constructed  here.  Butter  is  largely  manufactured 
in  this  county,  but  cheese  is  a  small  product ;  farm  animals  thrive 
and  sheep  would  prosper  but  for  the  dogs.  The  increase  of  land 
in  cultivation  in  1874-5  was  over  82,000  acres.  The  water 
powers  of  the  Walnut  are  perfectly  reliable  except  in  heat  of 
flummer  when  there  is  apt  to  be  a  failure.  Three  mills,  are  now 
depending  on  this  stream.  The  manufactures  of  Cowley  county 
are,  in  brief,  in  Cresswell  township,  a  steam  saw  mill  and  two 
water  power  grist  mills  ;  in  Spring  Creek  township,  a  steam  lum- 
ber and  grist  mill:  in  Winfield  township  a  steam  saw  mill, 
three  water  power  grist  mills  and  one  brewery;  in  Lazette 
township,  one  grist  and  one  saw  mill,  and  in  Silverdale  township^ 


^MtiM 


■fll 


>ort  was  pre- 
Cansns,  there 
clothing  for 
mong  them- 
ould  pa}'  for 
if  population 
a  and  Ohio. 

population, 
lo  and  trans- 
unty  seat  of 
louthwesterly 
e  average  of 
infield  is  the 
erage  six  per 
le  for  manu- 
Is.  The  hot- 
Walnut  two 
!'he  principal 
Walnut  and 
ch  and  Tim- 
atary,  Silver 
tt  well  water 
o  forty  feet, 
lilding  stone, 
quantity  and 
No  railroads 
nanufactured 
nimals  thrive 
irease  of  land 

The  water 
t  in  heat  of 
lills.  are  now 
»wley  county 
nill  and  twa 
a  steam  lum- 
ni  saw  mill, 

in  Lazette 
lie  township^ 


CouxTr  Skhtcuks. 

one  saw  mill  and  one  grist  mill.     T..v.re  arc  several  banks  in 
Arkansas  City,  at  the  confluence  of  the  Arkansas  and  Walnut. 
This  town  commands  a  large  trade,  and  although  it  is  only  three 
years  old  it  already  runs  ahead  of  all  competitors.     There  is  a 
good  weekly  paper,  the  Trareler,  now  published  on  a  spot  winch 
was  an  Osage  hunting  ground  three  years  since.     The  Indians 
come  back  to  their  old  grounds  to  trade  occasionally.     The  sup- 
port of  Arkansas  City  is  the  Texan  cattle  trade,  traffic  with  the 
Indians  and  supplying  the  fine  agricultural  country  by  which  it  is 
surrounded.     The  Arkansas  City  Bank  and  the  Cowley  County 
Bank  in  this  town  transact  a  considerable  business.     There  are 
two  banking  houses  in  Winfield  also,  the  aggregate  capital  of  the 
four  banks  being  $51,300.     There  are  three  papers  published  in 
Winfield.     The  county  has  fifty-eight  school  houses  and  108 
•  districts  :  the  value  of  school  property  being  $63,476.    There  are 
four  church  edifices  valued  at  $11,500.    There  are  seventy  private 
libraries  and  one  public,  with  an  aggregate  of  4,631  volumes,  but 
returns  only  came  from  six  townships  out  of  twenty-two. 

Crawford  County  was  organized  in  1867,  and  was  named  in 
honor  of  Gov.  Crawford,  who  commanded  the  second  colored  in- 
fantry regiment  raised  in  Kansas.    The  area  of  this  county  is 
592  square  miles;  the  population  9,386;  the  preponderance  of 
males  nearly  700.    Illinois  contributed  a  larger  quota  of  popula- 
tion than  any  other  two  states,  the  next  largest  being  Missouri. 
Farming  employs  79  per  cent  of  the  population,  manufactures 
and  mining  8   per  cent     Girard  is  the  county  seat,  114   miles 
southeast  from  Topeka,  126  miles  soi  th  from  Kansas  City,  and 
i^^e  village  has  a  station  on  the  Missouri  River,  Fort  Scott  and 
Gulf  RaHroad.     There  is  quite  a  considerable  trade  done  at  this 
point  among  farmers,  stock  raisers  and  dairymen,  who  are  the 
main  supporters  of  the  post  village  and  capital  of  the  county. 
There  is  a  savings  bank  in  the  village,  two  good  hotels,  a  grain 
elevator,  a  grist  mill  five  churches,  and  quite  a  large  array  of  stores. 
Two  weekly  newspapers  flourish  in  this  county  —  the  Press  and  the 
News  — both  good.     Besides  the  trade  and  manufacturing  inter- 
ests in  Girard,  there  are  elsewhere  in  the  county :  in  Lincoln 
township,  two  steam  flouring  mills,  one  saw  and  corn  mill,  and 


,-t,.i.^.;,-j,-rl|--,fglt(fli^'-r-^''"f''TfT  '■'T'~  ■"-••—  '  ■  "'  .>.v.rW.^--.>'-^-jig- 


0 


if 


602 


Tuttle's  History  of  Kaxsah. 


II 


one  steam  saw  mill ;  in  Slicriilari  township,  one  steam  grist  mill, 
one  steam  mill  and  elevator;  in   Monmouth   township,  a  steam 
grist  mill ;  in  Crawford  township,  two  ilonring  mills,  and  ono 
steam  suwmill  and  elevator;  and  in  Cuto,  two  steam  grist  and 
saw  mills,  and  one  grist  mill.     There   are   no      -uilable  water- 
powers  in  this  county.     The  bottom  lands  in  Crawford  eounty 
are  15  per  eent,  and  forest  10  per  eent,,  the  timber  being  of  good 
kinds.     The  bottom  lands  vary  from  half  a  mile  to  one  mile  in 
breadth,  and  the  timber  belts  are  about  half  a  mile  wide.     The 
soil  is,  as  n)ight  have  been  anticipated,  above  the  average  in  fer- 
tility.    The  principal  streams  are  the  Lightning,  Thunderbolt  and 
Limestone  ereeka,  Big,  Little  and  Middle  Cow  creeks,  Walnut, 
Dryvvood,  Bone  and  Cox  creeks.     The  Ozark  range  runs  through 
this  county,  dividing  the  two  sets  of  streams,  which  run  in  oppo- 
site directions.     There  but  few  springs,  but  well  water,  at  from 
10  to  80  feet  deep  can  be  relied  upon  at  all  seasons.     Coal  is 
plentiful,  as  it  underlies  the  whole  county,  and  the  veins  vary  in 
thickness  from  five  feet  downwards.    The  quality  is  good  enough 
to  create  a  demand  at  a  distance,  and  much  is  exported,  while  the 
consumption  at  home  is  general.     Sandstone,  limestone  and  slate 
are  found,  the  two  former  generally  well  distributed  and  the 
quality  excellent.     Drywood  and  Cherokee  have  stations  on  the 
Missouri  lliver,  Fort  Scolt  and  Gulf  Railroad,  and  the  Missouri, 
Kansas  and  Texas  liailroad  has  stations  at  Ilepler  and  Glenwood, 
besides  flag  stations  at  other  points,  so  that  the  country  is  well 
furnished  with  facilities  for  travel  and  traffic.     During  the  year 
187-1-5,  nearly  31,000  acres  were  added  to  the  area  formerly  in 
cultivation.     The  reports  from  all  quarters  concur  in  praising  the 
fertility  of  this  county.     Butter  manufacture  is  steadily  and  rap- 
idly increasing.     In  this  county,  as  in  most  others,  the  dogs  are 
very  destructive  to  sheep.     Over  3,000  acres  of  land  are  devoted 
to  orchards,  nurseries  and  vineyards.     There  are  98  schoolhouses 
and  100  districts,  the  value  of  school  property  being  $53,544, 
Three  townships  have  two  public  libraries  with  230  volumes,  and 
twenty-one  private  collections  of  books  amounting  to  1,400  vol- 
umes.    There  are  eight  church  edifices,  but  the  organizations  are 
far  more  numerous.     When  the  locust  plague  came  down  upon 
Kansas,  in  1874,  the  people  of  Crawford  county,  although  thej 


•ammmmm 


COVSTY  SKhmilKS. 


im  grist  mill, 
nship,  a  steam 
iuHh,  and  one 
3am  grist  and 
•uila'ble  water- 
wford  county 
being  of  good 

0  one  mile  in 
le  wide.  The 
iVernge  in  fer- 
underbolt  and 
eeks,  Walnut, 

runs  throtigU 

run  in  oppo- 

t^ater,  at  from 

sons.     Coal  is 

veins  vary  in 

1  good  enough 
ted,  while  the 
tone  and  slate 
uted  and  the 
tations  on  the 
the  Missouri, 
nd  Glenwood, 
auntry  is  well 
'ing  the  year 
A  formerly  in 
n  praising  the 
idily  and  rap- 

the  dogs  are 
d  are  devoted 

school  houses 
sing  $53,544. 
volumes,  and 
to  1,400  vol- 
inizations  are 
J  down  upon 
Ithough  thej 


had  Buflcred  heavily,  nupported  the  burden  within  their  own 
borders,  and  were  self-supporting. 

Davis  County  was  nana-d  and  organized  in  1855,  in  honor  of 
the  president  of  the  confederacy  already  in  the  egg,  only  waiting 
for  time,  Pierce  and  Buchanan  to  hatch  it  out.    When  ttie  county 
was  named,  JellerHon  Duvis  was  secretary  of  wa-  and  chief  (lirec- 
tor  of  the  conspiracy  against  tlie  peace  and  prosperity  of  Kansas. 
There  are  407  scpuue  n.iles  in  the  area  of  this  county  and  the 
population  in  1875  was  4,611,  showing  a  decrease  of  more  than 
900  in  five  years.     The  males  preponderate  here  to  the  number 
of  800.     More   than   half  of  the   population,  57   per   cent.,  are 
occupied   in  farming,  U   per  cent  are  employed   in   mines   and 
manufactures,  and  8  per  cent,  in  trade  and  transportation.     Junc- 
tion City,  the  county  sea^  is  62  miles  west  from  Topcka,  is  situ- 
nted  at  the  crown  of  a  low  bluf!,  at  the  confluence  of  the;  Smoky 
Hill  and  llcpuV)lican  river.s,  when  the  Kansas  river  is  formed  by 
their  union.     Tins  post  village  has  the  advantage  of  two  lines  of 
railroad,  the  Kansas  Pacific,  and  the  Missouri,  Kansas  and  Texas 
Kailroads.     There  are  many  churches  and  schools  in  Junction 
City,  beside.1  which  a  savings  bank,  flouring  mills,  manufactories 
of  various  kinds  and  water  powers  equal  to  all  demand.    Quarries 
of  magncsian  limestone  abound  near  Junction  City,  very  easily 
worked  and  much  u.sed  in  building.     Near  the  town   Clark's 
creek  is  crossed  by  three  Howe  truss  bridges,  and  the  town  is  a 
busy  centre  all,  the  year  round.     There  are  two  weekly  papers, 
the  Vnion  and  Tribune,  and  those  serve  the  whole  county  in  local 
matters.     The  Davis  County  Savings  Bank  is  located  at  Junc- 
tion City.     Only  two  water  powers  have  yet  been  improved  at 
this  point,  one  on  the  Smoky  Hill  and  one  on  Clarke's  creek. 
Two  water  power  flouring  mills  and  a  steam  flouring  mill  are 
busily  employed,  giving  work  to  great  numbers  of  hands  in  the 
county  seat ;  and  besides  these,  there  are  a  cigar  factory,  two 
breweries,  and  factories  for  the   manufacture  of  furniture,  soap 
and  brooms.     Agricultural  implements  and  wagons,  and  all  the 
necessary  lines  of  business  requisite  for  a  country  trade,  are  made 
and  supplied  in  Junction  City.     The  other  manufactures  in  the 
county  are  — in  Jackson  township,  a  water  power  flouring  mill; 


ll'ii 


I  f 


604 


Ti'TTi.h^fi  IfisTony  OF  Kaxsas. 


in  Milfonl,  n  steam  grist  nnd  saw  mill ;  niul  in  Smoky  Hill  town- 
Bliip,  ft  cliecse  factory,  a  water  power  flouring  mill  and  a  salt  bora 
Tho  number  of  school  districts  and  school  houses  agree,  both 
being  thirty-four,  and  tho  value  of  the  property  $3{),7flO.  There 
is  a  parochial  Catholic  school  also  at  Junction  City.  There  are 
seven  church  edifices  in  the  county,  valued  at  about  $43,000,  but 
other  buildings  are  now  projected,  as  tho  demand  is  always  in- 
creasing. There  can  bo  no  information  procured  as  to  libraries. 
■  The  population  of  Davis  county  was  much  larger  before  the 
locust  plague  fell  upon  tho  land,  but  in  tho  winter  of  1874  there 
•were  375  persons  reported  in  want  of  food  and  500  in  want  of 
clothing.  Many  left  the  locality  until  the  return  of  spring  nnd 
had  not  resumed  their  avocations  when  tho  census  was  taken  in 
tho  beginning  of  March,  1875. 

Dickinson  County  was  organized  in  1857,  and  named  in 
honor  of  the  senator  who  first  enunciated  in  the  senate  of  the 
United  States  by  specific  resolutions  the  doctrine  of  popular  sov- 
ereignty. When  this  county  was  first  named  there  was  a  great 
hope  that  the  Lecompton  constitution  would  be  made  acceptable 
to  congress  and  tho  country.  The  area  of  Dickinson  county  is 
851  square  miles,  its  population  6,841,  males  preponderating 
about  500.  Farming  employs  79  per  cent,  of  the  population, 
trade  and  transportation  5  and  mines  and  manufactures  9  per 
cent  The  county  has  only  8  per  cent  of  forest,  but  the  wide  ex- 
panse of  bottom  lands,  fully  20  per  cent  of  the  whole,  gives  much 
promise  of  fertility.  The  average  width  of  the  river  bottoms  ia 
about  two  miles.  Such  timber  as  there  is  can  be  made  very  use- 
ful in  manufactures,  being  too  good  for  fuel  and  rough  purposes. 
The  principal  streams  are  the  Smoky  Hill  river,  which  has  for 
its  tributaries  Hollands,  Turkey,  Deer,  Swenson  and  Lyon's 
creeks  on  the  south,  and  the  Mud  and  Chapman  creeks  on  the 
north.  Very  near  to  the  boundary  of  the  county  the  Solomon 
joins  the  Smoky  Hill.  Springs  are  rare,  but  well  water  can  be 
found  at  from  20  to  60  feet  in  depth.  The  mineral  resources  of 
the  county  can  hardly  be  said  to  include  coal,  although  there  are 
veins,  but  they  are  too  thin  to  pay  for  working,  as  reached  on 
Chapman's  and  on  Holland  creek.     That  is  the  dictum  of  the 


mt 


CoVSTY  SKKTCHKa. 


605 


ky  Hill  town- 
id  a  Bait  bora 
i  agree,  both 
:),790.  There 
r.  There  are 
t  $-13,000,  but 
[  is  always  in- 
8  to  libraries, 
?r  before  the 
of  1874  there 
00  in  want  of 
of  spring  and 
was  taken  in 


,nd  named  in 
senate  of  the 
[  popular  Bov- 
re  was  a  great 
ido  acceptable 
ison  county  is 
ireponderating 
le  population, 
facturcs  9  per 
it  the  wide  ex- 
le,  gives  much 
er  bottoms  is 
lade  very  use- 
ugh  purposes, 
fhich  has  for 
I  and  Lyon's 
jreelcs  on  the 
the  Solomon 
water  can  be 
1  resources  of 
)Ugh  there  are 
as  reached  on 
dictum  of  the 


authorities.     There  arc  fine  (lualiiies  ot  limestone  in  endless  pro- 
fusion at  many  points  along   the  bliilTs  and   banks  of  streams, 
gypsum    is  also  found    in    the  Bouthwest,    and    near   Knlerpnso 
tl.LMO  is  a  very  choice  description  of  pottery  clay.     There  are  very 
excellent  water  powers  on  the  Solomon  and  the  Smoky  lldl,  as 
also  on  Chapmana  and  Turkey  creeks,  which  although   ut.li/ed 
to  some  extent,  could  be  still  largely  improved  with   but  slight 
outlays  ..f  capital.     Dickinson  was  in  the  second  group  of  coun- 
ties among  the  sullerers  by  the  locust  plague  ;  200  i.er.sons  were 
wanting  food,  still  more  wanting  seed  for  their  lands,  and  4u0 
were  without  clothes  adapted  to  the  rcmirenient  of  wmte-,  but 
there  was  an  effort  only  partly  successfr   to  provide  for  dl  the 
wants  indicated  within  the  county.    Abilone,  tho  counfy  seat,  is  84 
miles  westerly  from  Topeka,  by  an  airline,  but  1)5  n-dosbyrad. 
This  is  a  great  center  in  the  cattle  trade,  rmny  the  : sands  being 
shipped  from  this  point  to  the  east     Abilene  has  one  news;  -ner 
weekly,  the  Chronicle,  there  is  another  weekly,  the  Qazv:      ;ub- 
lished  at  Solomon  city,  the  two  supplying  the  whole  county. 
The  only  bank  in  the  county  is  the  Abilene  bar  :c.     Ihe  manu- 
factures  at  the  county  seat  are,  a  water  power  1.  >unng  mdl  and 
such  minor  industries  as  require  little  machinery  to  assist  hand 
labor,  as  in  handicraft  employments.     The  other  factories  and 
mills  in  the  county  are,  a  water  power  flouring  mill  at;  Enterprise, 
and  a  water  power  woolen  mill,  a  steam  saw  mill,  a  steam  sorghum 
factory,  and  a  steam  vinegar  factory  ;  at  Solomon  there  is  a  water 
power  flouring  mill  and  an  elevator  ;  at  Newburn  there  is  a  flour- 
ing  mill,  water  power ;  and  at  Chapman's  creek  and  on  Turkey 
creek  there  are  three  water  power  flouring  mills.     School  houses 
number  70,  and  the  school  districts  86,  the  value  of   property 
being  estimated  at  $68,500.     There  .  -o  5  church  edifices,  and  the 
libraries  reported  aggregate  over  ^,,'.0  volumes,  the  great  bulk 
being  of  course  in  private  collections.    The  country  about  Abi- 
lene has  some  very  beautiful  ■'pots  and  the  handsome  buildings 
erected  indicate  the  faith  of  the  people  in  Kansas  prosperity. 

Doniphan  County  was  organized  in  1855,  being  named  in 
honor  of  a  Missouri  colonel  of  a  cavalry  regiment  who  was  deeply 
interested  in  making  Kansas  a  slave  state.     The  area  of  the  coun  ty 


■J 

i 


606 


TuTTLEfs  History  of  Kansas. 


is  379  square  miles,  and  the  population  in  1875,  13,943,  males 
preponderating  by  nearly  500.  Farming  employs  67  per  cent ; 
10  per  cent,  are  engaged  in  mines  and  manufactures,  and  6  in 
trade  and  transportation.  One-fourth  of  the  whole  area  is  bottom 
land,  and  16  per  cent  forest,  so  that  there  are  all  the  physical 
aids  to  success  in  farming  and  manufactures.  The  timber  is  usu- 
ally excellent  The  bottoms  average  one  mile  in  breadth.  The 
principal  streams  are  Wolf  river  and  its  tributaries,  running  to- 
ward the  Missouri.  Springs  are  numerous,  and  well  water  can 
be  found  at  from  10  to  60  feet  in  depth.  There  is  no  coal  so  far 
as  discoveries  have  been  made  within  the  county  that  will  pay 
for  mining.  Building  stone  is  said  to  be  good,  and  pottery  clay 
abundant  Troy  is  the  county  seat,  60  miles  northeast  from  To- 
peka.  There  are  two  railroads  that  make  their  principal  stations 
at  the  capital,  the  St  Joseph  and  Denver  City,  which  crosses  the 
Missouri  at  Elwood,  having  stations  at  that  point,  at  Wathena  and 
at  Severance ;  and  the  Atchison  and  Nebraska,  which  has  other 
stations  at  Doniphan,  Highland  Station,  Iowa  Point,  and  White 
Cloud.  The  St  Joseph  and  Topeka  Railroad  can  also  be  reached 
from  Troy  by  a  brief  detour.  There  are  two  newspapers  in  the 
county,  the  Kansas  Chief,  at  Troy,  and  the  Reporter,  at  Wathena. 
There  are  two  banks  in  the  county,  one  at  Troy,  and  one  at  High- 
land, and  the  manufactures  worthy  of  note  are :  a  steam  saw  mill 
at  Iowa  township  ;  a  furniture  factory  and  flouring  mill  at  White 
Cloud;  a  steam  flouring  mill  at  Burr  Ook  township;  breweries 
at  Highland  and  Wathena;  a  steam  flouring  mill  at  Wolf 
River ;  a  steam  flouring  mill  at  Centre  township ;  three  steam 
flouring  mills  at  Washington  township,  and  in  Wayne  town- 
ship a  ste^m  saw  and  flouring  mill,  a  steain  flouring  mill,  a 
wagon  and  implement  factory,  two  wine  pressing  factories,  and 
a  water  power  flouring  mill.  The  water  powers  in  the  county 
are  limited,  but  several  flouring  mills  are  supplied,  and  more  can 
be  run  with  little  outlay.  There  are  68  organized  school  districts, 
and  71  school  houses,  valued  inclusive  at  $89,500.  The  Presby- 
terian University,  at  .Highland,  under  the  supervision  of  the 
Synod  of  Kansas,  is  valued  at  $75,000,  and  there  are  Roman 
Catholic  Schools  at  Doniphan  and  Severance.  Library  reports 
are  very  few  and  restricted,  only  showing  about  3,278  volumes. 


j^t^l.'*" 


County  Sketches. 


607 


ia,943,  males 
!  67  per  cent ; 
;ures,  and  6  in 
area  is  bottom 
1  the  physical 

timber  is  usii- 
breadth.  The 
es,  running  to- 
well  water  can 

no  coal  so  far 
'  that  will  pay 
d  pottery  clay 
beast  from  To- 
ncipal  stations 
ich  crosses  the 
;  Wathena  and 
hich  has  other 
nt,  and  White 
Iso  be  reached 
'spapers  in  the 
r,  at  Wathena. 
i  one  at  High- 
steam  saw  mill 
mill  at  White 
lip;  breweries 
mill  at  Wolf 
) ;  three  steam 
Wayne  town- 
)uring  mill,  a 

factories,  and 
in  the  county 

and  more  can 
chool  districts, 

The  Presby- 
vision  of  the 
e  are  Roman 
library  reports 
,273  volumes. 


There  are  19  church  edifices  in  Doniphan  county,  but  several 
organizations  and  denominations  have  no  church  buildings.  This 
county  was  self  supporting  during  the  distress  arising  from  the 
locust  plague. 

Douglas  County  was  organiTied  in  1855,  and  was  named  in 
honor  of  the  great  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  whose  powers  were,  un- 
fortunately, to  a  great  extent,  warped  by  thu  influences  of  party, 
against  the  interests  of  progression.  This  county  is  one  of  the 
most  famous  in  the  history  of  Kansas,  because  it  was  the  scene  of 
the  Wakarusa  war,  and  of  all  the  troubles  that  for  a  long  term 
of  years  occurred  and  reoccurred  to  Lawrence.  The  population 
of  the  county  in  1875  was  18,505,  and  the  area  is  469  square 
miles.  The  population  in  1870,  in  this  county,  reached  higher 
figures  by  2,087  than  in  the  year  1875.  The  preponderance  of 
males  in  this  county  is  only  163.  Farming  only  employs  47  per 
cent,  of  the  population  in  Douglas  county,  13  per  cent,  being  em- 
ployed in  trade  and  transportation,  and  14  per  cent  in  mines  and 
manufactures,  Lawrence,  the  county  seat,  is  25  miles  east  from 
Topeka,  the  capital  of  the  state.  The  city  is  built  on  both  sides 
of  the  Kansas  river,  and  ranks  only  second  in  the  state,  both  as 
to  population  and  wealth.  In  intellectuality  and  public  spirit 
she  has  no  superior,  and  the  sufferings  and  losses  endured  by  the 
citizens  of  Lawrence  on  behalf  of  the  state,  and  of  humanity  at 
lar^e,  deserve  to  be  commemorated  in  such  a  memoir  as  will  en- 
dure in  the  history  of  the  race.  The  first  point  settled  upon  by 
the  free  state  party  on  their  arrival  in  the  territory  was  certain  to 
monopolize,  or  nearly  to  monopolize,  the  special  hate  of  the  ruf- 
fians, and  the  onslaughts  made  upon  the  liberties  of  the  city  were 
borne  or  repelled,  according  as  wisdom  or  necessity  dictated,  with 
unfailing  heroism.  In  spite  of  sieges  and  raids,  from  the  first  in- 
cursion to  the  Quantrell  outrage,  all  of  the  same  class  and  spirit, 
Lawrence  is  now  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  enterprising  cities 
in  the  great  northwest  The  dam  recently  constructed  across  the 
Kansas  river  at  Lawrence  gives  nearly  2,000  horse  power,  which 
will  add  materially  to  the  wealth  producing  power  of  the  city. 
A  flouring  mill  connected  with  the  work  in  question  is  a  great  suc- 
cess.   The  other  manufactures  in  and  near  the  city  are  iron  foun- 


608 


Tuttle's  History  of  Kaxsas. 


r 


dries,  machine  shops,  a  woolen  faotory,  the  largest  pork  packing 
establishment  in  the  state,  planing  and  flouring  mills,  seven  wagon 
and  carriage  factories,  two  agricultural  implement  factories,  grist 
mills,  elevators,  breweries,  a  tannery,  a  soap  factory,  pottery 
■works,  furniture  factories,  mineral  water  factories,  operated  by 
steam  power,  a  steam  foundry,  and  a  brick  manufactory.  The 
other  manufactures  in  the  county  are  dwarfed  by  comparison  with 
such  enterprise,  and  in  view  of  the  wealth  that  must  accrue  for 
such  labors  well  directed,  Lawrence  can  well  give  liberal  endow- 
ments to  promote  liberal  education  and  the  dissemination  of 
knowledge  among  all  classes  in  the  community.  Six  railroads 
center  in  Lawrence,  giving  facilities  for  intercourse  with  all  parts 
of  the  world.  The  Kansas  Pacific  has  here  its  principal  station; 
the  Leavenworth,  Lawrence  and  Galveston  makes  this  city  a 
depot;  the  St.  Lpuis,  Lawrence  and  renver,  the  Lawrence  and 
Southwestern,  the  Kansas  Midland  railroad,  and  the  Atchison, 
Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  connects  itself  by  means  of  its  junction  with 
the  J^awrence  and  Southwestern  at  Carbondale.  The  banking 
accommodations  of  the  city  are  provided  by  four  banks,  three  of 
which  have  an  aggregate  ca})ital  of  $113,250  and  the  National 
Bank  has  a  capital  of  §100,000.  The  press  of  Lawrence  is  metro- 
politan in  tone  and  management  The  issues  are  The  Republi- 
can, Journal,  Tribune,  Standard,  dailies  and  weeklies,  The  Spirit 
of  Kansas  and  the  Sentinel,  weeklies.  The  state  university  is 
located  here,  because  of  the  magnificent  gift  of  $100,000  and  other 
sums,  already  named  and  particularized  in  giving  a  sketch  of  the 
institution.  The  Roman  Catholics  have  parochial  schools  in  this 
city.  There  are  seventeen  churches  here,  representing  all  the  prin- 
cipal denominations  among  Christians,  and  an  excellent  public 
library,  available  to  every  person  desirous  to  procure  information, 
and  willing  to  protect  the  excellent  property  placed  at  his  dis- 
posal. 

The  school  system  of  Douglas  county  is  the  same  as  that  of 
other  cu.inties  in  the  state,  but  the  numbers  and  wealth,  no  less 
than  the  spirit  of  the  people,  secure  the  most  liberal  administra- 
tion possible  under  the  law.  There  are  in  the  county  84  districts 
and  93  school  houses,  valued,  inclusive  of  furniture  and  appara- 
tus, at  $196,560.     The  Baker  University,  at  Baldwin  City,  under 


h»ata»MMn.ai  r  I  T  r  |U> 


.jffLiir     1i  1-       ^■■itniiinillYl 


iili__*.uLiHiji    iiiiliiiiiirt  I  iiirtnitiiiim rTJiftft iH" -"^'^T'  ^t'' 


County  Sketches. 


m 


ark  packing 
seven  wagon 
Glories,  grist 
ory,  pottery 
operated  by 
ictory.  The 
parison  with 
t  accrue  for 
aeral  endow- 
mination  of 
nx  railroads 
nth  all  parts 
ipal  station; 
this  city  a 
iwrence  and 
16  Atchison, 
unction  with 
Phe  banking 
iks,  three  of 
he  National 
nee  is  metro- 
he  Republi- 
3,  The  Spirit 
university  is 

00  and  other 
ketch  of  the 
bools  in  this 
;  all  the  prin- 
jllent  public 
information, 

1  at  his  dis- 

le  as  that  of 
alth,  no  less 
[  administra- 
f  84  districts 
and  appara- 
City,  under 


the  supers 'sin  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  organization,  is  a  fine 
establishment,  although  necessarily  denominational,  as  is  the  Cath- 
olic parochial  school  at  Endora.  There  are  in  the  county  22 
church  edifices,  valued  at  $200,000,  some  of  which  are  very 
handsome  indeed.  The  public  libraries  have  an  aggregate  of 
5,200  volumes,  and  39  private  collections  in  five  townships  have 
2,917  volumes.  The  business  and  trades  practiced  in  Lawrence 
comprise  nearly  all  that  can  be  honestly  pursued  in  any  city  in 
the  Union.  In  this  county,  as  in  every  other,  the  ravages  of  dogs 
among  the  sheep  are  expressly  named  as  a  cause  of  loss  to  a  val- 
uable industry,  and  it  is  certain  that  either  law  or  administra- 
tion fails  to  terminate  or  at  any  rate  to  reduce  the  nuisance.'  The 
number  of  acres  devoted  to  nurseries,  orchards  and  vineyards  in 
Douglas  county,  sums  up  a  total  of  5,682.  The  increase  of  cul- 
tivated land  in  the  county,  during  the  year  187'i^5,  amounts  to 
38,779  acres.  Coal  is  supposed  to  underlie  the  whole  of  the 
county,  at  a  depth  of  from  ten  feet  below  the  surface  to  the  un- 
known extreme,  with  a  thickness  of  vein  varying  from  12  to  20 
inches,  so  far  as  is  known,  but  the  quality  so  far  as  the  seam  has 
been  developed  is  not  good.  Building  stone  has  been  found  in 
limitless  supplies  and  admirable  quality  in  many  directions,  and 
recently  there  have  been  excellent  developments  of  fire  clay  and 
pottery  clay  on  Mount  Oread,  quite  near  to  Lawrence.  The  chief 
railroad  stations,  besides  Lawrence  and  Baldwin  City,  are  Prairie 
City,  De  Soto,  Olathe,  Carbondale,  Topeka,  Lecorapton  and  En- 
dora. The  principal  streams  are  the  Kansas  river  and  the  Wa- 
karusa,  which  are  fed  by  numerous  small  streams.  The  county 
is  well  supplied  with  springs,  and  well  water  can  as  a  rule  be  ob- 
tained of  excellent  quality  at  about  25  feet  from  the  surface. 
About  one-fifth  of  Douglas  county  is  bottom  land  with  an  aver- 
age breadth  of  one  mila  Forest  covers  about  six  per  cent,  of  the 
soil  only  and  the  country  is  undulating  generally.  The  locust 
plague  struck  some  parts  of  Douglas  county  very  heavily  and  out 
of  its  population  of  23,262,  the  largest  of  any  county,  except 
Leavenworth,  in  the  state,  there  were  800  persons  reported  to  be 
in  need  of  rations,  but  the  generosity  of  the  country  was  nobly 
aroused  on  that  as  on  many  former  occasions.  It  is  manifestly 
impossible  in  a  brief  and  cursory  sketch  to  do  justice  to  a  county 
89  >- 


aatiiiitii'iiiwifri. 


•«^ 


610 


Tuttle's  History  of  Kansas. 


\  I 


like  Douglas,  but  it  is  something  even  to  have  perceived  that 
fact. 

Edwards  Couxty  was  organized  in  1874,  and  is  therefore 
young,  but  not  among  the  youngest  of  the  counties.     The  "  Mas- 
sachusetts Colony "  made  the  first  settlement  in  1873,  and  the 
name  was  given  in  honor  of  the  Hon.  John  H.  Edwards,  of  Ellis, 
Kansas.  The  area  is  972  square  miles,  and  the  population,  in  1875, 
234.     Kinsley  is  the  county  seat,  216  miles  southwest  from 
Topeka,  on  the  Arkansas  river,  34  miles  east  of  Fort  Dodge,  60 
miles  north  from  the  salt  fields  on  the  boundary  of  the  Indian 
territory,  to  which  this  is  the  nearest  point  at  which  shipments 
can  be  effected.     Kinsley  is  a  station  on  the  Atchison,  Topeka 
and  Santa  Fe  R  R.     The  first  house  was  built  in  Kinsley  in 
1873,  and  a  paper,  the  Reporter,  a  weekly  journal,  was  started 
soon  afterwards.     It  is  edited  by  a  lady,  and  obtains  a  large 
measure  of  support.    When  the  county  was  organized,  in  1874, 
,  there  were  about  600  inhabitants,  but  the  locust  plague  consider- 
ably reduced  the  population.     The  climate  and  the  soil  are  good, 
and  Edwards  county,  if  it  has  little  history,  has  fair  prospects. 
The  preponderance  over  females  on  this  small  population  is  still 
marked,  the  numbers  respectively  being  138  and  96.     Agricul- 
ture employs  67,  mining  and  manufactures,  16.     The  county  has 
little  or  no  timber ;  the  Arkansas  bottom  is  three  miles  wide,  and 
the  rest  is  upland  rolling  prairie.     The  Arkansas  is  the  chief 
stream,  and  Big  Coon  its  tributary.     No  coal  has  been  found ; 
common  limestone  can  be  procured  in  sufficient  quantity,  and 
Kinsley  has  a  station  on  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  R. 
R     There  are  now  about  2,000  acres  under  cultivation.     There 
are  no  banks,  no  manufactures  and  no  water  powers.     There  is 
one  school  district  and  one  building  valued  inclusive  at  $530. 
The  Congregational  church  has  one  edifice  valued  at  $2,000,  but 
no  libraries  .are  reported,  and  vacant  lands  range  in  value  from 
^1.50  to  $5.00  per  acre. 

Elk  County  is  still  younger,  having  been  organized  in  1875 
by  the  subdivision  of  Howard  county.  Elk  river  gives  the  name. 
The  area  is  651  square  miles,  the  population  6,215,  in  which  the 


•|  f'nf 'rf '-'fY  f 'i-^-- J*-'  ^'- 


irceived  tbat 


is  therefore 
The  "Mas- 
873,  and  the 
irds,  of  Ellis, 
,tion,  in  1875, 
ithwest  from 
:,vt  Dodge,  60 
I  the  Indian 
ch  shipments 
lison,  Topeka 
Q  Kinsley  in 
I,  was  started 
tains  a  large 
;zed,  in  1874, 
igue  consider- 
soil  are  good, 
air  prospects, 
ilation  is  still 
96.     Agricul- 
le  county  has 
lies  wide,  and 
1  is  the  chief 
been  found ; 
quantity,  and 
[  Santa  Fe  R 
ation.     There 
jrs.     There  is 
sive  at  $530. 
at  $2,000,  but 
in  value  from 


mized  in  1875 

ves  the  name. 

in  which  the 


M^^^^^ft^^M^L^ 


CovxTY  Sketches. 


611 


males  preponderate  291.  Farms  employ  83  per  cent,  and  manu- 
factures and  mines,  9  per  cent.  The  increase  of  cultivation  is 
large,  and  reports  indicate  great  fruitfulness,  as  44  and  even  45 
bushels  to  the  acre  of  Mediterranean  wheat  have  been  certifiod ; 
as  also  60  bushels  of  corn.  Potatoes  yielded  366  bushels  to  the 
acre.  Butter  is  increasing  rapidly  as  a  staple.  There  are  some 
mills  and  factories,  including  a  water  power  grist  mill  at  Union 
Centre,  and  a  broom  factory ;  a  wagon  factory  in  Howard,  and  a 
steam  grist  mill  at  Paw  Paw.  There  are  three  newspapers,  the 
Courant,  at  Longton,  and  the  Journal  and  the  Ledger,  at  Elk 
Falls.  Howard  city,  the  county  seat,  is  113  miles  southwest  from 
Topeka,  but  the  banking  business  of  the  county  is  transacted  at 
Elk  ^..iL  T^ere  are  74  districts  and  59  school  houses  valued 
inclusive  at  $20,907.  Libraries  in  four  townships  give  a  total  of 
1,739  volumes.  Howard,  the  parent  county,  suffered  from  the 
locusts ;  this  county  was  organized  afterwards. 

Ellis  County,  named  in  honor  of  an  officer  killed  at  Jenkins' 
Ferry,  when  Gen.  Steele  was  retreating  from  Camden  to  Little 
Eock,  Ark.,  was  organized  in  1867.  It  has  an  area  of  900  square 
miles,  and  a  population  of  940,  having  decreased  about  400  in  five 
years,  in  consequence  of  stock  raising  and  grazing  having  become 
the  chief  pursuit  Males  preponderate  by  116  ;  mines  and  manu- 
factures employ  23  per  cent,  and  a  like  proportion  prevails  in 
agriculture ;  trade  and  transportation  employ  nineteen  per  cent 
Bottom  lands  average  15  per  cent,  of  the  area,  and  forest  one  only. 
The  principal  streams  are  the  Smoky  Hill,  the  Saline  and  Big 
creeks.  There  are  but  four  springs,  but  well  water  is  found  at 
depths  varying  from  twenty  to  sixty  feet.  Coal  has  been  found, 
but  the  vein  is  thin  and  poor  so  that  it  is  little  used.  Magnesian 
limestone  abounds.  The  Kansas  Pacific  has  main  stations  at 
Hays  City,  the  county  seat,  and  at  Ellis ;  that  is  the  only  railroad 
in  th'  jounty  at  the  present  time.  Hays  City  is  196  miles  west- 
erly from  Topeka,  half  a  mile  from  Fort  Hays,  and  289  miles 
west  from  Kansas  City.  The  architectural  embellishments  consist 
of  a  county  court  house  and  a  large  school  house.  The  popula- 
tion of  Hays  City  is  320,  and  the  Sentinel  is  published  weekly 
here.    There  is  a  bank  at  the  county  seat     There  are  no  manu- 


^ 


im 


Tvttle's  History  of  Kansas. 


\- 


fucturos  reported;  the  Saline  and  Big  Creek  give  good  water 
powers,  but  they  are  not  utilized.  There  are  two  organized  school 
districts  and  three  school  buildings,  valued  inclusive  at  $10,280. 
Church  organizations  show  an  aggregate  property  of  over  $2,00U. 
Ellis  suffered  from  the  locust  plague  considerably. 

Ellsworth  County  was  organized  in  1867,  and  named  in 
honor  of  Col.  Ellsworth,  who  was  slain  at  Alexandria,  Va.,  in 
1861,  after  lowering  a  rebel  flag.  The  fact  of  the  naming  has 
been  disputed,  and  another  sponsor  found  in  an  officer  of  an  Iowa 
regiment,  once  employed  on  the  frontier.  The  area  of  the  county 
is  720  square  miles,  the  population  1,758,  in  which  males  preiu 
derate  250.  Farms  employ  fifty-six  per  cent,  trade  and  trans- 
portation eight,  and  mines  and  manufactures  sixteen  per  cent  of 
the  small  aggregate  of  population.  The  area  contains  eight  per 
cent  of  bottom  land,  and  one  per  cent  of  forest,  the  rest  is  upland 
and  prairie.  Smoky  Hill  Kiver,  and  its  tributaries.  Mule  Bluff, 
Turkey,  Thomson,  Ash,  and  other  creeks,  drain  and  water  the 
county,  which  is  well  supplied  with  springs  and  gives  good  well 
water  at  from  twenty  to  sixty  feet  deep.  The  Kansas  Pacific 
Railroad  follows  the  line  of  the  Smoky  Hill  Biver,  and  has  its 
prinoipal  station  at  Ellsworth,  the  county  seat  Coal  has  been 
found  in  different  townships  in  the  southwest,  but  it  is  a  poor  kind 
of  lignite  from  twenty  to  thirty  inches  in  thickness,  and  although 
near  the  surface,  very  little  has  been  mined.  Magnesian  lime- 
stone of  poor  quality  is  found,  and  hydraulic  cement,  mineral, 
paint,  fire  clay  and  pottery  clay  are  reported  in  different  localities. 
Good  yields  are  reported  wherever  good  husbandry  gives  the 
soil  an  opportunity  to  do  its  best  The  herd  law  is  in  operation 
in  this  county,  under  which  owners  of  stock  are  obliged  to  keep 
their  cattle  of  all  kinds  out  of  their  neighbors'  crops ;  but  reports 
from  the  several  counties  vary  as  to  its  operation,  the  preponder- 
ance being  in  its  favor,  as  it  certainly  is  in  Ellsworth  coiaity. 
The  post  village  capital  of  the  county  is  223  miles  from  Kansas 
City,  and  415  from  Denver,  Col.  It  is  one  of  the  main  points  of 
distribution  for  Texas  cattle,  as  many  as  150,000  head  being 
handled  every  year.  The  village  is  prosperous,  and  it  has  a  fine 
brick  school  house  which  cost  $20,000.    There  are  in  the  town- 


b 


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)od  water 
aed  school 
t  $10,280. 
er  $2,00'J. 


named  in 
a,  Va.,  in 
.rning  has 
tf  an  Iowa 
ho  county 
cs  prci 
md  trans- 
er  cent  of 
eight  per 
is  upland 
ule  BluflE, 
water  the 
good  well 
as  Pacific 
id  has  its 
has  been 
poor  kind 
I  although 
sian  lime- 
t,  mineral. 
I  localities, 
gives  the 
operation 
d  to  keep 
>ut  reports 
preponder- 
;h  co'Uity. 
tm  Kansas 
1  points  of 
ead  being 
has  a  fine 
the  town- 


CorxTV  Sketches. 


m 


ship  five  excellent  hotels,  a  bank  and  a  newspaper,  the  weekly 
lic.porler.  The  surrounding  country  is  excellent  for  grazing  pur- 
poses, which  is  a  desideratum  in  the  chief  i)ursuit  upon  which 
Ellsworth  is  growing  rich.  There  is  one  saw  mill  in'Kllsworth, 
and  there  is  a  cheese  factory  at  Fort  Ilarker.  There  are  in  the 
county  eighteen  school  districts  and  seven  school  houses  valued 
at  $18,080.  Church  edifices  are  not  numerous,  but  organizations 
include  almost  the  whole  community.  This  county  suitcred 
much  from  the  locusts,  as  about  one-eighth  of  the  population  re- 
quired rations  and  clothing  in  the  winter  of  1874. 

Ford  County  was  organized  in  1873,  being  named  in  honor  of 
Brig.  Gen.  Ford.  The  area  is  1,008  square  miles ;  population  in 
1875,  813,  with  a  preponderance  of  males  as  of  626  to  187.  Dodge 
City,  the  county  seat,  is  in  one  sense  the  county  also.  There  are 
no  banks,  no  libraries,  no  newspaper,  no  church  edifices,  and  one 
school  building,  valued  with  all  appurtenances  at  $1,525.  There 
is  only  one  tannery  at  Dodge  City  to  represent  manufactures  in 
the  county.  The  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  Railroad  has 
a  station  at  Dodge  City.  The  county  seat  is  251  miles  southwest 
from  Topeka,  and  the  whole  population  of  Ford  county  is  cen- 
tered in  that  township.  One-fifth  of  the  county  is  bottom  land, 
and  there  is  only  one  per  cent,  of  forest  The  principal  streams 
are  the  Arkansas  river,  Mulberry,  Duck,  Sawlog,  Crooked,  and 
other  unnamed  creeks.  Springs  and  well  water  abound.  Coal  is 
indicated,  but  no  great  discoveries  have  been  mada  Good  lime- 
stone is  found  near  Fort  Dodge.  The  county  received  no  help 
after  the  locust  plague. 

Franklin  County  was  among  the  earliest  organizations  in 
1855 ;  its  area  is  576  square  miles ;  its  population  10,108  in  1875, 
the  greatest  population  at  one  point  being  in  the  city  of  Ottawa, 
2,595.  Farming  employs  67  per  cent  of  the  population ;  trade 
and  transpoiation  8,  and  mines  and  manufactures  11  per  cent 
The  bottom  lands  in  this  county  amount  to  17  per  cent,  and  for- 
ests 8  per  cent.  The  principal  streams  are  the  Marais  des  Cygnes, 
Middle  Creek,  Ottawa,  Pottawatomie,  Mud,  Coal  and  Appanoose 
creeks.     Springs  and  well  water  are  plentiful.     Coal  underlies 


m 


Tuttle's  HisToiir  of  Ka^^sas. 


■'I 


one-fiftb  of  the  area,  with  an  average  thickness  of  two  feet,  rang- 
ing from  the  surface  to  twenty  feet  deep ;  the  quality  is  good  and 
the  coal  much  used  by  local  raanufr.cturers.     Limestone  and  sand-, 
Btone  are  well  distributed.     Ottawa  City  is  the  station  of  the  Leav- 
enworth, Lawrence,  and  Galveston  Railroad,  and  a  line  operated 
by  the  same  company  runs  to  Kansas  City.     The  distance  from 
Topeka  is  87  miles  south  east    The  manufactures  of  the  county 
are  in  the  oounty  seat ;  a  soap  factory,  cigar  factory,  oil  mill,  two 
steam  grist  mills,  one  foundry,  one  steam  furniture  factory,  a 
steam  saw  mill,  and  a  steam  wagon  factory.    There  is  a  cheese 
factory  in  Stanton,  a  steam  saw  mill  in  Centropolis  and  in  Lane, 
a  steam  flouring  mill,  steam  saw  mill,  and  a  cabinet  factory  at 
Appanoose ;  two  steam  saw  mills  and  a  cheese  factory  in  Cutler 
township ;  a  steam  silk  manufactory,  and  a  steam  grist  mill  at 
Williamsburg ;  and  in  Peoria  township  a  steam  saw  mill.    There 
is  good  reason  for  believing  that  silk  culture  will  flourish  in  Kan- 
sas; as  in  Europe,  the  best  regions  are  the  lower  slopes  of  the 
mountains,  from  500  to  1,500  feet  in  altitude.    The  mulberry  tree 
thrives  in  Kansas,  and  that  is  the  best  food  for  the  silkwrorm, 
which  prospers  best  in  a  dry  and  windy  climate.     The  superior 
vigor  of  the  silkworm  in  this  state  is  an  ascertained  fact,  and  that 
results  in  larger  cocoons  being  spun.     The  works  at  Silkville  are 
carried  on  by  M.  De  Bossierre,  a  talented  Frenchman,  who  has 
given  much  scientific  and  practical  attention  to  the  subject.    There 
are  good  water  powers  on  the  Marais  des  Cygnes,  but  none  have 
been  improved.     In  this  county  wolves  are  more  destructive  to 
sheep  than  the  dogs  are.     That  fact  is  rare  in  Kansas  history. 
There  are  two  newspapers  in  Ottawa,  the  Republic  and  the  Tri- 
umph, both  weekly.    There  are  three  banks  in  that  city,  the 
First  National,  People's  National,  and  the  Ottawa  Bank  and  Sav- 
ings Institution.     There  are  83  districts  organized,  and  81  school 
houses  erected,  valued,  inclusive  of  furniture  and  apparatus,  at 
$84,250 ;  besides  which  the  Ottawa  University,  controlled  by  the 
Baptists,  is  largely  used  by  other  denominations.     There  are  four 
public  and  241  private  collections  of  books  in  the  country,  aggre- 
gating 17,768  volumes.     There  are  fifteen  church  edifices,  with 
an  aggregate  value  of  $38,000.    Franklin  was  self-supporting  at 
the  time  of  the  locust  plague. 


•MtNtaMMHitJWMM 


m^*d  f-^i  ^fi^^mm'i^^t' 


County  Sketches. 


615 


[eet,  rang- 
good  and 
and  sand^. 
the  Leav- 
)  oporated 
ance  from 
he  county 
,  mill,  two 
factory,  a 
is  a  cbeese 
d  in  Lane, 
factory  at 
'  in  Cutler 
'ist  mill  at 
U.    There 
ih  in  Kan- 
>pes  of  the 
ilberry  tree 
silk\TOrm, 
le  superior 
t,  and  that 
ilkville  are 
1,  who  has 
jct.    There 
none  have 
itructive  to 
as  history, 
nd  the  Tri- 
,t  city,  the 
k  and  Sav- 
i  81  school 
>patatus,  at 
lied  by  the 
jre  are  four 
itry,  aggre- 
lifices,  with 
pporting  at 


Greenwood  County  was  organized  in  1802  and  named  after 
an  agent  who  made  treaties  with  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  and  other 
tribes  of  Indians  in  southern  Kansas.     The  area  is  1,155  square 
miles ;  the  population  in  1875  was  6,483.     Males  predominate  to 
the  extent  of  about  300.    Farming  occupies  80  per  cent,  of  the 
population ;  mines   and  manufactures  9  per  cent.     The  county 
seat  is  Eureka,  91  miles  southwest  from  Topeka,  in  the  center  of 
a  lino  grazing  country;    the  town  has  line    county  buddings, 
an  excellent  school  house,  and  five  good  church  edifices ;  the  pop- 
ulation of  the  township  is  1,040.     There  are  two  weekly  news- 
papers,  the  Herald  and  Censorial   Eureka  has  a  steam  flouring  mill 
and  a  steam  flour  and  saw  mill,  and  two  banks.    The  other  man- 
ufactures in  the  county  are  steam  saw  mills  in  Lane  township  j 
eeveral  portable  saw  mills ;  a  saw  mill  at  Janesville  ;  a  saw  mill 
at  Madison;  a  water  power  flouring  mill  at  Twin  Falls;  two 
steam  saw  mills  at  Kenton  ;  and  in  Quincy  a  steam  saw  mill  and 
one  driven  by  water  power.    Reports  as  to  the  fertility  of  this 
county  include  returns  showing  yields  of  corn  170  bushels;  of 
potatoes  480  bushels,  and  St.  Charles  white  corn,  117  bushels  to 
the  acre.    The  water  powers  on  Fall  river  and  on  Willow  and 
Otter  creeks  are  good,  and  they  have  been  partially  improved, 
but  there  is  still  room.    There  are  in  the  county  74  school  dis- 
tricts and  67  school  houses,  valued  inclusive  at  $78,620.     One 
public  library  and  111  private  collections  make  a  total  of  6,320 
volumes  in  seven  townships.     There  are  six  churches  with  an  ag- 
gregate value  of  ,$8,400.    Greenwood  was  self  supporting  at  tha 
time  of  the  locust  raid. 

Harvey  County  was  organized  in  1872,  and  was  named  in 
honor  of  the  governor  of  the  state,  who  is  now  representing 
Kansas  in  the  United  States  senate.  The  area  is  540  square 
miles,  and  the  population  in  1875,  5,506,  in  which  males  pre- 
ponderate to  the  number  of  500.  The  Mennonites  have  come 
into  this  county  in  considerable  numbers;  they  are  found  very  de- 
sirable colonists.  Some  of  them  prefer  hooks  and  eyes  instead  of 
buttons,  many  of  them  wash  their  feet,  but  they  are  not  worse 
citizens  on  that  account.  They  baptize  by  sprinkling  and  abjure 
immersion,  but  the  main  reason  for  their  persecution  in  Russia  vac 


MRBtt^^^*"' ' ' 


'<^'' 


616 


Ti'ttlk's  JFistory  or  K.iXfiAS. 


modern  times  has  been  their  tenet  under  which  they  refused  to  servo 
in  Lao  army.  They  conscientiously  object  to  nwearing,  lighting 
and  capital  punislunents.  Some  ot  their  -sect  wore  invited  to 
Pennsylvania  by  the  (Quaker  founder  of  that  colony  in  1083  und 
in  that  year  they  formed  the  nucleus  of  n  considerable  and  worthy 
colony.  The  foundation  of  the  sect  dates  from  the  time  of  Mar- 
tin Luther,  when  Menno  was  a  follower  of  the  great  reformer. 
The  sect  sufTered  terrible  persecutions,  and  until  the  days  of 
Frederick  the  Great,  found  no  asylum  in  Europe.  They  first 
eettled  in  Russia  in  1790  during  the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Paul 
•who  was  Assassinated  under  arrangements  made  by  his  own  fam- 
ily. During  1874-5,  the  Mciinonites  came  into  Kansas  to  the 
number  of  nearly  5,000  and  the  tide  still  flows  in  this  direction. 
They  are  honest,  simple  and  industrious,  and  they  assist  each 
other  in  procuring  the  very  best  breed'^  of  animals  for  stock  raising 
purposes,  hence  their  cattle  were  highly  valued  in  Russia  and 
would  bring  large  prices  in  excess  of  the  stock  raised  by  their 
neighbors. 

When  the  Mennonites  concluded  to  migrate  from  Russia  and 
other  parts  of  Europe,  they  sent  authorized  agents  to  examine 
this  Qounty  and  report  upon  the  best  locations ;  when  the  action 
of  the  delegations  had  determined  the  main  body  in  favor  of 
Kansas,  representatives  were  sent  to  make  arrangements,  such  as 
buying  or  securing  land  in  localities  best  suited.  All  the  pro- 
ceedings were  wise,  liberal  and  economical.  The  settlements  in- 
clude village  lots,  but  no  person  is  allowed  to  sell  intoxicating 
liquors  nor  tobacco  within  their  locations.  The  social  needs  of 
the  community  as  to  schools,  churches,  stores  and  public  halls, 
approach  communism,  but  the  communistic  idea  does  not  remove 
responsibility  from  the  individual  to  render  all  the  help  possible 
by  his  own  brain  and  hands.  After  worship  every  Sunday  there 
is  an  assembly  to  resolve  upon  the  matters  of  common  interest, 
and  all  the  affairs  of  this  peculiar  people  are  carried  out  with 
much  decorum,  Shade  trees,  fences  and  such  works  are  deter- 
mined by  votes  of  majorities,  and  all  churches  and  schools  are 
erected  by  the  common  labor  of  the  mass.  The  government  of 
the  colony  is  arranged  by  agents  appointed  for  the  purpose,  but 
every  question  is  determined  in  the  popular  assembly  named. 


'">ri>iiii» 


MMkMVtiMMM 


I 


CovsTY  Sketches. 


m 


scd  to  scrv'O 
ig,  tightiiifj 
invited  to 
II  1083  untl 
and  worthy 
no  of  Mar- 
t  reformer. 
tic  days  of 
They  first 
iperor  Paul 
s  own  fam- 
isas  to  tho 
s  direction, 
assist  each 
ock  raisins? 
Russia  and 
ed  by  their 

Russia  and 
to  examine 
the  action 
in  favor  of 
[its,  such  as 
.11  the  pro- 
lements  in- 
ntoxicating 
al  needs  of 
iiblic  halls, 
not  remove 
}lp  possible 
inday  there 
an  interest, 
d  out  with 
1  are  deter- 
schools  are 
ernment  of 
urpose,  but 
jly  named. 


Their  church  nfTair.q  arc  settled  in  the  same  primitive  way,  and  all 
their  ofTicers  in  every  capacity  serve  as  a  duty  without  remunera- 
tion of  any  kind.  Every  church  has  a  ])reaclit'r,  and  over  tho 
whole  of  the  churches  and  c  'onies  in  Kansas  there  is  n  bishop; 
but  neither  preacher  nor  bishop  is  a  salaried  ollicor.  Cliildrca 
must  attend  school  from  five  to  fourteen  years  of  age,  when  they 
they  arc  supposed  to  know  enough  to  entitle  them  to  be  bapti/.cd 
into  the  church  if  they  can  pass  an  examination.  Tlicy  appoint 
their  own  teachers,  but  of  course  they  arc  paid.  Schooling  in- 
cludes tuition  in  mechanic  arts,  and  the  result  is  seen  in  the  readi- 
ness with  which  the  Mennonites  accommodate  themselves  to  all 
circumstances.  When  a  boy  is  exempted  from  attendance  at 
school,  he  may  pursue  such  studies  as  he  sees  fit,  but  he  is  ready 
for  practical  work  also.  The  poor  are  aided  as  they  m.-vy  require, 
but  there  is  no  pauperism,  as  every  man  pays  back  in  labor  as  ho 
can  all  such  assistance.  Three  counties  in  Kansas,  Marion,  Mc- 
Pheraon  and  Ilarvey,  have  been  located  upon  by  Mennonites,  the 
three  colonies  joining  in  situation,  but  independent  in  rule. 
Should  any  member  of  the  community  commit  crime  —  a  rare 
occurrence  —  he  is  handed  over  to  the  state  authorities.  Tho 
colonists  are  quite  well  plea.sed  with  their  location,  and  they  aro 
good  neighbors.  The  blooded  stock  required  for  the  whole  com- 
munity is  possessed  in  common.  Most  of  the  land  held  by  them 
•was  purchased  of  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  R  E.  Com- 
pany. 

Eeturning  ncj?  to  Harvey  county,  and  its  affairs  more  par- 
ticularly, seventy-three  per  cent,  of  the  population  is  engaged  ia 
farming,  and  about  nine  per  cent  in  mines  and  manufactures. 
Newton,  the  county  seat,  is  113  miles  southwest  from  Topeka. 
Forty  per  cent,  of  the  county  is  fertile  bottom  land,  but  there  is 
hardly  any  timber.  The  Little  Arkansas  river.  Jester  creek  and 
White  Water,  are  the  principal  streams  in  Ilarvey  county. 
There  are  fine  springs,  but  the  main  dependence  is  well  water  at 
a  depth  of  twenty-five  feet.  No  coal  has  been  developed,  but 
there  is  some  building  stone  and  large  quantities  gypsum.  The 
railroad  communications  of  the  county  are  supplied  by  tho 
Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  line,  which  has  stations  at  Wal- 
ton, Newton,  Halstead  and  Benton.     From  Newton  a  brancli 


i. 


618 


Tl'TTLbfa  IIinTour  OF  Kaxs. 


rutiM  to  AVicluta  in  Sodgwiok  county.  Winter  wlioat  is  -ai.l  to 
Imvo  given  returns  of  tliirty  bushels  per  noro,  iiiul  Hixtyfour 
pounds  to  the  busliol,  in  this  eounty,  nt  n  cost  of  $7.50  per  ftcro. 
The  hcrtl  hiw  is  liighly  approvea  in  Ilarvoy  co>inty,  ami  has  been 
in  operation  long  enough  to  tost  its  applicability  well.  The  Littlo 
Arkansas  gives  good  water  powers,  but  they  are  little  used. 
The  inanufactures  of  tho  county  arc  in  llalstcad  township,  a 
water  power  flouring  mill;  in  Sedgwick,  a  steam  flouring  mill; 
in  Newton,  a  wagon  and  carriage  factory;  and  in  Alto  township, 
a  water  power  flour  mill.  There  aro  two  banks  with  a  capital 
combined  of  $10,000  in  Newton,  and  in  Sedgwick  City.  Thcro 
are  two  papers  in  tho  county,  both  published  in  Newton,  tho 
Newton  Kansan  and  tho  Harvt'i/  County  Keica.  There  aro  sixty- 
soven  school  districts  and  thirty-nino  school  houses  valued  at 
$43,807,  with  furniture  and  apparatus.  There  aro  more  organ- 
izations than  churches,  the  edifices  numbering  only  three,  with  a 
valuation  of  $8,600  in  all.  There  are  113  libraries,  public  and 
private,  with  5,022  volumes.  Harvey  county  suffered  heavily 
under  tho  locust  plague,  as  1,109  persons  were  reported  in  want 
of  rations,  and  662  in  want  of  clothes. 

Jackson  County  was  organized  in  1867,  and  named  in  honor 
of  Gen.  Jackson,  the  seventh  president.  The  county  had  been 
established  and  named  in  honor  of  John  C.  Calhoun  in  1855  with 
the  first  batch  of  organizations.  The  area  is  658  square  miles ; 
the  population  in  1875  was  6,681.  Males  predominate  to  the 
extent  of  over  800.  Farming  occupies  seventy-nine  per  cent,  of 
the  population,  mining  and  manufactures  six  per  cent.  Bottom 
lands  make  up  thirteen  per  cent  of  the  area,  and  forest  five  per 
cent  The  streams  in  the  county  are,  the  Muddy,  Walnut,  Little 
and  Big  Straight  creeks.  Elk  and  Bill's  creeks.  North  and  South 
Cedars,°East  and  West  Muddy,  Little  and  Big  Soldier,  Cross  and 
Little  Cross  creeks.  There  are  numerous  springs  and  well  water 
at  from  ten  to  sixty  feet  deep.  Thin  veins  of  coal  have  been 
found  but  none  of  any  value,  and  wood  is  the  fuel  chiefly  used. 
Building  stone  is  plentiful  and  good,  and  mineral  plenty ;  pottery 
clay  and  gypsum  are  said  to  be  abundant  In  Jefferson  town- 
ship a  salt  vein  was  bored  through  recently  in  sinking  a  well, 


«a^ 


CorsTY  Skktcuks. 


«• 


[\t  is  '".till  to 
\  Hixtyfour 
'.CO  jicr  aero, 
mil  liua  been 
.  ThoLittlo 
t  little  used. 

township,  a 
ouriiig  mill ; 
I  to  township, 
ith  ft  capital 
[Jity.  There 
Newton,  tho 
re  are  sixty- 
03  valucfl  at 

more  organ- 
three,  with  a 
3,  public  and 
ered  heavily 
)rted  in  want 


mod  in  honor 
ity  had  been 

in  1855  with 
square  miles; 
ninate  to  the 
e  per  cent,  of 
ent.  Bottom 
orest  five  per 
Valnut,  Little 
ih  and  South 
er,  Cross  and 
nd  well  water 
al  have  been 

chiefly  used, 
enty ;  pottery 
ifferson  town- 
aking  a  well, 


and  that  may  load  to  devrlop.nent.s.  There  are  railroad.^  running 
through  tho  county,  tho  Kansas  Central,  and  tho  Atchison,  Toi)ol<a 
and  Santa  Fo  raih-oads. 

liolton,  the  county  seat,  is  20  miles  north  from  Topoka,  and  58 
miles  west  from  Leavenworth,  with  a  station  of  the  Kansas  Con- 
trul.  There  are  two  banks  in  tho  city,  flvo  churches,  an  excel- 
lent  high  school,  a  steam  flouring  mill,  and  a  weekly  newspaper, 
tluj  Express  and  News.  Tho  region  is  noteworthy  for  fruit  and 
for  stock  raising.  There  are  but  few  factories,  and  tlioso  on  a 
Huiall  scale.  There  arc  many  water  powers,  but  they  are  not 
utilized  to  any  considerable  extent.  Several  mills  are  now  being 
erected  in  diilcrcnt  parts  of  tho  county.  Tho  manufactures  in 
the  county  of  Jackson,  generally,  are:  in  Franklm  township,  a 
Btcam  llouring  mill  and  two  water  power  flouring  mills;  m 
Straight  Cicck  township,  a  water  power  grist  mill;  in  Cedar 
township,  a  steam  saw  mill ;  in  Jcflorson  township,  a  steam  savr 
mill ;  in  Soldier  township,  a  steam  saw  and  flouring  mill.  There 
are  63  school  districts  and  48  school  houses,  valued,  inclusive,  at 
$52,837.  There  are  six  church  edifices  in  the  county,  valued  at 
$15,900. 

Jkffeuson  County  was  organized  in  1855,  and  named  in 
honor  of  Thomas  Jeflerson,  third  President  of  the  United  States. 
Its  area  is  665  miles,  and  its  population  in  1875,  11,716,  having 
decreased  810  in  five  years.  Males  preponderate  by  532.  Farm- 
ing occupies  80  per  cent,  and  mines  and  manufactures  8  per 
cent  Fifteen  per  cent,  of  the  area  is  bottom  land  and  5  per  cent, 
forest.  The  countv  seat  is  at  Oskaloosa,  22  miles  northeast  from 
Topeka.  The  Grasshopper  river.  Reck  creek  and  several  smaller 
streams  flow  in  and  through  the  county  ;  springs  are  abundant, 
and  well  water  of  good  quality  can  be  obtained  at  from  20  to  40 
feet  Coal  has  been  found  in  three  places  at  from  5  feet  to  20, 
and  the  quality  is  tolerable;  nearly  2,000  tons  were  mined  in 
1874,  and  it  sells  readily  at  $4  per  ton.  Good  building  stone  is 
found  in  many  places.  There  are  three  lines  of  railroad  m  the 
county:  the  Kansas  Central  (narrow  gauge),  the  Kansas  Pacific, 
and  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe;  Winchester  and  Grass- 
hopper  Falls  are  the  stations  on  the  first ;  Perry  and  Medina  on 


i 


€20 


TuTTLpfs  History  of  Kaxsas. 


the  second.  Grasshopper  Falls  is  the  main  station  in  this  county 
of  .^he  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  line.  There  are  striking 
testimonies  as  to  the  fertility  of  the  soil  in  Jefferson  county. 
There  arc  good  water  powers  on  the  Grasshopper,  and  some  mills 
have  already  been  established.  The  manufactures  in  the  county 
are,  two  steam  saw  mills  in  Union  township,  three  grist  mills  and 
a  woolen  factory  water  power  in  Grasshopper  township,  a  water 
power  grist  mill  in  Ozawkio,  water  power  grist  and  saw  mill  m 
Kentucky  township,  steam  saw  mill  and  steam  gr^st  mill  in  Rural 
township,  cheese  factory  in  Medina  and  another  in  Valley  Falls, 
and  in  Winchester,  one  steam  saw  mill.  There  are  four  b^nks, 
two  at  Valley  Falls  and  two  at  Oskaloosa,  with  an  aggregate 
capital  of  $91,881.  There  are  three  weekly  papers,  one  at  Valley 
Falls  and  the  others  at  Oskaloosa.  There  are  89  school  districts, 
and  the  same  number  of  school  houses  valued  at  $128,529 ;  be- 
Eides  these,  th^re  are  two  Catholic  parochial  schools  at  Newman 
and  at  Valley  Falls.  There  are  13  church  buildings  valued  at 
$32,000.  The  aggregate  of  books  in  five  townsi7ips  was  6,250 
volumes,  of  which  all  but  300  were  in  private  collections.  Jeffer- 
son county  was  self-supporting  in  the  locust  era. 

Jewell  County  was  organized  in  1870,  and  named  in  honor 
of  a  lieutenant  colonel  who  died  of  wounds  received  in  the  engage- 
ment at  Cane  Hill  in  November,  1862.  The  area  of  the  county 
is  900  square  miles,  and  the  population  in  1875  was  7,651.  Males 
preponderate  about  600.  Farming  occupies  about  ninety  per 
cent,  of  the  population.  Bottom  lands  amount  to  six  per  cent  of 
the  area,  and  forest  about  three  per  cent  The  Republican  River 
runs  about  ten  miles  along  the  northern  boundary,  and  the  other 
principal  streams  are  White  Rock  creek,  Johns,  Big  Timber,  Por- 
cupine, Smith,  Montana.  Walnut,  Burr  Oak,  Buffalo,  Limestone, 
and  numerous  smaller  creeks  and  streams.  Springs  are  numer- 
ous, and  well  water  is  found  at  depths  varying  from  six  to  one 
hundred  feet ;  but  the  average  is  about  twenty-five.  Good  coal 
has  been  much  sought  hero,  but  only  a  poor  lignite  discovered 
about  twenty  inches  in  thickness.  Magnesian  limestone  is  found 
in  many  places,  and  sandstone  is  also  found  occasionally.  In  the 
southeast  corner  of  the  county  is  a  salt  marsh,  but  it  has  not  beea 


liifiriiiiintii 


County  Sketches. 


621 


I  in  this  county 
jre  are  striking 
Gferscn  county, 
and  some  mills 
5  in  the  county 
I  grist  mills  and 
wnship,  a  water 
nd  saw  mill  in 
3t  mill  in  Rural 
in  Valley  Falls, 
,re  four  bcjnks, 
1  an  aggregate 
■s,  one  at  Valley 
school  districts, 
;  $128,529;  be- 
lols  at  Newman 
dings  valued  at 
ships  was  6,250 
lections.  Jeffer- 


named  in  honor 
id  in  the  engage- 
i  of  the  county 
as  7,651.  Males 
)out  ninety  per 
>  six  per  cent  of 
epublican  River 
y,  and  the  other 
ig  Timber,  Por- 
ialo,  Limestone, 
mgs  are  numer- 
rom  six  to  one 
ive.  Good  coal 
;nite  discovered 
lestone  is  found 
ionally.  In  the 
t  it  has  not  beea 


developed.  There  are  no  railroads  in  this  county.  Jewell  Cen- 
tre, the  county  seat,  is  lii  miles  northwest  from  Topeka ;  it  is 
built  on  a  beautiful  plain,  and  has  a  weekly  paper,  a  large  school 
house,  churches  and  nurseries.  There  are  no  water  powers  avail- 
able, and  manufactures  are  represented  by  one  steam  saw  mill  at 
White  Mound  township.  Jewell  city  publishes  a  weekly  paper. 
There  are  no  banks  in  the  county.  There  are  118  districts  and  44= 
school  houses  valued  at  $26,259.  There  is  only  one  church,  built 
by  the  Methodists  at  a  cost  of  $800.  Jewell  county  suffered  much 
from  the  locusts,  as  1,500  persons  were  reported  wanting  rations. 

Johnson  County  was  organized  in  1855,  and  named  in  honor 
of  a  Methodist  missionary  among  the  Shawnees  from  1829  until 
the  territory  was  settled.    The  area  is  480  square  miles,  and  the 
population  in  1875  was  14,580.     Males  preponderate  to  the  num- 
ber of  564.     Farming  engages  the  attention  of  seventy- two  per 
cent  of  the  population,  and  eight  per  cent  are  employed  in  mines 
and  manufactures.     The  county  seat  is  at  Olathe,  48  miles  east 
from  Topeka.    Bottom  lands  make  up  ten  per  cent  of  the  surface, 
and  there  is  about  sixteen  per  cent  of  forest     The  streams  are 
Indian,  Blue,  Turkey,  Mill,  Cedar,  Clear,  Captain's,  Bull  and  Kill 
creeks.     The  creeks  run  from  near  the  center  of  the  county. 
Springs  are  numerous,  and  well  water  is  found  at  from  ten  to 
forty  feet  deep.     Coal  has  been  found  at  several  places,  but  the 
vein  is  only  seven  inches  thick.    It  is  claimed  that  a  seam  of  bit- 
uminous coal  three  feet  six  inches  thick  can  be  obtained  by  sink- 
ing 530  feet     Building  stone  is  plentiful,  and  it  is  said  that  hy- 
draulic cement,  red  ochre,  fire  and  pottery  clay  are  also  to  be  had 
in  considerable  quantities.     The  county  has  excellent  railroad  fa- 
cilities, as  the  Leavenworth,  Lawrence  and  Galveston  ;  the  Mis- 
souri River,  Fort  Scott  and  Gulf;  the  St  Louis,  Lawrence  and 
Denver,  via  Pleasant  Hill ;  and  thf^  Kansas  Midland  railroads,  are 
competitors  for  the  favors  of  the  public.     There  are  no  water 
powers  worth  naming  in  the  county,  and  but  few  manufactures. 
Among  the  principal  may  be  mentioned  a  steam  grist  mill  at 
Spring  Hill,  and  similar  works  at  Olathe,  De  Soto  and  McCamish 
townships ;  at  Shawnee  there  is  a  saw  and  grist  mill,  as  also  at 
Monticello,  and  Olathe  has  besides  a  steam  factory  for  making 


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TuTTLifs  History  of  Kansas. 


spring  beds,  and  a  cigar  factory ;  cheese  factories  have  been  estab- 
lished in  some  few  places  on  a  small  scale  only. 

There  are  three  banks  in  the  county,  one  being  located  at 
Olathe,  the  county  seat,  where  also  there  are  two  weekly  papers 
published.  There  are  90  districts,  and  80  school  houses  valued  at 
$65,851.  The  Catholics  have  three  parochial  schools,  at  Shaw- 
nee, Edgerton  and  at  Aubrey.  There  are  20  church  edifices  in  the 
county,  valued  at  $44,700.  Books,  mostly  in  private  collections, 
are  reported  to  the  extent  of  about  6,000  volumes.  There  are 
unsold  lands  in  Johnson  county.  This  county  was  self  support- 
ing at  the  time  of  the  locust  plague,  because  there  was  no  open- 
ing for  new  settlers  unless  they  could  buy  out  their  predecessors. 

•  Labette  County  was  organized  in  1867,  and  was  named  iu 
honor  of  the  river.  The  area  is  649  square  miles.  The  popula- 
tion in  1875  was  14,574,  males  preponderating  by  just  900.  There 
are  about  64  per  cent,  engaged  in  farming,  9  per  cent,  in  trade 
and  transportation,  and  10  per  cent,  in  mines  and  manufactures. 
Bottom  Ian  Is  are  about  one-fifth  of  the  whole  area,  and  there  is 
10  per  cent  of  forest.  The  woods  are  of  good  varieties.  The 
Neosho  river  runs  along  the  east  line  of  the  county,  and  the 
other  streams  are  the  Labette,  Hackberry  creek.  Deer,  Pumpkin, 
Turkey  and  Snow  creeks,  besides  many  smaller  streams.  Springs 
are  few,  but  well  water  is  found  at  from  20  to  40  feet  in  depth. 
Coal  has  been  found  underlying  75  per  cent,  of  two  townships, 
and  from  ten  incuc'-i  to  two  feet  in  thickness,  varying  in  depth  from 
two  to  twelve  feet  The  quality  is  good,  and  large  shipments  are 
effected.  Limestone  f.nd  sandstone  are  plentiful  and  of  good 
quality.  Pottery  clay  and  gypsum  are  also  found.  The  railroad 
facilities  of  the  county  are  supplied  by  the  Missouri,  Kansas  and 
Texas,  and  the  Leavenworth,  Lawrence  and  Galveston,  the  prin- 
cipal stations  being  at  Parsons,  Labette,  Oswego  and  Chetopa. 
Oswego  is  the  county  seat,  131  miles  south  from  TopeL'a,  and  the 
river  makes  a  horse  shoe  bend  at  this  point,  which  would  give  u 
fall  of  nine  feet  should  a  race  of  one  mile  be  cut,  consequently 
the  time  cannot  be  distant  when  the  water  power  of  the  Neosho 
•will  be  utilized  largely.  The  works  now  prosecuted  in  Oswego 
are  a  brewery,  steam  flouring  mill,  broom  factory,  cabinet  factory, 


■v.w»T^  B^mKVimmM.y^-^ 


CousTY  Sketches. 


62a 


ive  been  estab- 

ng  located  at 
weekly  papers 
»useo  valued  at 
ools,  at  Sliaw- 
i  edifices  in  the 
ate  collections, 
es.  There  are 
is  self  support- 
e  was  no  open- 
ir  predecessors. 

was  named  iu 

The  popula- 

ust900.  There 

cent,  in   trade 

manufactures, 
la,  and  there  is 
varieties.  The 
untv,  and  the 
)eer,  Pumpkin, 
jams.     Springs 

feet  in  depth, 
two  townships, 
I  in  depth  from 
I  shipments  are 
1  and  of  good 
The  railroad 
ri,  Kansas  and 
eston,  the  prin- 

and  Chetopa. 
opeka,  and  the 
1  would  give  u 
t,  consequently 

of  the  Neosho 
ited  in  Oswego 
cabinet  factory, 


brick  factory  aid  a  cheese  factory.  The  other  manufactures  of 
the  county  are,  in  Kichland,  a  steam  furniture  factory  and  two 
steam  flouring  mills ;  at  Neosho,  a  steam  saw  mill ;  at  Liberty,  a 
steam  flouring  mill ;  in  the  city  of  Parsons,  a  foundry  and  ma- 
chine shop,  a  pottery  and  drain  tile  factory,  a  brewery  and  a 
steam  furniture  factory ;  in  Montan..,  a  flour  mill  and  saw  mill, 
and  in  Chetopa  a  steam  foundry.  There  are  four  banks  in  La- 
bette county ;  two  in  the  city  of  Parsons  and  two  in  Oswego,  the 
county  seat.  The  newspapers  published  in  the  county  are  five  in 
number;  one  at  Chetopa,  two  in  Oswego  and  two  in  the  city  of 
Parsons,  all  weekly.  There  are  95  school  districts  and  86  schools, 
valued  at  $118,270.  The  churches  number  15,  some  of  them 
very  fine,  and  the  estimated  value  is  set  down  at  $53,000.  Libra- 
ries are  reported  to  the  extent  of  12,230  volumes.  Labette  was 
self  supporting  at  the  time  of  the  locust  plague. 

Leavenworth  County  was  organized  in  1855,  being  named 
by  its  contiguity  to  Fort  Leavenworth,  so  called  for  the  general 
who  selected  the  site  for  a  fort  in  1827,  when  it  was  the  farthest 
outpost  of  the  United  Staves.  The  area  of  the  county  is  -155 
square  miles,  and  its  population  in  1875  showed  a  decrease  upon 
the  returns  of  1870,  of  4,746.  The  enumeration  in  1875  was 
27,698,  in  which  the  two  sexes  were  nearly  balanced,  but  males 
slightly  preponderated.  Missouri  gave  to  this  county  6,344, 
while  Illinois,  the  next  largest  contributor,  gave  less  than  1,500. 
This  was  the  strongest  Missourian  settlement  in  the  territory. 
Farms  employ  only  40  per  cent,  of  the  population  in  this  county, 
13  per  cent,  being  engaged  in  trade  and  transportation,  and  over 
22  per  cent,  in  mines  and  manufactures.  Twenty  per  cent,  of  the 
area  is  bottom  land,  and  ten  per  cent,  forest,  the  timber  being 
generally  of  very  valuable  kinds.  The  Missouri  is  the  great 
river,  of  course,  the  lesser  streams  being  the  Kansas  river,  Big 
Stranger,  Little  Stranger  and  Nine  Mile  creeks,  with  numerous 
3treams  not  yet  named.  Springs  are  numerous  and  well  water 
unfailing.  Coal  underlies  about  seven  per  cent,  of  the  area, 
thickness  28  inches  and  depih  varying  from  50  to  700  feet,  the 
quality  good  and  much  in  demand.  A  shaft  put  down  at  Leav- 
enworth City,  710  feet,  has  reached  a  seam  of  30  inches,  which  is 


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624 


Tuttle's  History  of  Kaxsas. 


now  being  mined.  Good  flint  blue  limestone  underlies  the  whole 
county.  The  railroad  connections  of  Leavenworth  include  the 
Kansas  Pacific  with  stations  at  Stranger,  lleno  and  Tonganoxie  ; 
the  Missouri  Pacific,  with  stations  at  Leavenworth,  Fort  Leaven- 
worth and  Kickapoo  ;  the  Chicago,  Eock  Island  and  Pacific  has 
one  of  its  termini  at  Leavenworth  City,  crossing  the  Missouri 
river  on  the  superb  iron  bridge  at  that  point ;  the  Kansas  City, 
St.  Joseph  and  Council  Bluffs,  with  a  station  at  East  Leaven- 
worth ;  and  the  Kansas  Central  Narrow  Gauge,  which  starts  from 
Leavenwo.th,  running  to  Valley  Falls  and  Ilolton.  Leaven- 
worth, the  county  seat,  is  43  miles  northeast  from  Topeka,  39 
miles  from  Kansas  City,  Missouri,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Mis- 
souri river,  812  miles,  by  land,  above  St.  Louis,  Missouri.  The 
city  is  one  of  the  handsomest  in  Kansas,  and  as  seen  from  Pilot 
Knob,  is  pictui;esque  in  the  extreme.  There  are  in  the  city  27 
churches,  nine  commodious  school  buildings,  several  private  sem- 
inaries, a  state  normal  school,  the  St.  Mary's  academy,  two  or- 
phan asylums,  four  daily  and  six  weekly  newspapers,  four  month- 
ly periodicals,  two  insurance  companies,  six  banks,  a  paid  fire  de- 
partment, and  four  miles  of  street  railroad.  The  state  peniten- 
tiary is  four  miles  south  of  the  city,  and  Fort  Leavenworth,  which 
joins  the  city,  has  a  military  prison.  Manufactures  are  numerous 
and  extensive  in  the  city,  including  carpets,  furniture,  stoves,  en- 
gines, mining  machinery  and  iron  bridges.  This  is  the  largest 
city  in  Kansas  and  from  the  earliest  ciays  of  the  territory  it  has 
carried  on  quite  an  extensive  trade  over  the  plains.  The  elegant 
residences  and  beautifully  shaa  d  thoroughfares  of  Leavenworth 
are  topics  commonly  adverted  + )  by  all  visitors.  All  the  rail- 
roads that  enter  the  county  make  Leavenworth  their  terminus  or 
their  most  important  station.  The  bridge  over  the  Missouri  is  a 
very  handsome  structure.  There  are  other  manufactures  outside 
Leavenworth  City,  but  they  are  small  by  comparison,  although 
in  themselves  considerable.  There  are  numerous  water  powers, 
but  they  are  not  utilized,  because  steam  is  more  constant  and 
more  rapid  in  operation.  The  chief  industries  in  other  parts  of 
the  county  are,  in  Easton  township,  a  water  power  flouring  mill 
and  a  steam  saw  mill ;  in  Stranger  township,  a  steam  saw  mill ; 
in  Tonganoxie  to.vnship,  a  steam  cheese  fact'^ry  and  a  sceam 


t. 


»*!*f"- 


lies  the  whole 
1  include  the 
Tonganoxie ; 
Fort  Leaven- 
id  Pacific  has 
the  Missouri 
Kansas  City, 
East  Leaven- 
3h  starts  from 
on.  Leaven- 
a  Topeka,  89 
k  of  the  Mis- 
issouri.  The 
en  from  Pilot 
n  the  city  27 
I  private  sem- 
lemy,  two  or- 
s,  four  month- 
1  paid  fire  de- 
state  peniten- 
nworth,  whicli 
are  numerous 
re,  stoves,  en- 
is  the  largest 
erritory  it  has 
The  elegant 
Leavenworth 
All  the  rail- 
ir  terminus  or 
!  Missouri  is  n 
ctures  outside 
ison,  although 
water  powers, 
constant  and 
other  parts  of 
flouring  mill 
am  saw  mill ; 
and  a  sceam 


'.l^^i^uitf^l;:**  ■■,•;■  ^.y 


Couxrr  Sketches. 

flouring  mill ;  and  in  Alexander  township,  a  steam  grist  and  saw 
mill.  Among  recent  additions  to  the  industries  of  Leavenworth 
City  are  soap  factories,  cigar  factories,  breweries,  brick  factories, 
cooper  shops,  and  beef  and  pork  pac'  .ng  houses  on  a  large  scale. 
There  are  74  school  districts  and  82  school  houses,  valued  at 
$310,210,  three  Catliolic  parochial  schools,  the  state  normal  school, 
St.  Mary's  academy.  Catholic  and  Maple  Leaf  seminary,,  and  at 
Fort  Leavenworth,  a  Catholic  parochial  school.  The  churches  of 
the  county  comprise  27  edifices,  all  commodious  and  some  truly 
grand,  valued  in  all  at  $-151,300.  There  are  2-1  church  organiza- 
tions in  the  city  of  Leavenworth  alone.  The  libraries  of  this 
county,  chiefly  in  private  collections,  amount  to  more  than  19,000 
volumes.  Leavenworth  county  was  self  supporting  during  and 
after  the  locust  plague,  the  community  being  the  oldest  and  most 
numerous  in  the  state  of  Kansas,  as  well  as  having  been  saved 
by  circumstances  from  many  of  the  afflictions  that  hove  befallea 
the  city  of  Lawrence.  The  reign  of  terror,  after  the  nomination 
of  Gov.  Geary  and  prior  to  liis  assumption  of  control,  was  the 
worst  misfortune  that  ever  befel  the  city  of  Leavenworth,  and  that 
did  not  desti'oy  the  city  itself. 

Lincoln  County,  named  in  honor  of  the  great  president,  was 
organized  in  1870-  its  area  is  720  sruare  miles;  its  population,  in 
1875,  2,'493,  in  which  mjiles  predominate  to  the  number  of  230. 
Farms  employ  92  per  cent,  -tf  the  inhabitants.  The  county  seat 
is  Lincoln  Centre,  132  miles  west  from  Topeka,  Bottom  lands 
make  up  15  per  cent,  of  the  area,  but  forests  are  very  small  in 
Lincoln  coilnty.  The  Saline  is  the  principal  stream,  the  creeks 
and  tributaries  being  Table  Hock,  Elkborn,  Owl,  Brush,  Bui!  foot, 
Oak,  East  and  West  Twin,  Twelve  .Vfile,  Beaver,  Yauger,  Lost, 
Spiliix.i-n  and  Wolf  creeks.  Springs  and  good  well  water  abound. 
Coal  crops  out  on  banks  and  ravines,  but  it  is  not  good,  and  little 
use  is  made  of  it  at  present.  Some  of  the  /eins  are  from  10  to 
20  inches  thick.  Building  stone  of  the  wintf  magnesian  order,  and 
of  beautiful  quality,  is  inexhaustible  in  quantity.  Salt  springs' 
and  marshes  have  been  found,  but  not  yet  properly  developed. 
There  are  no  railroads  here.  There  are  good  water  powers  on  the 
Saline,  and  some  mills  are  already  in  operation.  The  manufaC' 
40 


mtti'MW 


xxw-  *fmmttmet  iiatig 


626 


TuTTLK's  HlSTOllY  OF  Kaxsas. 


,;;*• 


turcs  in  the  county  most  noticeable  are,  the  steam  saw  mill  in 
Grant  township  ;  saw  and  grist  mill  and  saw  mill  in  Indiana  town- 
ship ;  and  a  water  jjowcr  saw  and  grist  mill  at  Kocky  Hill.  Tho 
only  newspaper  is  the  Farmer,  published  weekly  at  Lincoln  Cen- 
tre. There  arc  no  banks  here.  The  number  of  school  districts 
organized  is  32,  and  of  school  houses  17,  valued  at  $12,149.  Re- 
ligious organizations  are  many,  but  only  $1,500  has  been  invested 
in  church  buildings,  and  there  are  no  libraries  reported.  Lincoln 
suffered  very  severely  in  the  locust  plague,  as  there  v.-ere  750  per- 
sons reported  wanting  rations,  and  600  in  want  of  clothing,  or  more 
than  one-fourth  of  the  whole  population. 

Lixx  County  was  organized  in  1855,  being  named  after  a  Mis- 
souri senator.     The  area  of  the  county  is  637  square  miles,  and 
the  population,  in  1875,  ll,5i6.     There  had  been  a  flecrease  dur- 
ing the  preceding  five  years.     The  preponderance  of  males  is 
nearly  400.     Agriculture  engages  the  attention  of  71  per  cent,  of 
the  settlers,  and  9  per  cent,  are  occupied  in  mining  and  manufac- 
tures.    There  are  two  claimants  for  the  honor  of  being  considered 
the  county  seat,  Pleasanton  and  Mound  City,  the  first  named  80 
miles  southeast  from  Topeka,  the  latter  78  miles.     There  is  20 
pel  cent,  of  bottom  land  in  Linn  county,  and  10  per  cent,  of  forest, 
the  timber  being  of  excellent  qualiity.     The  streams  are  Marais 
des  Cygnes,  Middle  Creek,  Big  and  Little  Sugar,  East,  Middle, 
Lost,  and  Mill  creeks.     Springs  are  numerous,  and  good  well 
water  can  be  found  at  an  average  of  20  feet.     Coal  is  plentiful  in 
tho  eastern  portion  of  the  county,  and  nearly  all  the  hills  and 
streams  have  outcropping  seams.     The  shaft  at  Barnard  has  pen- 
.  etrated  a  3  feet  6  inch  vein  at  90  feet,  and  the  coal  pays  well. 
The  Barnard  sandstone  is  in  good  demand,  and  building  stone 
generally  is  excellent  in  Linn  county.     The  railroads  have  not 
neglected  this  refjion,  as  the  Missouri  Kiver,  Fort  Scott  and  Gulf 
Kailroad  br.3  staoons  at  La  Cygne,  Barnard,  and  Pleasanton. 
There  are  saveral  mills  in  ,>neration,  and  the  water  powers  avail- 
able are  fiiat  class.     Among  the  works  most  noticeable  in  the 
county  are  the  factories  in  Scott  township,  comprising  a  furniture 
factory,  soap  factory,  wind  power  grist  and  saw  mill,  hoop  factory 
and  two  steam  saw  mills ;  in  Valley  township,  two  water  power 


""'Imi irniiMi.w inuwiiii u'  i ii.w.y 


saw  mill  in 
uliaiia  town- 
'  Hill.  Tho 
Lincoln  Cen- 
:iool  districts 
12,  U9.  Re- 
leen  invested 
id.  Lincoln 
vere  750  per- 
bing,  or  moro 


I  after  a  Mis- 
re  miles,  and 
lecreasc  dur- 

of  males  is 
.  per  cent,  of 
ind  manufac- 
ig  considered 
■st  named  80 

There  is  20 
ent.  of  forest, 
is  are  Marais 
East,  Jtliddle, 
d  s;ood  well 
iS  plentiful  in 
;he  hills  and 
aard  has  pen- 
al pays  well, 
luilding  stone 
lads  have  not 
cott  and  Gulf 
1  Pleasanton. 
powers  avail- 
ceable  in  the 
ig  a  furniture 
,  hoop  factory 
I  water  power 


CouyTY  Sketches. 


C37 


saw  and  grist  mills  ;  in  ilound  City,  a  furniture  factory,  planing 
mill,  cheese  factory,  wagon  and  carriage  factory,  and  a  grist  mill, 
and  in  Pleasanton,  two  grist  mills  and  a  grist  and  saw  mill.  There 
arc  three  banks  at  Pleasanton  and  La  Cygne,  and  three  newspa- 
pers, weekly,  publi.shed  respectively  at  Mound  City,  La  Cygne, 
and  Pleasanton.  There  are  95  school  districts,  and  83  school 
houses,  valued  at  $85,583.  Libraries  are  reported  with  a  total 
of  5,357  volun.es.  There  are  11  churches,  with  a  valuation  of 
$21,500.    Linn  was  self-supporting  at  the  time  of  the  locust  plague. 

Lyon  County  was  organized  in  1858,  and  named  Breckin- 
ridge, but  when  the  vice  president  had  gone  to  the  bad  with  Jef- 
ferson Davis,  the  name  was  changed  in  honor  of  Gen.  Lyon,  who 
fell  nobly  iighting  against  great  odds  at  Wilson's  creek,  Missouri. 
The  change  was  made  in  1862.  The  area  of  the  county  is  858 
square  miles,  and  the  population  in  1875  was  9,542,  males  pre- 
dominating about  430.  There  are  67  per  cent,  engaged  in  farm- 
ing, 8  per  cent,  in  trade  and  transportation,  and  10  in  mines  and 
manufactures.  Emporia,  the  county  seat,  is  52  miles  southwest 
from  Topeka,  between  the  Neosho  and  Cottonwood  rivers,  six 
miles  above  their  junction,  in  a  fine  stock  raising,  agricultural 
region.  A  large  trade  is  done  in  Emporia,  and  it  is  one  of  the 
best  built  towns  in  the  state,  a  center  of  railroad  traffic,  as  the 
Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  crosses  the  Missouri,  Kansas 
and  Texas  line  at  this  point,  The  name  will  be  familiar  to  our 
readers  as  the  site  of  a  State  Normal  School.  The  court  house 
and  normal  school,  with  which  is  associated  a  fine  graded  school, 
are  architectural  ornaments.  There  are  three  banks,  two  news- 
papers, flouring  mills  and  factories  in  the  city,  including  two 
flouring  mills  (water  power),  and  one  steam  flouring  mill,  two 
water  power  saw  mills,  and  two  steam  saw  mills,  a  steam  power 
foundry,  a  water  power  furniture  factory,  a  steam  soap  factory,  a 
carriage  factory,  a  cigar  factory,  a  brick  factory  and  a  brewery. 
The  other  manufactures  demanding  notice  are,  at  Americus, 
where  a  cheese  factory  and  a  steam  flouring  and  saw  mill  give 
extensive  employment ;  Center  township,  steam  saw  mill ;  Elmen- 
dare  township,  steam  saw  mill,  steam  saw  and  flouring  mill, 
water  power  flouring  mill ;  Jackson  township,  two  water  power 


% 


■.  -«      -iiiVy-, 


628 


Tuttlk's  History  of  Ka>:sas. 


m 

'i''lii.' 


flouring  mills,  and  wind  power  flouring  mill  and  carding  machine ; 
Pike  township,  water  power  flouring  mill,  steam  saw  mill,  and  a 
steam  saw  mill  at  Waterloo.  There  are  76  school  districts,  and 
80  school  houses,  valued  at  $74,669.  Libraries  sum  up  a  total  of 
18,470  volumes.  Churches  are  numerous,  and  some  of  diem  very 
handsome.  Lyou  was  heavily  visited  by  the  locusts,  and  930 
persons  were  found  in  want  of  rations  and  clothing  in  1874-5. 

Mahiox  County  was  organized  in  1865,  being  named  after  the 
revolutionary  general.  The  county  was  established  in  1855,  but 
changed  afterwards.  The  area  is  954  square  miles,  and  the  popu- 
lation  in  1860  was  74  only ;  in  the  year  1875,  it  had  a  population 
of  5,907.  Males  preponderate  about  500.  Seventy-nine  per 
cent,  are  farmers,  and  11  per  cent,  are  engaged  in  mines  and  manu- 
factures. !^[arion  Center,  the  county  seat,  is  87  miles  southwest 
from  Topeka.  Bottom  lands  make  up  16  per  cent  of  the  county, 
but  there  is  little  timber.  The  streams  of  this  county  arc  the 
Cottonwood,  Doyle,  South  Fork,  French,  Clear,  Middle,  Bruuot, 
Martin,  Muddy  and  many  minor  creeks  and  streams.  Coal  indi- 
cations are  numerous,  but  no  considerable  finds  have  been  made. 
Building  stone  of  many  descriptions  and  good  quality  abounds, 
including  magnesian  limestone  (white  and  cream  colored),  and 
hydraulic  cement,  mineral  paint,  fire  and  pottery  clay,  and  gyp- 
sum have  been  found,  so  that  the  mineral  resources  of  Marion 
county  are  various  and  great.  Railroad  connections  are  made  by 
the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  line,  which  has  stations  at 
Florence  and  Peabody.  The  returns  show  that  the  soil  is  very 
fertile,  indeed  it  would  be  more  correct  to  say  prolific.  The  herd 
law,  much 'blamed  in  some  localities,  is  said  to  operate  well  in 
Marion  county,  enhancing  prosperity.  There  are  many  excellent 
water  powers  on  the  Cottonwood,  Muddy  and  Doyle  creeks ;  but, 
with  the  exception  of  two  mills  on  the  Cottonwood,  .the  powers 
are  not  used.  The  noticeable  manufactures  in  the  county  are,  in 
Peabody  township,  a  steam  flouring  mill ;  in  Doyle  townshijj,  a 
■water  power  flouring  mill ;  in  Center  township,  a  water  power 
flouring  mill ;  in  Clear  Creek  township,  a  saw  mill ;  in  Marion 
Center,  a  furniture  factory  and  a  cheese  factory.  There  are  two 
banks  in  the  county  at  Florence  and  at  Peabody,  and  two  news- 


ling  machine; 
w  mill,  and  a 

districts,  and 
I  up  a  total  of 

of  diera  very 
uats,  and  930 
in  187i-5. 

imed  after  the 
.  in  1855,  but 
and  the  popu- 
i  a  population 
cnty-nine  per 
les  and  manu- 
les  southwest 
af  the  county, 
ounty  are  the 
iddle,  Brunot, 
IS.  Coal  indi- 
VG  been  made, 
ility  abounds, 
colored),  and 
lay,  and  gyp- 
3CS  of  Marion 
s  are  made  by 
as  stations  at 
le  soil  is  very 
ic.  The  herd 
perate  well  in 
lany  excellent 
e  creeks ;  but, 
)d,  .the  powers 
county  are,  in 
ie  township,  a 
I  water  power 
11;  in  Marion 
There  are  two 
nd  two  news- 


COVNTY  SkETCUKS', 

jiapcrs,  one  at  Marion  Center,  and  one  at  Peabody,  both  weekly. 
There  are  74  districts  and  65  school  houses  valued  at  $84,41-5. 
Libraries  are  reported  with  about  6,000  volumes,  and  the  churches 
number  5,  with  a  valuation  of  about  $0,000.  Marion  county 
was  one  of  the  locust  plague  sufferers.  Over  200  persons  being 
in  want  of  rations  and  clothes  in  1874-5. 

Maksiiat,l  County  was  organized  in  1855,  being  named  in 
honor  of  Gen.  Marshall,  who  was  distinguished  for  his  services 
in  the  days  of  the  gold  rush  to  California,  and  was  identified  after- 
wards with  the  Lecompton  constitution.     The  area  of  the  county 
is  900  square  miles.     The  population,  in  1875,  was  10,822,  in 
which  males  preponderate  by  680.      Farming  employs  72  per 
cent. ;  mines  and  manufactures  10,  and  trade  and  transportation 
5  per  cent,  of  the  residents.     Marysville  is  the  county  seat,  76 
miles  northwest  from  Topeka.     The  land  shows  20  per  cent,  of 
river  bottom  and  3  per  cent,  of  forest.     The  streams  are  the  Big 
Blue  river,  with  tributaries,  Little  Blue,  Black,  Vermillion,  Elm, 
Irish,  Spring,  Game  Fork,  Horseshoe  and  other  creeks.     Good 
springs,  and  well  water  at  from  20  to  40  feet  deep.     No  coal  yet 
developed,  but  building   tone,  inexhaustible  in  quantity,  includ- 
ing magnesian  limestone.    Fire  clay  and  gypsum  are  found  in  largo 
quantities,  and  some  pottery  clay  is  also  being  worked.    The 
railroad  connections  of  Marshall  county  are  by  the  St.  Joseph  and 
Denver  City  line,  with  its  principal  station  at  Marysville,  the 
county  seat,  and  the  central  branch  of  the  Union  Pacific,  with 
stations  at  Barrett's,  Irving  and  Blue  Eapids.     There  are  excel- 
lent water  powers  on  the  Big  Blue  river,  and  many  mills  have 
been  established  to  utilize  that  stream,  as  will  be  seen  by  glanc- 
ing through  the  industries  prospering  in  this  county,  which  in- 
clude two  water  power  flouring  mills  at  Marysville,  a  cigar  manu- 
factory, steam  furniture  factory,  vinegar  factory  and  a  pottery ; 
in  Waterville  township,  two  water  power  flouring  mills,  a  soap 
factory  and  a  cigar  factory ;  in  Blue  Kapids  township,  two  water 
power  flouring  mills,  water  power  woolen  mill,  water  power  paper 
mill,  and  a  water  power  gypsum  manufactory;   in  Vermillion 
township,  two  flouring  mills,  one  steam  and  the  other  water  power. 
Besides  the  industries  named,  there  are  in  the  county  four  cheese 


>  tMMUMMUlKH&f'AMtKHinM 


630 


Tittle's  History  of  K ass. is. 


m 


factories  and  two  cigar  factories;  a  brewery  at  Mury.sville,  a  flour 
and  saw  mill  at  Barrett,  a  flouring  mill  at  Olvolo,  and  a  broom 
factory  at  Jrving.  There  are  three  banks  at  '\  atervillo,  ?farya- 
villo  and  Blue  Rapids,  and  four  newspapers,  weekly,  at  Blue 
Eapids,  Waterville,  Marysville  and  Irving.  There  are  87  school 
districts  and  8.)  school  houses,  valued  at  $89,704.  Libraries  are 
reported,  private  and  {)ublic,  to  the  extent  of  8,000  volumes. 
Church  edifices  number  13,  with  an  aggregate  value  of  $35,350. 
The  paper  mill  at  Blue  llapids  deserves  special  notice.  Marshall 
was  self  supi)orting  at  the  time  of  the  locust  visitation,  and  is 
altogether  in  a  prosperous  condition. 

McPnEUSOX  County  was  organized  in  1870,  being  named  in 
honor  of  a  major  general  who  was  killed  at  Atlanta,  on  Sherman's 
expedition  to  Georgia  in  1864.  The  area  of  the  county  is  900 
square  miles,  and  the  population  in  1875  was  6,205,  in  which 
males  preponderate  by  563.  The  largest  quota  of  the  population 
came  from  IlKnois.  Farming  is  the  pursuit  of  92  per  cent,  of  the 
population.  The  county  seat  is  at  McPherson,  117  miles  south 
west  from  Topeka.  There  is  only  five  per  cent,  of  bottom  land 
and  one  per  cent,  of  forest  in  this  count3^  Smoky  Hill  river  and 
the  liittle  Arkansas,  with  their  tributaries,  are  the  streams  of  this 
regic-n.  Coal  has  been  found,  but  not  in  great  quantity  nor  of 
special  value.  Limestone  and  sandstone,  of  fair  quality,  have  been 
worked,  and  pottery  clay  is  known  to  exist ;  gypsum  of  good  quality 
is  abundant,  and  mineral  paint,  but  the  quality  is  doubtful.  Salt 
springs  are  reported,  but  no  saline  works  have  been  established. 
There  are  no  railroads  in  the  county.  Water  powers  are  availa- 
ble, but  have  not  been  improved.  The  manufactures  in  operation 
are  a,  windmill  in  Superior  township,  a  water  power  flouring  mill 
and  saw  mill  at  Marquette,  and  a  similar  work  at  Lundsburg. 
There  are  no  banks  here,  and  only  one  newspaper,  published  at 
McPherson,  weekly.  There  are  76  school  districts,  but  only  20 
school  houses,  valued  at  $7,661.  There  are  religious  organiza- 
tions, but  no  church  buildings.  Libraries  report  only  an  aggre- 
gate of  1,250  volumes.  McPherson  was  a  great  sufferer  in  the 
locust  invasion,  as  there  were  600  persons  reported  wanting  rations, 
and  675  lacking  clothes  for  the  winter  of  1874-5. 


■^-^•^amrnm 


mm' 


County  Sketches. 


031 


y.svillc,  .1  flour 
and  a  broom 
ervillo,  Marya- 
lekly,  at  Blue 
3  aro  87  school 
Libraries  aro 
;,000  volumes, 
ue  of  $35,350. 
ice.  Marshall 
iitation,  and  is 


eing  named  in 
I,  on  Sherman's 
county  is  900 
,205,  in  which 
the  population 
per  cent,  of  the 
L7  miles  south 
3f  bottom  land 
Hill  river  and 
streams  of  this 
quantity  nor  of 
liity,  have  been 
of  good  quality 
loubtful.  Salt 
en  established, 
fers  are  availa- 
res  in  operation 
3r  flouring  mill 
at  Lundsburg. 
r,  published  at 
ts,  but  only  20 
gious  organiza- 
only  an  aggre- 
suflferer  in  the 
vanting  rations, 


Miami  Coun'TY  waT  organized  in  1850,  and  named  Lykons 
after  a  mis.-iionary  among  the  Miami  Indians,  but  changed  to  the 
present  appellation  in  1801.     The  area  consists  of  538  s(iuaro 
miles,  and  the  population  in  1875  was  12,0(57,  in  which  nuilcs 
preponderate  about  500.     Farming  employs  78  percent,  of  the 
population,  mines  and   manufactures  occupy  8,  and  trade  and 
transportation  4  per  cent  of  the  i)opulation.     Paola,  the  county 
seat,  is  54  miles  southeast  from  Topeka.     Twenty  per  cent,  of 
the  surface  is  bottom  land,  and  tea  per  cent,  forest.     The  princi- 
pal streams  arc  the  Marias  des  Cygnes,  Bull  creek,  Wea,  Middle, 
Sugar,  Walnut  and  Pottawatomie  <-reeks.     Springs  aro  numerous 
and  well  water  can  be  foutid  r.         a  12  to  30  feet  deep.     Fully 
one-quarter  of  the  country  is  u..     ilaid  with  coal,  but  the  vein  i3 
thin   and  poor,  and   although   easily  reached   is   seldom   used. 
Building  stone  abounds  in  all  parts,  the  Foatana  marble  being 
the  most  noticeable.     Some  of   the  wells  give  salt  water,  but 
there  are  no  salt  marshes,  and  no  salt  springs  have  been  found. 
The  railroad  connections  of  the  county  are  supplied  by  the  Alis- 
souri  River,  Fort  Scott  and  Gulf  line,  having  stations  at  Baola 
and  Fontana,  and  the  Paola  and  Holden  line,  which  is  operated 
by  the  Missouri,  Kansas  and  Texas  company,  and  joins  the  Mis- 
souri Pacific  at  nolden,  Mo.     There  are  excellent  powers  on  the 
Marais  des  Cygnes,  but  only  two  have  been  utili/.ed.     There  aro 
three  steam  grist  mills,  two  steam  grist  and  saw  mills,  one  steam 
saw  mill,  one  water  power  saw  mill,  one  wind  power  grist  and 
saw  irill,  one.cigar  factory,  three  wagon  factories,  a  brewery,  a 
carriage  factory,  a  cheese  factory,  furniture  factory  and  match  fac- 
tory a°t  Paola.    In  Osage  township  there  is  a  grist  mill ;  in  Wea 
township,  two  grist  and  saw  mills,  a  wind  power  grist  and  saw- 
mill and  a  cheese  factory ;  in  Stanton  township,  a  wind  power 
grist  mill ;  in  New  Lancaster  township,  a  wind  power  grist  mill ; 
in  Osawatomie  township,  a  saw  and  grist  mill ;  and  in  Middle 
Creek  township,  two  saw  and  grist  mills.     There  is  only  one  bank, 
and  that  is  at  Paola,  the  county  seat,  where  two  weekly  news- 
papers are  published.     There  are  89  school  districts  with  a  school 

foreach,  valued  at  $22,364,  besides  a  Catholic  parochial  school 
at  Paola.  The  church  edifices  number  11,  valued  at  $27,500. 
Libraries  aggregate  9,541  volumes.  Miami  county  was  self  sup- 
porting during  the  locust  famine. 


f1i:'»;:M»,i.m 


TvTTufs  IIiarouY  of  A'i.v.niv. 


MlTCllKi.L  CncNTV  was  organized  in  1S70,  ami  named  for 
Capf.  Mitchell  killed  at  >r(>iiroe  Cross  Roads,  N.  C,  in  1865,  just 
before  tljo  close  of  the  war.  The  area  of  the  county  is  720 
square  miles,  and  the  population  in  187')  was  r),.'570,  in  which 
nuniher  fonialos  jiroponderateil  to  the  number  of  10.  Kunninsj 
occupies  84  per  cent.,  and  mines  aud  manufactures  7  per  cent,  of 
the  settlers.  Beloit  is  the  county  seat,  134  miles  northwest  from 
Tojteka,  on  the  .south  bank  of  the  Solomon  river.  There  ia  a 
paper  published  in  the  county  .seat,  the  Ileloit  Gazette;,  and  an 
active  trade  is  transacted  here.  An  iron  bridge  over  the  Solomon 
is  one  of  the  architectural  features  of  lieloit,  and  there  are  im- 
portant mills  and  manufactures  actively  supported  by  the  sur- 
rounding country.  The  manufactures  of  the  county  are,  in  Glen 
Elder  township,  a  water  power  vrist  and  saw  mill ;  in  Cawker 
township,  a  sUiim  saw  mill;  in  Juloit  township,  two  water  power 
grist  and  saw  mills  ;  in  Ashervillc  township,  a  water  power  grtst 
and  saw  mill,  and  a  feed  mill,  also  water  power ;  two  breweries  in 
Waconda  and  IJeloit;  a  water  power  flouring  mill  at  Turkey 
Creek,  and  two  grist  mills  in  other  locations.  There  are  many 
fine  powers  unimproved  on  the  Solomon.  There  is  only  one 
bank,  and  th;"  '^  at  "^.roit ;  there  are  three  papers,  one  in  Beloit, 
and  two  at  k  \  ier  (  ly,  all  weekly.  Bottom  lands  form  20  per 
cent,  of  til  ■  ;-.'>.'face,  and  there  is  about  2  per  cent,  of  forest,  tho 
principal  '..fims  arc  the  Salt  creek,  Solomon  river  with  its  tribu- 
tar'.s.  Oak,  Granite,  Limestone,  Brown's,  Mulberry,  Plum,  Asher, 
Car,  Walnut,  Turkey,  Laben  and  Third  creeks.  Springs  are 
scarce,  but  good  well  water  is  found  at  from  10  to  20  feet  deep. 
Lignite  worth  §2  per  ion  has  been  found  from  15  to  30  inches  in 
thickness,  but  the  supply  is  limited.  White  magnesian  lime- 
stone is  quite  plentiful.  There  are  good  salt  springs.  The  coun- 
ty has  no  railroads  yet.  There  are  73  school  districts,  50  of 
which  have  schools  valued  at  $39,357,  Church  edifices  number 
only  i,  valued  at  $5,300.  Mitchell  suffered  much  in  the  locust 
visitation. 


Montgomery  County  was  organized  in  1869  and  named  in 
honor  of  the  gallant  officer  that  fell  in  the  attack  on  Quebec  in 
December,  1775.     The  area  of  the  county  is  636  square  miles  \ 


1(1  named  for 
,  in  18(5'),  just 
oiiiity  is  720 
570,  in  which 
10.  Kanning 
7  per  cent,  of 
)rthweHt  from 
'.  Tlicro  is  a 
izett(!,  and  an 
•  the  .Solomon 
thoro  arc  ini- 
i  by  tho  8ur- 
V  arc,  in  Glen 
1 ;  in  Cawker 
3  water  power 
r  power  grtst 
:)  breweries  in 
ill  at  Turkey 
ere  are  many 
;  is  only  one 
one  in  Beloit, 
,s  form  20  per 

of  forest,  tho 
Bvith  its  tribu- 
Plum,  Asher, 
Springs  are 
1  20  feet  deep. 
0  30  inches  in 
2;ncsian  lime- 
3.  The  coun- 
stricts,  50  of 
ifices  number 

in  the  locust 


xnd  named  in 
on  Quebec  in 
square  miles  ; 


»(>»• 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-S) 


A 


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—    6' 


Hiotographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


33  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


i/?"jest*s^-"s>iisrs^6t*-'*«;^*!i»i'ivi*s 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  IVIicroreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


■vmfmesmmLM^masmimi 


County  Sm:TcnES. 


633 


its  population  in  1875  was  13,017,  of  which  number  there  were 
6,888  males,     Illinois  gave  the  largest  quota  of  population,  Mis- 
souri coming  next.     Farming  employs  69   per  cent,  of  the  popu- 
lation and  mines  and  manufactures  15  per  cent.    The  county  seat 
is  Independence,  125  miles  south  from  Topeka.     One  fourth  of 
the  soil  is  bottom  land,  and  there  is  10  per  cent,  of  forest.     The 
streams  are  Verdigris  river,  Elk  river.  Onion,  Drum,  Duck,  Syca- 
more, and  Big  Hill  creeks.     Springs  are  rare,  but  well  water  is 
found  at  an  average  depth  of  25  feet.     Coal  underlies  about  one- 
third  of  the  county.     The  quality  not  first  class  and  thickness 
varying   from  12  to  24  inches.      Limestone  and  flagstone  are 
abundai;t  for  all  purposes.    There  will  be  salt  works  at  Elk  City, 
as  salt  water  of  good  quality  can  be  procured  by  digging.     There 
are  no  salt  marshes.     The  railroad  connections  are  by  the  Leaven- 
worth, Lawrence  and  Galveston  line  which  has  stations  at  Cherry- 
Vale,  Liberty  and  Coffey ville  ;  with  a  branch  from  Cherry  Vale  to 
the  county  seat,  Independence.       Fifty-four  bushels    of  winter 
wheat  to  the  acre  are  said  to  have  been  raised  at  Sycamore  in  this 
county,  at  a  cost  per  acre  of  $2.84.    There  are  splendid  water  pow- 
ers not  improved  in  the  Verdigris  and  Elk  rivers.     The  manu- 
factures of  the  county  aro  in  Louisburg  township,  a  steam  grist 
mill ;  in  Parker  two  steam  saw  mills ;  in  Independence,  a  cigar 
factory,  a  cheese  factory  and  vinegar  factory,  and  on  the  Verdi- 
gris and  Elk  rivers,  two  water  power  flouring  mills ;  in  Cherokee, 
a  steam  saw  mill;  in  Liberty,  a  steam  saw  and  water  power  grist 
mill ;  in  Parker,  one  mill  w\ater  and  steam  and  one  steam,  both 
grist  mills ;  and  iu  Sycamore,  one  water  power  grist  and  one  saw 
mill.     The  county  seat  is  134  miles  by  rail  from  the  city  of  Law- 
rence on  the  banks  of  the  Verdigris.     The  place  was  founded  in 
1870,  and  has  one  daily  and  three  weekly  papers,  five  churches, 
three  banks,  and  a  very  thriving  business.     There  are   100  dis- 
tricts and  96  school  houses  valued  at  $107,846  ;  church  edifices 
number  seven  with  a  valuation  of  $23,100  ;  libraries  are  reported 
to  the  extent  of  1,337  volumes.     Montgomery  was  self  support- 
ing in  the  locust  raid. 

Morris  County  was  organized  in  1858  and  was  named  in 
honor  of  an  anti-slavery  leader.      This  appellation    marks  the 


.«*s*- 


634 


Tittle's  His  tout  ofKaxsas. 


earliest  legislative  victories  of  the  free  state  party.  The  region 
had  been  named  previously  in  honor  of  a  Virginian  senator  with 
opposite  predilections.  The  area  of  the  county  is  700  square  miles 
and  the  population  in  1875,  was  4,507,  in  which  the  preponder- 
ance of  males  was  379.  Farming  engages  60  per  cent,  ot  the  set- 
tlers, trade  and  transportation  6,  and  mines  and  manufactOcrjsYJver 
11.  Council  Grove  is  the  county  scat  52  miles  soijthwest  from 
Topeka  on  the  Neosho  river,  22  miles  from  Emporie,  with  a  sta- 
tion on  the  Missouri,  Kansas  and  Texas  railroad.  T^icre  are  in 
the  county  seat  two  newspapers,  two  churches,  three  sol*6ols,  ■a 
national  bank  and  a  coal  mine,  but  the  product  is  not  consider- 
able. There  is  a  good  mill  here  and  another  being  erected  on  the 
Kaw  reserve.  Th3  water  powers  are  excellent.  The  manufac- 
tures of  the  county  are  in  Elm  township,  two  steam  grist  mills 
a  water  power  grist  mill  and  a  cheese  factory ;  in  Neosho  two  saw 
mills ;  in  Valley  tpwuship,  four  saw  mills,  one  water  power  and 
three  steam ;  in  Parker,  a  steam  saw  and  grist  mill ;  besides  a 
brick  yard,  lime  kiln,  salt  well,  on :  water  power  and  one  steam 
grist  mill  in  Council  Grove  township.  This  is  a  fine  agricultural 
county  ;  15  per  cent,  of  the  surface  is  bottomland  and  5  per  cent, 
forest ;  the  streams  are  the  Neosho  river  and  its  tributaries,  Mun- 
kres,  Little  John,  Big  John,  Rock,  Elm,  Four  Mile  and  Kahola 
creeks.  There  are  two  other  noteworthy  creeks,  Clark  and 
Diamond.  The  springs  of  this  county  are  numerous,  including 
the  famous  Diamond  and  Hill  springs,  and  well  water  has  been 
always  found  within  10  to  40  feet.  Fine  magnesiau  limestone  is 
plentiful ;  red  ochre  of  excellent  quality  abounds.  Fire  and 
pottery  clay  are  abundant,  and  gypsun.  in  limited  quantities  but 
mixed  and  impure.  The  Missouri,  Kansas  and  Texas  Railroad 
traverses  the  county  with  stations  at  Skiddy,  Parkerville  and 
Council  Grove.  There  are  44  districts  and  40  school  houses  val- 
ued at  $52,000.  Libraries  are  reported  with  3,393  volumes,  and 
churches  number  one  only  valued  at  $4,500.  Morris  suflered 
severely  from  the  locusts  as  there  were  1,090  reported  wanting 
rations  and  about  the  same  number  wanting  clothes  in  a  popula- 
tion of  only  4,036. 


Nemaha  County  was  organized  in  1855,  and  named  for  the 


The  region 
onator  with 
quarc  miles 

prcponder- 
,.  ot  the  set- 
ictty'jsvjver  _ 
hwest  from 

with  a  sta- 
21iere  are  in 

sol*6ols,  ■q, 
)t  consider- 
;cted  on  tlio 
0  mauufac- 

grist  mills 
ho  two  saw 

power  and 

;  besides  a 

one  steam 
igricultural 

5  per  cent, 
aries,  Mun- 
md  Kahola 
Clark  and 
3,  including 
er  has  been 
imestone  is 
Fire  and 
xntities  but 
\s  Railroad 
erville  and 
bouses  val- 
ilumes,  and 
•is  suffered 
sd  wanting 

a  popula- 


aed  for  the 


CovxTi'  Sketchks. 


635 


river.  Its  area  is  720  square  miles;  its  population,  in  1875,  wag 
7,104:,  in  which  males  preponderate  290.  Farming  employs  81 
per  cent  of  the  settlers,  mines  and  manufactures  about  8  per  cent. 
The  county  seat  is  at  Seneca,  59  miles  north  from  Topeka.  Ten 
per  cent,  of  the  area  is  bottom  land,  and  3  per  cent,  forest.  Tho 
Nemaha  is  the  principal  stream,  with  tributaries  Deer,  Harris, 
Illinois,  Grasshopper,  Tony,  Rock,  Vermilion,  French  and  Turkey 
creeks.  Springs  are  plentiful,  and  w^lls  average  from  35  to  -10 
feet  deep.  Coal  is  found  in  small  quantities  along  the  Nemaha 
and  creeks  from  six  to  twenty  feet  below  the  surface,  ranging 
from  four  to  thirteen  inches  in  thickness ;  but  little  has  been 
mined,  and  the  quality  being  only  moderate,  the  consumption  is 
exclusively  local.  Two  railroads  serve  this  county,  the  St.  Joseph 
and  Denver  City  having  its  principal  station  at  Seneca,  and  tho 
Central  Branch  of  the  Union  Pacific,  at  Wetmore,  Corning  and 
Centralia.  There  are  three  banks  at  Seneca,  and  water  powers 
are  limited.  The  noticeable  manufactures  of  the  county  are  a 
steam  saw  mill  at  Nemaha  township ;  a  steam  flouring  mill  at 
Richmond ;  a  steam  flouring  mill  at  Home  township ;  a  brewery 
at  Seneca ;  a  steam  grist  mill  at  Rock  Creek ;  a  steam  flouring 
mill  at  Ncufchatel  township,  and  a  cheese  factory.  There  are 
two  weekly  jiapers  at  Sabetha  and  Seneca.  There  are  77  districts 
and  7-±  school  houses  valued  at  $70,553,  besides  a  Catholic  paro- 
chial school  at  Seneca.  There  are  nine  church  buildings  valued 
at  $34,900.  Nemaha  was  severely  visited  by  the  locusts,  as 
1,000  persons  were  in  want  of  clothing  and  250  in  want  of  rations 
in  the  winter  of  1874-5. 

Neosho  County,  named  for  the  river,  was  organized  in  1864 ; 
its  area  is  576  square  miles,  and  its  population,  in  1875,  was 
11,076,  in  which  males  preponderated  nearly  700.  Agriculture 
engages  72  per  cent,  of  the  settlers,  manufactures  and  mines,  9, 
and  trade  and  transportation,  6  per  cent.  The  county  seat  is 
Erie,  103  miles  from  Topeka.  The  county  has  20  per  cent  of 
bottom  lands,  and  9  per  cent  of  forest  The  Neosho  is  the  main 
stream,  its  tributaries  being  the  Vegetarian,  Big,  Canville,  Four 
Mile,  Flat  Rock,  Walnut,  Village,  Turkey,  Elk  and  Augustus 
creeks.     There  are,  besides,  the  Labette,  Chetopa  and  Big  Hill 


I 


i; 


m 


I'l 


636  TcTTLic's  IlL^Tony  of  Kansas. 

rrcel-.     Springs  are  scarce,  but  well  water  rlentiful  at  20  feet 
C"  ^^  ^eeu  found  under  10  per  cent.  0^1^^--.-^ 
the   quality  is  good,   with  an  average  thickness  of  18  inches. 
MneT  I     worked  n  ar  Thayer  with  much  success.     Blue  and 
"on    /Line  and  sandstone  of  good  quality  bave  been  fou.d 
n  every  township ;   and  traces  of  lead,  but  no  deposit  tha   wou  d 
nv  for  working.     The  railroads  serving  the  county  are  the  Mis- 
souri K^n  as  and  Texas,  with  a  branch  of  the  same  road  running 
Z'^-    ns  to  Sedalia  Mo.,  via  Fort  Scott;  the  stations  being 
at  Chanute,   Urbana,  Galesburgh,  Ladore  and  Osage  Mission 
and   he  LeLvenworth,  Lawrence  and  Galveston,  with  stations  at 
C     n  te  Karlton  and  Thayer.     There  are  good  water  powers  on 
Se  Neo  ho  but  they  are  not  fully  availed  of;  one  dam  has  been 
c^smS   and  another  is  in  progress.     The  factories  of  the 
CO  n^    el  de  .  water  power  flouring  mill  at  Canvdle ;  a  brewery 
anrtwo  steam  saw  mills  at  Chanute ;  a  cheese  factory  at  Mission 
a  water  power  flouring  mill  at  Centreville;  a  steam  flouring  and 
^.w  mil    and  a  steam  saw  mill  at  Lincoln;  a  flouring  mill  at 
moZ  .nd  two  flouring  mills,  a  flouring  and  saw  mill,  a  saw 
^mand  a  shingle  factory,  at  Erie  township.     There  are  three 
b   L  in  the  county,  at  Osage  Mission,  Thayer  and  Chanute;  and 
SL  weekly  papers,  at  Chanute,  Thayer  and   Osage  Mission 
N  1   t^U.  Jseho'ol  districts  have  ninety  school  houses  valued  a 
t^eni   besides  which  there  are  Catholic  parochial  schools  at 
111  and  Osage  Mission;  an  industrial  school  under  the  same 
„ment  for  boys  at  Osage  Mission,  and  a  parish  school  for 
"  There  are  seven  churches  valued  at  $34,600,  and  the  libra- 

S     in  seven  townships  give  a  total  of  6,120  volumes.     Neosho 
.vas  a  heavy  sufferer  from  the  locusts,  but  was  self-supportmg. 

Norton  County  was  organized  in  1872,  and  named  in  honor 
of  a  cavalry  officer  slain  at  Cane  Hill,  Ark.,  in  the  engagement  of 
the  nth  of  November,  1864.  The  area  is  900  square  miles ;  the 
i^oouhtion  in  1875  was  899,  in  which  males  preponderated  150. 
iTa  mnois  and  Nebraska  contributed  the  bulk  of  the  popula- 
tion of  the  county.     Ninety-four  per  cent,  are  engaged  m    arm- 

ng  there  is  but  one  per  cent,  of  forest  and  eight  per  cent  of  bo  - 
torn  land  in  Norton  county.     The  streams  are  Solomon  nver. 


fit  20  feet 
ic  nvea,  and 

18  inches. 

Bbic  and 
been  fou\.d 

that  would 
ire  the  Mis- 
:)ad  running 
itions  being 
ge  Mission ; 
ti  stations  at 
ir  powers  on 
am  has  been 
ories  of  the 
e ;  a  brewery 
J  at  Mission ; 
flouring  and 
iring  mill  at 
r  mill,  a  saw 
ere  are  three 
Ohanute ;  and 
sage  Mission, 
ises  valued  at 
ial  schools  at 
ider  the  same 
ish  school  for 
and  the  libra- 
mes.     Neosho 
supporting. 

med  in  honor 
engagement  of 
are  miles ;  the 
jnderated  150. 
of  the  popula- 
Tased  in  farm- 
3Pr  cent  of  bot- 
Solomon  river, 


Count y  SKt:rciiKs. 


G37 


Trairie  Dog  and  Sappho  creeks.  Springs  arc  moderately  supplied, 
and  wells  range  from  ten  to  seventy-live  feet.  Coal  has  been 
mined  for  local  use,  but  it  is  limited  to  a  few  townships.  Lime- 
stone and  sandstone  are  found  nearly  all  over  the  county.  There 
are  no  railroads  here.  The  county  seat  is  Norton,  2o0  miles 
northwest  from  Topeka  ;  but  there  are  no  banks,  no  manufactures 
of  note,  and  no  newspapers  in  the  county.  There  are  seventeen 
districts,  but  only  two  school  houses ;  no  churches,  no  libraries. 
There  are  good  water  powers  on  the  Solomon,  but  they  are  not 
yet  turned  to  account.  A  dam  is  now  being  constructed  on  that 
river.  The  locusts  almost  ruined  the  whole  of  the  settlers,  as 
there  were  GOO  reduced  to  want  in  the  winter  of  1874-5,  in  a  pop- 
ulation of  less  than  900. 

Osage  County  was  organized  in  1850,  being  named  for  the 
river.     The  first  name  was  Weller,  in  honor  of  a  governor  of  Cal- 
ifornia.    The  area  is  720  square  miles,  and  the  population  in  1875 
was  10,268,  in  which  males  preponderatedby  010.     Farming  cm- 
ploys  sixty-four  per  cent,  of  tlie  settlers,  and  over  twenty  per 
cent,  are  engaged  in  mines  and  manufactures.     Burlingame,  the 
county  scat,  is  twenty-four  miles  south  southwest  from  Topeka, 
on  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  line,  which  has  a  good 
station  here.      Clay  of  fine  quality  is  found  here,  and  coal  is 
abundant.     There  are  four  churches  and  a  fine  brick  school  house 
in  Burlingame,  which  has  a  beautiful  climate,  healthful  position, 
and  fertile  surrounding  country  to  recommend  it.     There  is  one 
newspaper  published  here,  the  Osage  County  Chronicle.     Coal 
underlies  twenty-five  per  cent,  of  the  whole  county,  in  veins  of 
from  fourteen  to  eighteen  inches,  in  depths  varying  with  position 
from  live  to  fifty  feet,  and  the  quality  is  good.     An  average  of 
forty  car  loads  per  day  is  shipped  during  the  whole  year,  and  it  is 
used  by  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  Railroad,  as  well  as 
for  local  purposes.     The  face  of  the  county  shows  ten  per  cent,  of 
bottom  land,  and  eight  per  cent,  of  forest ;  the  streams  are  the 
Marais  des  Cygnes,  Coal,  Long,  Rock,  Cherry,  and  other  creeks 
its  tributaries ;  Salt,  Dragoon,  and  one  hundred  and  ten  creeks 
with  a  number  of  petty  streams.     Springs  are  scarce,  but  wells 
range  only  from  fifteen  to  forty  feet  in  depth,  and  the  water  is 


:::SmSSSSrSSii'diMii'iiM^''- 


'{. 


I 


n 


ggg  Tuttlk's  IIistouy  of  Kass.i><. 

„„,1  clnv-i  l«ll.  fuo  ami  liotlcry,  ore  plcititul.      M.o.o  aio  two 
"  ,.,         n  ,W  county,  tl.o  Atcl,i,on,  Topck.  an,!  Santa    o.w.l. 

::::;:.,;.  ca,.o„aa,e^  '>"••>-'- r'trr:ititrr;e: 

rencc  and  Soutlnvestcrn,  connecting   the  city  wun 

7::Z  C.n.  t,.is  county  ccn.y  '^^^:f^Z  Z 

fh'c^uly  inCude  two  gri.t  .ill.  a  chccc  factory,  and  a  ,  tc.y 
at  Hu.lln.'ame;  a  grist  mill  and  Wo  saw  nulls  at  Osage  O.ty,  a 
gVs  mi  Ut  I.  ndon ,  a  grist  mill  at  Bidgcway  ;  a  steam  saw  m  11 
?;dtlcbees=  lactones  at  Melvern-.  two  «»™  -^ -"^^f ^ 
cheese  factory  at  Arvonia;  and  two  steam  saw  mills  at  Agency 
*:,.  T\erearetwol.n^^^^^^^^^^^ 
OrrCita^BX™     T;ereUaeaistr,ctsand..s^oo, 

,  1      1   nf  Cii97B83    besides  parochial  schools  at  O^ago 

houses,  valued  at  !?l^/,t)»(J,    oes  ucs   t  „,  oqo  onn   and  the 

Citv  There  are  13  church  buildings  valued  at  $33,200,  and  tne 
HWJ  howa  total  of  nearly  6,000  volumes.  O-g-;^-^ 
ter  ibly  from  the  locusts,  as  we  find  that  .n  the  -•^^-7  Jf  ^^ 
thei-e  were  875  in  want  of  rations,  and  1,350  wanting  clothes. 

■  r^      .vv  roT'N'TY  was  organized  in  1871,  and  named  for  a 
Osborne  Colnt^   was      «  ^^^^  ^       ^^  ^^^^  ^^. 

private  in  ^^^  .^^^^  ;^:^"^^^  ^^i^'.^eaof  the  county  is  900 
kansas  nver,  in  January,  l»bo.     x  ^.^^ 

.,„„re  miles,  """  *^P^4"':rnt  of  0.  La  Vs  supplied 
„„les  m-»  -»<=«•  '^„S  :"'„(  Osborne  county.  KigMy 
„enrly  a  *'f  °'  *=,^E  „  e  e"8»8=d  in  farming  and  11  per 

*T  !„"':  ■  es    nd  mTr^uttures.  Vwenty  per  cent,  of  the  area 

cent,  m  mines  auu  ma  streams  are 

tr:  r/sritCof  s::  — %  .heir  tHwy 
tsi^c  covert  -  f-j-rie-asr 

good  wells  range  from  seven  ^  *  'JJ'"  ,i^^,„„,  ^^ounds. 
tas  been  fo-^- «''"tte  county  The  county  seat  is  at 
IT  TcryT»  Ithwest  fromWek=^  There  are  good 
^Sr;weJon  th"  two  forks  of  the  Solomon  and  four  mrlls  are 


i 

K 


CovsTi'  .Sa /;■/•( 7/ /.w. 


639 


iri  fihuntlant, 
iicrc  nro  two 
ant{\  Fe,  with 
and  the  Tiaw- 

Cftrborulale. 
corn  per  acre, 
nrvested  near 
inufacturcs  of 
and  a  pottery 
Osage  City,  a 
team  saw  mill 
,w  mills  and  a 
Us  at  Agency 
atBurlingame 
ih  at  liyndon, 
1  and  7-i  school 
lools  at  Osago 
13,200,  and  the 
Osage  suffered 
Iter  of  187-4-5 
nrr  clothes. 

i  named  for  a 

leg  on  the  Ar- 

county  is  900 

{,467,  in  which 

a  has  supplied 

)unty.     Kighty- 

ling  and  11  per 

sent,  of  the  area 

rhe  streams  are 

their  tributary 

ue  springs,  and 

in  depth.     Coal 

lestone  abounds. 

jounty  seat  is  at 

There  are  good 

ad  four  mills  are 


nlrcady  in  operation,  but  the  powers  are  not  nearly  developed. 
The  main  mauufacturL's  arc  a  grist  mill,  a  saw  mill,  a  grist  and 
Baw  mill,  and  a  furniture  factory,  at  Pcnu  townsliip;  a  grist  mill 
at  Sumner,  and  two  others  at  Bethany  and  at  Liberty  townships. 
There  arc  no  banks  in  the  county,  but  there  are  two  newspapers, 
weekly,  published  in  Osbor'ie.  There  40  districts,  but  only  1(3 
school  houses,  valued  at  $6,G(ia  There  are  several  organizations 
but  no  church  buildings,  and  the  libraries  in  four  townshipa 
showed  a  total  of  3,549  volumes.  This  county  sufTered  terribly 
from  the  locusts,  as  nearly  half  of  the  population  was  destitute 
of  rations  and  clothing  in  consc(iuence  of  their  ravages. 

Ott\\vv  Countv   was  organized  in  1866.     Its  area  is  720 
square  miles,  and  its  population  in  1875  was  4,429,  in  which  total 
males  preponderate  nearly  300.     Farming  is  the  pursuit  of  89 
per  cent,  of  the  population.     The  county  seat  is  Mmneapolis,  109 
miles  west  from  Topcka.     One-fourth  of  the  area  is  bottom  land, 
but  there  is  but  very  little  timber.     The  streams  are  the  Solomon 
and  Saline  rivers,  and  Coal,  Saw,  Lindsay,  Salt,  Pipe,  Yockey, 
Henry  I^Iortimer  and  Chapman  creeks.     Springs  are  abundant 
and  wells  average  about  thirty  feet  deep.     No  coal  has  been 
found  but  sandstone  and  limestone  of  poor  quality  are  plentifu  . 
Mineral  paint  and  pottery  clay  are  abundant.     There  are  no  rail- 
roads yet  in  Ottawa  county.     The  Solomon  and  Sabine  rivers 
afiord  excellent  water  powers,  but  only  five  mills  have  yet  been 
built  and  the  powers  are  scarcely  touched.     The  industries  de- 
veloped  in  the  county,  include  at  present  two  water  power  grist 
mills,  two  water  power  and  one  steam  saw  mill  and  furniture  fac- 
tory at  Centre  township;  two  mills,  grist  and  saw  both  water 
power,  at   Sheridan;  and  a  w  .w-    power  saw  mill   at  Culver. 
There  are  no  banks  in  the  coun^  .  but  the  amount  of  business 
transacted  will  soon  require  such  accommodation.     Minneapolis 
has  a  flouring  mill,  a  lumber  factory,  a  wagon  factory  and  tin 
ware  and  stove  factory ;  Delphos  has  a  flouring  mil   and  a  lum- 
ber factory ;  Bennington  has  a  lumber  factory  ;  and  Culver  has  two 
factories  for  lumber  and  pottery.     There  are  two  weekly  papers 
at  Minneapolis.     There  are  57  districts,  and  36  school  houses  val- 
ued at  $'>3  457.    There  are  three  churches,  and  one  parsonage 


-;  >?rfE-  r:*'?--r?i^T  :>^  ■o^iSfty.T^'y 


"-'--'^y^s^^kii^g^'sr 


6W 


Tvitlk's  lIisroiiY  OF  Kassas. 


with  a  valuation  of  Sl,<^'>'^  iui"!  the  libraries  show  an  aggrcgato 
of  l,<)lo  volumes.  Ottawa  was  one  of  the  sufferers  from  llio 
loc\ists,  n3  there  wcro  400  persons  reported  in  want  of  rations  and 
500  in  want  of  clothing  in  the  winter  of  187-1-5. 

]\\WXKK  CorNTV  was  organizrd  in  1872,  and  named  for  the 
nation  upon  whoso  hunting  grounds  Kansas  is  being  built  up. 
The  area  is  756  square  miles.     The  poi)ulation  in  1875  was  1,00^3, 
in  which  total  males  proi)onderatc  by  8(5.     Farming  employs  07 
per  cent,  of  the  settlers,  8  an;  engaged   in  trade  and   transporta- 
tion and  10  per  cent,  in  mines  and  manufactures.     Larntd  is  the 
county  scat,  197  miles  southwest  from  Topeka,  on  the  Arkansas 
river  and  on  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fc  Railroad,  which 
has  here  an  excellent  station.    This  is  the  station  for  Fort  Larned. 
There  is  a  weekly  pajier  published  here,  the  Larned  P/r,«.  ^  One- 
fourth  of  the  area  is  bottom  land,  but  there  is  very  little  timber. 
The  Arkansas  river  and  its  tributary,  the  Pawnee  Fork,  are  the 
streams.     Springs  are  numerous  and  wells  vary  from  6  to  2-i  feet. 
No  coal  has  been   found,  but  good  sandstone   is  iibun.lant,  and 
fire  and  pottery  clay  have  been  discovered.     The  Atethison,  To- 
peka and  Santa  Fe  Railroad  has  a  station  at  Garfield,  us  well  a.'5 
at  Larned.     Manufactures  are  in  their  infancy,  but  there  are  good 
water  powers  available  on  Pawnee  Fork.     There  are  no  banks, 
and  only  one  school  house,  valued  at  S050,  b>it  tiiore  11  organ- 
ized disU-icts.     Pawnee  suflcrcd  from  the  locusts  to  the  extent  of 
li'aving  one-fourth  of  its  population  reduced   to   destitution   in 
1874-5. 

Piiu-Lii'S  County  was  organized  in  1872,  and  named  in  honor 
of  a  free  state  lawyer,  resident  at  Leavenworth,  who  was  first 
lynched  and  afterwards  murdered  by  rulTians  in  that  city,  in 
September,  1856.  The  area  is  900  square  miles,  and  the  popula- 
tion in  1875  was  2,818,  in  which  males  preponderate  by  280. 
Farming  prevails  to  the  extent  of  eighty-six  per  cent.,  and  about 
six  per°cent.  of  the  settlers  are  employed  in  mines  and  manufac- 
tures. The  county  seat  is  Phillipsburg,  200  miles  northwest 
from' Topeka.  The  soil  has  fifteen  per  cent,  of  bottom  land,  but 
little  timber,  and  the  principal  streams  are  the  North  fork  of  the 


'   ail  aggrogaUi 

ii'crrt  froii\   llio 

of  mliona  ami 


naiv.cd  for  iho 
icing  built  up. 
l875  was  1,00^5, 
ing  employs  07 
uid   traiisporla- 
Tiariifcd  is  tbo 
n  tlio  Arkansas 
Hailroad,  wliiob 
or  Fort  Larned. 
3d  Pn'6.-i.     One- 
ry  little  timber. 
;o  1' ork,  arc  the 
oni  0  to  2i  foot. 
s  abundant,  and 
c  Atcliison,  To- 
•fiold,  as  well  a3 
it  there  are  good 
•c  arc  no  banks, 
there  11  organ - 
to  the  extent  of 
)   destitution   in 


named  in  honor 
1,  who  was  first 
in  that  city,  in 
and  the  popula- 
nderate  by  280. 
cent.,  and  about 
les  anJ  manufac- 
miles  northwest 
bottom  land,  but 
^orth  fork  of  the 


Covs'TV  Shi-rrt  iiks. 


an 


Solomon,  and  Doer  Cn'ok,  about  thirty-live  miles  long,  with 
many  Iribularios.  Tlicro  are  many  s|)rings  on  iiill  sides  and  well 
water  can  be  obtained  by  deep  sinking.  There  is  no  coal  dis- 
covered, but  good  limostoin)  is  found  in  all  parts  of  the  county. 
Pottery  chiy  is  found  on  l)et'r  crock  and  its  tributaries.  Thoro 
are  no  railroads.  Water  powers  are  e.KccUent  on  the  North  fork 
of  the  Solomon  and  on  I'rairic  I)og  creek.  Hut  two  mills  only 
have  been  erected,  at  Kirwin  a  llouring  mill  and  at  Logan  a  saw 
mill.  Besides  tho.se  mills  there  are  at  Kirwin,  a  water  power 
grist  mill  and  a  steam  susw  and  grist  mill :  at  Phillipsburg,  a  steam 
ihiuring  mill,  and  at  Logan,  a  water  power  saw  and  grist  mill. 
There  are  no  banks  and  but  one  newspaper,  the  Kirwin  C/ii>f,  at 
Kirwin.  There  are  forty-three  districts  and  twenty  .school  houses 
valued  at  $8,£i2().  There  are  no  church  buildings  and  no  libraries. 
One-half  of  the  population  were  left  destitute  by  the  locust  plague 
in  Phillips  county. 

Pori'AWAToMiK  County  was  organized  in  1850.  The  name 
tells  its  own  story.  The  area  is  8-18  scpiare  miles,  and  the  popu- 
lation in  1875  was  ll),o-i:-t,  in  which  males  preponderate  442. 
Seventy-four  per  cent,  of  the  settlors  are  engaged  in  farming,  and 
eight  per  cent,  in  mines  and  manufactures.  The  county  seat  is 
Louisville,  thirty-seven  miles  west  from  Topeka,  One-fourth  of 
the  area  is  bottom  land  and  four  per  cent,  is  forest.  The  prin- 
cipal streams  are  the  Kansas  river,  Big  Blue  river,  aiul  their 
tributaries.  Black  Jack,  Pleasant  Kun,  Pock,  Spring,  Shannon, 
Carnahan,  Mclntyre  and  Cedar  creek.  Springs  are  numerous 
and  well  water  can  be  found  at  from  ten  to  forty  feet.  Coal  has 
been  found  of  good  quality  in  veins  of  ten  inches  in  several 
townships,  and  some  mining  has  been  prosecuted.  Limestone  is 
abundant  except  in  the  valley  of  the  Kansas  river.  The  Kansas 
Pacilic  runs  through  the  Kansas  valley,  consequently  there  is 
sufficient  facility  for  travel  and  traflie  at  present.  There  are 
excellent  water  powers  on  the  Big  Blue,  Itock  creek,  lied  Ver- 
milion and  Darnell  creek.  The  nuinufactures  of  the  county 
include  a  water  power  saw  and  flouring  mill  in  Rock  Creek 
township ;  a  water  power  saw  mill  and  a  steam  saw  mill,  and 
a  lime  kiln  at  Mill  creek;  a  steam  flouring  mill  at  St.  Mary's; 
41 


lfi</- 


■vV 


6i'2  Ti'Tri.h:'s  Ifisroiir  or  A'.i.v.s  ly. 

two  stonin  saw  iiiIIIh  i\\\<\  wulor  jjowcr  flouriii,!^'  mill  at  CctitcT; 
llouriiij,'  iiiill.",  wattT  power,  on  tlio  UIuc;  a  water  power  floiiriiiR 
mill  at  Loiiisvillo;  a  «ti.'am  Haw  mill  ;it  Warn  ego ;  a  Hteatr.  grist 
mill  at  Belle  Vue;  a  cigar  factory  in  the  city  of  Waim-i^o  ;  mid  a 
Bteatii  s:iw  mill  ami  water  power  j^'rist  mill  in  rottawatomie  towii- 
sliip.  There  i.s  one  bank  in  the  county  at  Wamtgo.  Tiiere  am 
three  weekly  papers  publisheil  in  the  county,  ut  Wamego,  St. 
Mark's  and  Loui.Hvillo.  There  arc  eighty-seven  districts  and 
Bcvcnty-nine  school  houses,  valued  at  $13,120,  besides  which 
there  arc  other  educational  establishments,  including  St.  Mary's 
college,  under  the  care  of  the  Jesuit  fathers,  and  an  acailcmy  and 
parochial  school  for  young  ladies,  and  a  parochial  school  for 
boys,  all  at  St.  Mary's  mission.  Tlicro  are  eight  church  buildings, 
valued  at  .'?:J1,4()0;  and  in  four  townships  the  libraries  contain 
8,220  volumes.  There  were  nearly  a  thousand  persons  rendered 
destitute  ill  this  county  by  the  locust  plague. 

Reno  County  was  organized  in  1872,  and  named  in  honor  of 
Cai)t.  Reno,  major  general  ot  volunteers,  who  was  killed  at  South 
Mountain,  Md.,  in  September,  1S02.  The  area  of  the  county  is 
1,2^)0  s(iuare  miles,  and  the  population  in  1875  was  5,U2,  of 
whieh  number  2,7!»1  were  males.  Farming  employs  70  per  cent, 
of  the  settlers,  trade  and  transportation,  7,  and  mines  and  manu- 
factures 0  per  cent.  The  county  scat  is  Hutchinson,  1-11  miles 
8outh»m*t  from  Topeka.  The  surface  has  15  per  cent,  bottom 
land,  but  very  little  timber.  The  main  streams  are  Great  and 
Little  Arkansas,  Cow  creek,  Minnescah  and  Salt  creeks.  Springs 
are  numerous,  and  wells  range  from  10  to  50  feet.  There  is  ap- 
parently no  coal,  but  oilier  mineral  treasures  abound  — good  lime- 
stone and  an  excellent  quality  of  cement.  Salt  springs  and 
marshes,  which  give  a  very  fine  quality  of  salt,  have  been  found 
in  the  western  part  of  the  county.  The  principal  station  of  the 
Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  Railroad  is  at  Hutchinson,  the 
county  seat,  on  the  Arkansas  river.  This  town  was  founded  in 
1871."  and  already  it  has  a  court  house,  schools,  churches 
and  a  bank  that  ornaments  the  locality.  There  are  tw  'eckly 
]  ;pers.  The  region  is  salubrious  and  fertile  in  a  high  degree. 
There  are  good  water  powers  on  the  Cow  creek,  near  Uutchinson, 


Cor  XT  y  Sh  Lie  fit's. 


•143 


1  at  Ccrit(<r; 
iwcr  floiiriiiR 
,  stcatn  grist 
nogo ;  ami  tv 
itornii!  towii- 
.  Tlioic  aio 
Vain  ego,  St. 
listrictrt  ftml 
.'siilos  wliich 
<;  St.  Marv's 
icailemy  and 
.1  school  for 
uh  buildings, 
iiries  coiitaiti 
una  rendered 


I  in  honor  of 
lied  at  South 
the  county  is 
,vas  5,112,  of 
;  7l>  per  cent. 
m  and  manu- 
al, 141  miles 
cent,  bottom 
•e  Great  and 
)ks.  Springs 
There  is  ap- 
—  good  lime- 
springs  and 
e  been  found 
station  of  the 
itchinson,  the 
s  founded  in 
jls,  churches 
•e  tw  'eekly 
high  degree, 
r  Uutchinson, 


but  mnniifMcturoii  nro  only  roprrwnti'd  in  tho  county  at  present 
by  two  brirlv  factories  in  Hcno  township.  Tlicre  are  72  di-^triots 
find  00  school  houses,  valued  nt  !>!r)l,H()S.  'I'liero  is  oidy  one 
church  building  — the  Presbyterian —valued  nt  .$.*{,00(),  but  tlicro 
nro  nniny  r)rganizati()ns.  Libraries  are  roi)()rted  in  private  hands, 
•■ontaining  l.T'lo  volumes,  in  four  townships.  Kcno  sufTcrcd  tor- 
rilily  from  tin;  locusts,  as  l,«(i2  persons  were  destitute  of  food, 
nnd  1,200  destitute  of  winter  clothing. 

T^F.i'nu.rf  CofXTV  was  organized  in  18fi8,  talcing  tho  name  of 
the  river,  and  it  would  be  dillleultto  find  a  purer  source  on  earth. 
Tlie  Pawnee  Indians  had  a  republican  form  of  government,  and 
the  river  was  named   from  their  institutions.     Tlie  area  of  the 
county   is  720  scpiaro  milr-s,  and    tlie  population    in  1875   was 
8,0-18,  of  which  nutnluM-,  4,200  were  males.     Farming  employs  84 
per  cent,  of  the  settlers,  mines  and   manufactures  about  11  per 
cent,     nelleville,  tho  county  .seat,  is  117   miles  northwest  from 
Topeka,  in  a  rich  mining  district,  and  has  two  weekly  newspapers. 
Pottorn  lands  make  up  one-tenth  of  the  area,  and   forests  cover 
8  per  cent.     The  j)rincipal   sticams  are,  the   Ilepublican   river, 
Alill,  Kosc,  White  Kock,  ]]eavcr.  West  and  Elk  creeks,  besides 
nameless  streams  in  abundance.     There  are  maiiy  springs,  and 
wells  average  about  30  feet  in  depth.     The  southern  thinrof  the 
area  is  underlaid  with  coal  in  veins  of  from  15  to  30  inches  thick. 
It  is  mined  extensively  for  local  u.se,  and  is  a  superior  lignite, 
worth  $3  j)er  ton  ;it  tlie  mines.     Limestone,  various  in  quality,  is 
very  plentiful.     Several  .salt  .springs,  and  a  salt  marsh  of  several 
thousand  acres  have  been  found  in  Grant  township,  and  other 
discoveries  of  the  same  kind  have   been  made  in   Beaver  town- 
ship.    There  are  no  railroads  yet.     Water  powers  are  not  very- 
numerous,  but  with  outlay  some  could  be  made  available.     The 
manufactures   of  the  county  include  a  steam  flouring  mill   at 
Scandia  township,  a  steam  grist  mill  and  a  steam  grist  and  saw 
mill  in  Grant  township,  besides  the  .salt  works  at  tho  marsh   and 
springs,  which  turn  out  good  salt  in  great  quantity.     There  are 
no  banks.     There  are  79  school  houses,  valued  at  $39,497,  and 
101  districts.     There  are  six  church  buildings,  valued  at  ,$9,.500. 
The  libraries  in  three  townships  amount  to  1,092  volumes.     The 


li 


644  Tuttlk's  History  of  Kansas. 

locust  plague  struck  Kepublic  county  very  heavily,  as  there  were 
1,000  persons  reported  destitute  of  food,  and  2,200  in  want  of 
winter  clothing  in  1874-5. 

Rice  County  was  organized  in  1871,  and  named  for  Brig. 
Gen.  Rice,  who  was  slain  at  Jenkins  Ferry,  Ark.,  on  tlie  return 
to  Little  Rock  from  Camden,  after  the  failure  of  Gen.  Banks  ex- 
pedition.     The  area  of  the  county  is  720  square  miles,  and  the 
population  in  1875  was  2,453,  of  which  number  1,339  wei;e  males. 
Farming  employs  87  per  cent,  of  the  settlers,  mines  and  manu- 
factures 6  per  cent.     Atlanta,  the  county  seat,  is  U5  miles  from 
Topeka,  to  the  southwest.     There  is  very  little  timber  m  this 
county,  but  15  per  cent,  of  the  area  is  bottom  land.     The  princi- 
pal  sti'eams  of  this  region  are,  the  Arkansas,  Little  Arkansas, 
Cow  Little  Cow,  Plum,  and  other  creeks  not  yet  named.  Springs 
are  very  numerous,  and  wells  average  25  feet  in  djpth.     Lime- 
stone  and  sandstone  abound,  but  no  coal  has  been  discovered  so 
■    r     The  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  Railroad  runs  through 
'lus   county,  with   principal   stations    at  Raymond   and   Peace. 
Wheat  is  spoken  of'near  Atlanta  giving  30  bushels  to  the   acre. 
•There  are  some  good  water  powers,  but  none  unproved.     Mar m- 
factu  es  are  yet  to  be  inaugurated  here,  with  the  exception  o    a 
steam  flounng  mill  at  Sterling  township.     There  are  no  banks 
and   only  on:  newspaper  (the  Rice   County  He-U  1),  Pub li^.ed 
weekly  L  Peace.     There  are  20  school  houses  valued  at  $18,o46 
Ind  41  districts.     There  is  only  one  church  edifice  vulued  at 
$3  000,  but  there   are   many  organizations.     Libraries  reported 
;  t'otal  of  1,914  volumes.     Eight  hundred  and  seventy-five  per- 
"ol^were  in  want  of  food,  and  600  wanted  clothin.  here  after 
the  locust  plague  in  1874-5. 

CtpvOoontt  was  organized  in  1855,  and  was  named  for  its 

,    ,IlZmev     Its  population  in  1875  w.-.s  7,065,  of 

T:r:lbe"«-  ,.J.  %a™in,  employs  68p«- cent 

:^;e;rtu::;«ininsad.at^^^^^^^ 

*::; "rs;:  td-nv  cen.'is  .o-  T„e  cwei 

streams  are  the  Kansas  river,  the  Big  Blue  flows  by  the  boundary 


-  i.1  iTWsnsW'f'^ 


as  there  were 
)  in  want  o£ 


led  for  Brig, 
m  the  return 
n.  Banks'  ex- 
ules,  and  the 
9  were  males. 
IS  and  manu- 
:5  miles  from 
imber  in  this 
The  pvinoi- 
,le  Arkansas, 
imed.  Springs 
:bpth.     Lime- 
discovered  so 
,  runs  through 
1   and   Peace. 
)  to  the   acre, 
■oved.     Manu- 
;xception  of  a 
are  no  banks, 
iV\),  published 
led  at  $18,546, 
fice  vulued  at 
•aries  reported 
venty-five  per- 
in.T  here  after 


s  named  for  its 
5  was  7,065,  of 
lys  68  per  cent. 
it.  Manhattan, 
One-fifth  of  the 
St.  The  chief 
y  the  boundary 


COUXTY  Ske'tciie.^. 


645 


line  to  the  cast,  and  the  llcpublican  river  also  enters  the  county. 
Tlie  minor  streams  are  the  Fancy,  Mill,  Wild  Cat,  Seven  ^lilc, 
iVfadison,  Timber,  Three  Mile,  McDowell,  Deep  and  School  creeks. 
Springs  arc  numerous  and  copious,  and  veils  range  from  2(5  to  SO 
feet  in  depth.  Coal  has  not  been  found,  but  an  excellent  quality 
of  magncsiun  limestone,  in  layers  of  from  two  to  six  inches,  sup- 
ply an  admirable  building  stone  to  all  parts  of  the  county.  The 
county  has  good  railroad  connections,  as  the  Kansas  racitic  has 
principal  stations  at  Manhattan  and  at  Ogden  ;  and  the  Manhat- 
tan and  Northwestern  will  soon  complete  connections  with  the 
central  branch  of  the  Union  Pacific  at  Irving,  and  with  ilie  St. 
Joseph  and  Denver  City  Railroad  at  Marysville.  Water  powers 
could  be  miule  available  at  small  cost  in  several  places,  but  little 
has  been  effected  in  that  way.  Fancy  creek  has  been  dammed, 
and  at  Rocky  Ford  there  is  a  dam  across  the  Big  Blue,  which  fur- 
nishes 2,000  horse  power  to  a  flouring  mill.  The  manuTactures 
of  the  county  include  a  water  power  grist  and  saw  mill,  two  wagon 
and  carriage  factories,  a  boot  and  shoe  factory,  and  a  cigar  factory 
at  Manhattan  ;  a  brewery  at  Ogden  ;  a  steam  saw  mill  and  a  cheese 
factory  at  Grant ;  two  saw  Mills  at  Jackson  ;  and  a  grist  mill  at 
Mayday  township.  There  are  three  banks  operating  at  Manhat- 
tan. The  city  of  Manhattan  has  two  newspapers,  published 
weekly,  and  is  a  lively  town,  full  of  business.  There  are  25  school 
houses,  valued  at  $48,605,  and  67  districts  organized.  There  are 
nine  churches,  valued  at  .$31,600.  Riley  had  150  persons  wanting 
food  and  350  wanting  clothing  to  provide  for  the  winter  of  1874-5, 
after  the  locust  visitation. 

Rush  County  was  organized  in  1874,  and  named  for  Capt. 
Rush,  of  the  second  colored  infantry,  killed  gallantly  fighting  at 
Jenkins'  Ferry,  on  the  retreat  to  Little  Rock  from  Camden,  under 
Gen.  Steele,  April  3,  1864.  The  population  in  1875  was  451,  of 
which  number  263  were  males.  Farming  employs  89  per  cent, 
of  this  population.  Rush  Centre  is  the  county  seat,  200  miles 
southwest  from  Topeka.  There  are  no  railroads  here  yet.  The 
soil  is  said  to  be  very  fertile,  32  bushels  per  acre  of  wheat 
being  harvested  as  a  first  crop  near  Alexander.  There  are  as  yet 
no  banks  nor  manufactures,  nor  newspapers;  but  there  are  6 


;  ' 


wism^s^simmBmimfmimm^iA-. 


I 


646 


TuTTLifs  History  of  Kaxsas. 


¥ 


school  districts,  and  3  buildings  erected  for  school  purposes.     No 
churches  yet,  but  eight  private  libraries  give  a  total  of  (525  volumes. 

RusSETiL  County  was  organized  in  1872,  and  named  in  honor 
of  Capt.  iiusscll  of  the  second  Kansas  Cavalry,  who  died  of 
wounds  received  in  the  battle  of  Prairie  Grove,  Arkansas.  The 
area  of  the  county  is  900  square  miles,  and  ..le  population  in  1875 
was  1,0'">2,  of  wliich  number  590  were  males.  I'^iglity  jicr  cent, 
of  the  residents  are  farming,  and  10  per  cent  engaged  in  mining 
and  miiuufactures.  Russell,  the  county  feat,  is  172  miles  west 
from  Topclca.  One-fifth  of  the  area  is  bottom  land,  and  only  ono 
per  cent,  prairie.  Smoky  Ilill  river  is  the  great  stream,  next  to 
that  the  Saline,  and  Paradise  creek,  with  numerous  smaller  streams 
drain  and  irrigate  the  county  completely.  Springs  are  not  very 
numerous.  Wells  range  from  10  to  40  feet  on  the  low  lands,  and 
from  20  to  200  feet  on  the  uplands.  Coal,  or  more  properly  lig- 
nite, in  seams  of  from  30  to  40  inches  thick,  has  been  found,  but 
the  quality  is  poor.  There  has  been  some  mining.  Sandstone 
of  poor  quality  is  abundant,  and  P'>me  limestone  of  a  better  qual- 
ity ha=  been  found.  Salt  springs,  mineral  paint,  and  pottery  clay 
are  reported  in  considerable  quantity,  but  the  quality  is  not  yet 
determined.  The  Kansas  Pacific  Railway  has  principal  stations 
at  Bunker  Hill  and  Russell.  There  are  water  powers,  but  they 
have  not  been  realized,  as  manufactures  have  only  made  a  small 
beginning  with  a  grist  mill  at  Centre  township.  There  are  no 
banks  in  the  county,  but  there  are  two  papers  published  weekly 
at  Russell,  the  county  seat.  There  are  8  school  houses,  valued 
at  $15,029,  and  14  districts.  There  are  several  organizations,  but 
only  one  church  building,  valued  at  $4,500.  The  locust  plague 
reduced  nearly  one-half  of  the  population  to  absolute  want  in  the 
winter  of  1S74-5.  ' 

Rooks  County  is  not  yet  organized,  although  th^e  population 
numbered  about  500  in  1875.  The  whole  population  was  re- 
duced to  the  verge  of  starvation  by  the  locust  raid,  as  the  returns 
showed  517  in  want  of  rations,  and  upwards  of  400  in  want  of 
clothing  in  the  winter  of  1874--5. 

Saline  County  was  organized  in  1859,  and  named  for  the 


purposes.  No 
of  (525  volumes. 

lamed  in  honor 
,  who  (lied  of 
Lrkansus.  The 
Illation  in  1875 
iglity  per  cent, 
aged  in  mining 
L72  miles  west 
1,  and  only  one 
stream,  next  to 
smaller  streams 
ys  are  not  very 

low  lands,  and 
•e  properly  lig- 
)een  found,  but 
ig.  Sandstone 
f  a  better  qual- 
id  pottery  clay 
ality  is  not  yet 
incipal  stations 
iwors,  but  they 
r  made  a  small 

There  are  no 
blished  weekly 
houses,  valued 
janizations,  but 
1  locust  plague 
ate  want  in  the 

th'C  population 
ilation  was  re- 
,  as  the  returns 
400  in  want  of 


named  for  the 


CousTi'  Sketcuk^. 


m 


river.  The  population  in  1875  was  6,5G0,  of  whom  3,380  wcro 
males.  Agriculture  employs  70  per  cent,  of  the  settlers,  and  18 
per  cent,  are  evenly  divided  between  trade  and  transportation  and 
mines  and  manufactures.  Salina,  the  county  scat,  is  105  miles 
west  from  Topeka.  Thirty  per  cent,  of  the  county  is  bottom 
land,  but  there  is  very  little  timber.  No  coal  worth  naming  has 
Ijen  found.  The  chief  streams  are  the  Saline,  Smoky  Hill,  Sol- 
omon, Gypsum  creek.  Spring  creek  and  Mulberry.  There  arc  but 
few  springs.  "Wells  range  from  30  to  60  feet.  Sandstone,  of  good 
quality,  is  found  everywhere  in  this  county,  as  also  fire  clay  and 
gypsum.  Salt  springs  and  works  at  the  mouth  of  the  Solomon 
supply  a  ver3''  excellent  salt,  almost  pure  chloride  of  sodium.  The 
Kansas  Pacific  has  principal  stations  at  Salina  and  at  Brookville, 
the  latter  being  a  terminus.  There  are  good  water  powers,  but 
few  of  which  have  yet  been  utiliz;ed.  The  manufactures  of  the 
county  include  a  wind  power  mill  and  a  brick  manufactory  at 
Smoky  ]Iill  township;  a  cigar  factory  in  the  city  of  Salina,  a 
cheese  factory  in  Ohio  township,  a  broom  factory  in  Falem  town- 
ship, two  salt  manufactories  in  Solomon,  and  three  water  power 
flouring  mills.  There  is  only  one  bank,  which  is  located  at  Salina, 
the  county  seat.  There  are  three  newspapers  publislied  weekly 
at  Salina.  There  are  48  school  houses,  valued  at  ,$71,964,  and 
59  organized  school  districts.  There  are  7  churches,  valued  at 
$24,300,  and  private  libraries  reported  show  a  total  of  1,360  vol- 
umes in  three  townships.  Salina  suffered  little  by  coraparisou 
w-ith  its  neighb(jrs  from  the  locust  visitation, 

Sedgwick  County  was  organized  in  1870,  and  named  in  honor 
of  Gren,  Sedgwick,  who  was  slain  fighting  for  the  union  in  the 
battle  of  Spottsylvania,  May  9,  1864.  The  population  of  the 
county  in  1875  was  8,310,  of  which  number  4,567  were  males. 
Farming  is  tl.o  pursuit  of  59  per  cent,  of  the  settlers  ;  21  per  cent, 
are  engaged  in  mines  and  manufactures,  and  8  per  cent,  in  trade 
and  transportation.  Wichita,  the  county  seat  is  129  miles  south- 
west from  Topeka.  There  is  but  little  timber  in  the  county,  but 
one  half  the  area  is  bottom  land  and  very  fertile.  The  principal 
streams  are  the  Arkansas,  Little  Arkansas,  Minnescah,  Cowskin 
and  Wildcat  creeks,   with   many   nameless   streams.     But  few 


; 


'.mmmm^mmmmsmmmi^m^.  * 


648 


Tvttle's  IIisroitY  OF  Kaxsas. 


springs  .ire  found,  but  well  water  is  reaelied  without  fail  at  from 
10  to  oO  feet.  Coal  has  been  found,  but  not  in  such  (quantity  as 
to  warrant  mining.  Gypsum  underlies  nearly  the  whole  area,  but 
building  stone  is  somewhat  scarce.  The  Atchison,  Topeka  and 
Santa  Fe  railroad  runs  through  the  county  to  Wichita.  "Water 
powers  are  limited,  but  some  have  been  improved,  and  Iv  o  flour- 
ing mills  have  been  established.  Tlic  manufactures  of  the  county 
include  two  grist  mills,  a  soda  water  factory,  a  wagon  factory,  a 
cigar  factory  and  a  brewery  at  Wichita ;  two  water  power  grist 
mills  at  Salem,  and  one  water  power  grist  mill  at  Waco  township. 
There  are  four  banks  in  the  county,  of  which  two  operate  at 
Wichita,  the  county  scat,  where  there  ai'e  two  weekly  newspapers 
published.  There  are  57  school  houses,  valued  at  $107,167,  and 
there  are  80  districts.  There  is  a  Catholic  parochial  school  at 
Wichita.  There  are  four  church  edifices  in  the  county,  and 
church  property  is  valued  at  $11,700.  Sedgwick  was  a  heavy 
loser  by  the  locust  plague,  as  1,175  persons  were  reported  in  want 
of  food,  and  3,000  were  unable  to  procure  winter  clothing  in 
187i-5. 


',1 


SnAWXKE  County  was  organized  in  1855  ;  the  name  gives  its 
own  explanation.  The  area  is  558  square  miles,  and  the  popula- 
tion in  1875  was  15,417,  of  which  number  8,027  were  males. 
Farming  employs  40  per  cent,  of  the  settlers,  mines  and  manufac- 
tures engage  21  per  cent.,  trade  and  transportation  13  per  cent, 
Topeka,  the  capital  of  the  state,  is  the  county  seat.  Forests  cover 
eight  per  cent,  of  the  county,  and  31  per  cent,  is  bottom  land. 
The  principal  streams  are  the  Kansas  river  and  its  tributaries, 
Banbicn,  Cross,  Soldier,  Indian,  Little  Soldier,  Half  Moccasin, 
Half  Day,  Vesser,  Mission,  Shungununga,  Deer,  Stinson,  Tecum- 
seh,  Haskell,  Blacksmith  and  other  creeks;  theWakarusa  and  its 
tributaries,  Six  Mile,  Lime,  Towhead  and  Berry  Creeks.  Springs 
are  not  numerous  in  this  county,  but  some  of  them  are  very  Hue, 
and  good  well  water  can  be  found,  generally  at  depths  varying 
from  18  to  40  feet.  Coal  has  been  found,  but  there  is  no  estimate 
of  the  area  occupied  by  this  valuable  deposit.  The  veins  found 
vary  from  14  to  20  inches  at  a  depth  of  from  15  to  20  feet.  Many 
of  the  ravines  have  coal  cropping  out  on  their  sides  and  the  qual- 


fail  Jit  from 
I  quantity  a3 
ole  area,  but 
Topcka  and 
lita.  AVatcr 
1(1  two  flour- 
f  the  county 
5n  factory,  a 
power  grist 
CO  township. 
3  operate  at 
r  newspapers 
107,167,  and 
al  school  at 
county,  and 
vas  a  heavy 
)rted  in  want 
'  clothing  in 


ame  gives  its 
:l  the  popula- 

were  males, 
ind  manufac- 
1  13  per  cent. 
Forests  cover 
bottom  land. 
;s  tributaries, 
ilf  Moccasin, 
nson,  Tecum- 
:arusa  and  its 
3ks.  Springs 
are  very  Hne, 
3pths  varying 
is  no  estimate 
e  veins  found 
3  feet.     Many 

and  the  qual- 


CovsTY  Skutciies. 


649 


ity  \ii  quite  good.  Considerable  (quantities  arc  mined  for  local  use 
in  domestic  and  manufacturing  oper;ition.s.  Limestone  of  good 
quality  is  found  in  all  parts  of  the  county.  Fire  clay  overlies  the 
coal  measure,  but  the  quality  of  that  deposit  lias  not  been  fully 
tested.  Tliis  portion  of  Kansas  is  well  cared  for  by  railroad  com- 
panies. The  Kan.sas  Pacific  has  stations  at  Topeka,  Silver  Lake 
and  Rossville ;  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  has  stations 
at  Topeka  and  Wakaru.sa,  and  the  Kansas  Midland  runs  east 
from  Topeka  along  the  south  bank  of  the  Kansas  to  Lawrence 
ijid  Kansas  City,  having  a  station  at  Tecumseh.  There  are  nu- 
merous water  powers  of  great  value,  but  the  reliability  and  s[)eed 
associated  with  steam  have  prevented  their  utilization  to  any  con- 
siderable extent.  The  manufactures  in  the  county  include  the 
Shawnee  steam  flouring  mill  in  Topeka,  the  Xorth  Topeka  steam 
mills,  the  Topeka  rolling  mills,  the  Farmers  flouring  mills,  the 
foundry  and  planing  mill,  the  machine  shops  of  the  Atchison, 
Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  company,  and  of  the  Kansas  Midland,  four 
cigar  factories,  two  breweries,  two  cheese  factories,  two  wagon  and 
carriage  factories,  one  cracker  factory  and  the  gas  work.s.  Koss- 
ville  township  has  a  steam  flouring  mill,  a  saw  mill,  an  agricultu- 
ral implement  and  furniture  factory,  a  water  power  flouring  mill 
on  Cross  creek,  north  of  Ro.ssville,  and  other  works.  Auburn 
township  has  a  cheese  factory,  and  Tecumsch  a  steam  saw  mill. 
The  lion's  share  of  the  business  of  the  county  as  well  as  that  of 
the  business  of  the  state  is  transacted  in  Topeka,  and  the  beauty 
of  the  city  keeps  step  with  ii.  prosperity.  The  banks  of  the  city 
include  the  Topeka  National,  the  State  Bank  of  Topeka,  the  Cit- 
izens' Bank,  the  Topeka  Bank  and  Savings  Institution,  the  Bank- 
ing house  of  Guildford  Dudley,  and  that  of  John  D.  Knox  k  Co., 
all  centering  in  Topeka,  but  their  operations  extending  all  over 
and  beyond  the  state.  The  press  of  Topeka  is  metropolitan,  in- 
cluding the  Commonwealth,  daily  and  weekly  ;  the  Blade,  daily 
evening;  the  Times,  daily  evening  and  weekly;  the  Kansas 
Farmer  and  the  Democrat,  both  weekly.  Naturally,  the  papers 
published  in  the  capital  are  read  with  avidity  all  o\cr  the  state, 
and  are  sought  for  the  sake  of  local  intelligence  by  directors  of 
the  press  all  over  the  United  States.  There  are  79  districts  and 
81  school  houses,  valued,  inclusive  of  appurtenances,  at  $199,000. 


-„  jiimmwuMiiM 


660 


Ti'TTLtfs  lllSTOHV  OF  KaSSAS. 


There  are  other  educational  establishments  in  the  capital,  includ- 
ing Wasliburn  College,  under  the  control  of  tlie  Congregational 
cliurcli;  tlie  college  of  the  Sisters  of  Bethany,  an  Episcopal  estab- 
lishment;  with  a  theological  institute,  similarly  directed,  and  a 
parochial  school  under  the  management  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity. 
Churches  are  magniiicently  cared  for  in  this  city  and  county,  as 
we  find  no  less  than  20  churches,  some  of  them  sui)erb,  and  all 
commodious,  estimated  by  their  cost  at  $li7,150.  Four  public 
libraries  contain  17,150  volumes,  and  218  private  collections  ag- 
gregate 38,788  volumes  in  seven  townships  only.  Shawnee  coun- 
ty was  self  supporting  in  the  time  of  the  locust  plague  and  the 
worst  ravages  were  ellectcd  before  the  locusts  arrived  at  tliis 
point. 

Smith  Couxty  was.  organized  in  1872,  and  named  in  honor  of 
^faj.  Nathan  Smith  of  the  second  Colorado  volunteers,  slain  in 
action  at  Little  Blue,  Missouri,  in  October,  18(3i.  The  area  of 
Smith  County  is  900  square  miles,  and  its  population  in  1875 
"was  3,876,  in  which  total  the  males  number  2,130.  Ninety  per 
cent  dciK'ud  on  farming,  and  5  pur  cent,  on  mines  and  manufac- 
tures, a  wide  definition  that  covers  almost  every  handicraft.  Smith 
Centre  the  county  seat,  is  173  miles  northwest  from  Topeka. 
There  is  but  little  timber  in  this  area,  but  15  per  cent  is  bottom 
land  of  very  fertile  quality.  The  principal  streams  are  the  Sol- 
omon river  and  its  tributaries.  Cedar,  East  Cedar,  Beaver  and 
other  creeks.  Wells  range  from  10  to  100  feet,  and  springs  are 
moderately  plentiful.  Little  coal  has  been  found.  Limestone 
abounds  and  is  of  good  quality.  Sandstone  is  plentiful,  but  in- 
ferior. Gypsum  in  small  quantities,  but  of  fine  quality,  has  been 
found.  There  are  some  salt  springs,  but  their  value  has  not  been 
ascertained.  There  are  no  railroads  here  yet  Several  valuable 
■water  powers  only  want  for  improvement,  one  dam  has  been  con- 
structed on  the  Solomon  river.  The  manufactures  of  Smith 
county  include  a  steam  sawmill  in  Centre  township;  a  steam  saw 
mill,  water  power  grist  mill,  and  water  power  grist  and  saw  mill 
in  Houston  township.  There  are  no  banks  in  the  county,  and 
only  one  paper  published  weekly  in  Smith  Centre,  the  Pioneer. 
There  are  43  school  houses  valued  at  $10,850,  and  70  organized 


pital,  incliul- 
jrigrogutional 
liricDpul  cstiib- 
:'ectod,  and  a 
I'd  of  Charity, 
id  county,  as 
.pcrb,  and  all 
Four  public 
illections  ag- 
hawnee  coun- 
iguo  and  the 
rived  at  tliis 


d  in  honor  of 
;eers,  slain  in 

The  aiea  of 
tion  in  1875 
Kincty  per 
and  manulac- 
icraft.  Smith 
roni  Topeka. 
3nt.  is  bottom 

are  tlie  Sol- 
r,  Beaver  and 
1  springs  are 
l.  Limestone 
itiful,  but  in- 
ility,  has  been 
;  has  not  been 
eral  valuable 
has  been  con- 
res  of  Smith 
;  a  steam  saw 
md  saw  mill 
e  county,  and 
,  the  Pioneer. 

70  organized 


Co  f ^V  TY  S  K  i:  TCII KS. 


(551 


school  districts.  There  arc  several  church  orgaiiix.atioiis,  but  no 
cdiliccs.  :N[()rc  than  oncfourtli  of  the  settlers  in  Smith  county 
were  reduced  to  destitution  by  the  locust  raid,  as  1,500  of  the 
people  were  in  want  of  food,  and  1,150  were  unable  to  procure 
winter  clothing. 

SuMNEU  County  was  organized  in  1871,  and  named  in  honor 
of    the   great    senator,    one   of    the   truest   friends    of    Kansas, 
worthy  to  stand  beside  Abraliam  Lincoln.     The  area  of  the  coun- 
ty is  1,188  s(piare  miles,  and  its  population  in  1875  was  -1,925,  of 
which  number  2.0(57  were  males.     Eighty-three  per  cent,  depend 
on  farming,  and  (5  per  cent,  on  mines  and  manufactures.     Welling- 
ton, the  county  seat,  is  154  miles  southwest  from  Topeka.     Forest 
in  this  county  is  only  3  per  cent.,  but  bottom   lands  comprise  20 
per  cent,  one-fifih  of  the  whole  area.     The  principal  streams  are 
the   Arkansas  and  Ninnescah  rivers,  and  the  Slate,   Chicaspia, 
Fall,   IJluil'   and  Cowskin  creeks.     Springs  are  rare,  but  wells 
range  from  10  to  -10  feet.     Borings  have  been  made  to  find  coal, 
and  indications  are  favorable,  but  no  discoveries  have  yet  been 
made,  and  the  search  is  still  being  prosecuted  at  Remanto.    Build- 
ing stone  of  diflerent  kinds  and  excellent  quality  is  being  found 
in  every  township.     Fireclay  abounds,  and  gypsum  is  also  found, 
both  of    excellent  quality.      Salt  springs  of    great  value    have 
been    found,   one   company  producing   from  their  salines  1,000 
pounds  per  day.     There  are  no  railroads  in  the  county.     There 
are  good  water  powers,  but  undevelo{)ed.     There  is  one  saw  mill 
on  the  Cowskin  creek,  and  the  other  manufactures  of  the  county 
include  a  steam  saw  mill  m  Caldwell  township  ;  a  steam  saw  mill 
at  Belle  Plaine;  a  water  power  flouring  mill  and  a  horse  power 
flouring  mill  at  Oxford  ;  a  steam  saw  mill  and  saltworks  at  Wal- 
ton township.     There  is  one  bank  in  the  county,  at  Wellington, 
and  one  weekly  newspaper.     There  are  39  school  houses  valued 
«t  $36,248,  and  73  districts.     There  are  many  church  organiza- 
tions, but  only  one  edifice,  valued  at  $3,000.     Five  townships  re- 
port  21    private  libraries,   consisting  of    1,(598   volumes.      The 
locust  plague  fell  with  almost  crushing  effect  upon  this  county, 
as  2,000  persons  were  unable  to  procure  winter  clothing  and  1,500 
lacked  food ;  but  the  people  are  bravely  making  headway  once 
more. 


;  i 


4 1 


i 


«■; 


ess 


Tvtti.e's  JfisToiiv  or  Kaxsas. 


m 


I 


in 


Wahai-xskk  County  was  organized  in  1850,  and  named  after 
a  war  cliicf  of  tlio  Pottiiwatoinics.  The  area  of  the  (Huuity  is  804 
square  miles,  and  tlie  jjopnlation,  in  1875,  was  4,»U8,  of  whieh 
number,  males  re,u;i.ster  2,4!)4.  Farming  employs  82  por  cent  of 
the  settlers,  and  mines  and  manufactures,  7  per  cent.  Alma,  tho 
county  seat,  is  33  miles  west  from  Topeka  and  05  miles  west  of 
Lawrence,  at  the  crossing  of  the  Manhattan,  Alma  and  Jiur- 
lingame,  and  the  Mill  Creek  Valley  and  Council  Grove  railroads. 
The  town  has  several  stores,  wagon  and  other  factories,  a  floiiring 
mill  and  a  saw  mill  with  water  power.  The  town  is  well  situated 
for  water  power,  being  at  the  junction  of  four  creeks.  Geological 
CN-Jjerts  say  that  coal  will  be  found  at  this  point  at  a  depth  of 
from  o."»()  to  400  feet,  and  borings  are  being  made  in  that  interest. 
The  town  increases  very  rapidly  and  is  prosperous.  One  excel- 
lent weekly  paper,  tho  News,  is  published  at  Alma;  and  many 
important  mail  routes  converge  at  that  point.  Tho  borings  for 
coal  have  descended  500  feet,  but  no  paying  veins  were  found, 
possibly  from  some  fault  in  the  earth's  crust,  not  in  the  geological 
prospects.  There  is  coal  under  about  one-fourth  of  the  area  of 
the  county  at  an  average  of  fifteen  feet  deep,  cropping  out  in  the 
ravines  at  many  places;  but  the  quality  is  inferior,  and  the  seams 
about  fourteen  inches  thick.  Some  of  the  veins  have  been  mined, 
and  abandoned  because  the  quantity  and  quality  would  not  pay 
for  labor  and  outlay.  Blue  and  white  limestone  of  excellent 
quality  are  found  in  every  township,  and  lire  clay  has  been  found 
in  many  places  at  various  depths,  from  the  surface  or  near  it  to 
370  feet  below.  An  artesian  well  bore  was  made  at  Alma,  and 
at  a  depth  of  17-1  feet  very  strong  salt  brine  was  discovered  ;  the 
bore  was  continued,  and  at  378  feet  the  brine  was  much  stronger; 
when  the  bore  ceased,  at  585  feet,  the  water  was  impregnated 
■with  chloride  of  sodium  almost  equal  in  strength  to  that  of  the 
Syracuse  salt  works,  and  there  were  hardly  any  impurities  to  be 
removed.  The  product  of  the  well  is  now  being  prepared  for  the 
market  by  natural  evaporation  as  well  as  by  artificial  heat.  The 
face  of  the  country  gives  only  4  per  cent,  of  forest,  15  per  cent,  of 
bottom  land,  and  is  very  fertile.  The  principal  streams  are  Mis- 
eion,  Dragoon,  Rock  and  Mill  creeks ;  the  last  named  creek  is  36 
miles  long,  draining  into  the  Kansas  river.     Springs  are  rare,  but 


CoisTY  Sketcuks. 


653 


I  named  after 
(!ounty  is  80-1 
U8,  of  wliich 
i2  pjr  co;it  of 
t.     Alma,  tlin 

miles  west  of 
ma  and  Jiur- 
•ove  railroads, 
ies,  a  flouring 
1  well  situated. 
^.     Geological 

at  a  depth  of 
1  that  interest 
.  One  excel- 
a ;  and  many 
le  borings  for 
s  were  found, 
the  geological 
of  the  area  of 
ing  out  in  the 
and  the  seams 
ve,  been  mined 
ould  not  pay 
3  of  excellent 
as  been  found 
3  or  near  it  to 

at  Alma,  and 
scovered  ;  the 
inch  stronger; 
\  impregnated 
to  that  of  the 
1  purities  to  be 
■epared  for  the 
ial  heat.  The 
15  per  cent,  of 
earns  are  Mis- 
led creek  is  36 
s  are  rare,  but 


excellent  when  they  occur,  and  good  wells  range  from  20  to  50 
feet.  There  are  no  railroads  in  tlio  county.  Water  powers  are 
good,  but  not  utili/.cd  for  want  of  capital.  The  manufactures  of 
the  county  include,  besides  the  works  at  Alma,  a  water  power 
saw  mill  at  Maple  Hill;  a  cheese  factory  at  Wabaunsee;  two 
cheese  factories  ami  a  knitted  goods  factory  at  Mission  Creek ; 
and  steam'  saw  mills  at  Washington  and  IJerlina  t(nvnshi])s. 
There  arc  two  banks  at  Alma.  There  arc  43  school  houses 
valued  at  $-11,279,  and  53  school  districts.  Three  church  edifices 
have  been  erected  at  a  cost  of  $4,800.  Two  townsliips  report 
libraries  to  the  number  of  1,730  volumes.  One  thousand  persons 
were  in  want  of  food,  and  575  had  not  sullicient  clothing  for 
Avinter  in  consequence  of  the  locust  visitation  of  187-1-5;  but  the 
crops  of  the  latter  year  came  near  making  good  all  deficiencies. 

Washington  County  was  organized  in  1860,  and  no  Ameri- 
can needs  to  be  told  for  whom  the  county  is  named.  The  area  of 
the  county  is  900  square  miles,  and  the  population  in  1S75  was 
8,021,  of  which  4,5(50  were  males.  Farming  employs  eighty-six 
per  cent  of  the  settlers,  and  manufactures  and  mining  six  per 
cent  Washington,  the  county  seat,  is  ninety  miles  northwest 
from  Topeka.  Timber  is  very  light  in  this  county,  and  bottom 
land  only  eight  per  cent,  but  the  prairies  are  fertile  in  good  hands. 
The  principal  streams  are  the  Little  Blue,  Mill,  Coon,  Pete's,  Par- 
son's, and  other  creeks  tributaries  of  the  Little  Blue  and  the  Re- 
publican rivers.  Coal  has  been  found,  but  in  inconsiderable 
seams  and  of  poor  quality ;  still  the  search  has  not  been  aban- 
doned, and  indications  are  favorabl'.,  Building  stone,  pottery 
clay  and  gypsum  are  found  in  diflerent  paits  of  the  county. 
Limestone  quarries  have  been  opened  at  several  points,  and  the 
pottery  clay  is  being  utilized  at  Harn/ver.  The  St  Joseph  and 
Denver  City  Railroad  has  a  principal  itaLion  at  JIanover.  The 
Little  Blue  affords  excellent  water  powers,  but  th  .y  ^ave  not  been 
worked.  Mill  creek  is  fully  employed  three-fifths  of  the  year. 
The  manufactures  of  the  county  include  a  water  power  flouring 
mill,  pottery,  brewery  and  brick  factory  at  Ilano^'er;  a  water 
power  flouring  mill  at  HoUenberg ;  a  water  power  grist  mill  at 
Mill  Creek ;  two  water  power  saw  mills,  a  steam  saw  mill,  a  cheese 


i 


fi 


654 


TuTTi.ffx  IfisTitnr  or  A'.i.v.sms. 


f  1 


fnctory,  fiiniitnrr'  factory,  two  wator  power  flouring  mills,  and 
wafor  ai'd  steam  power  flouring  mill  at  Washington  ;  and  a  wind 
grist  mill  at  Strawberry  township.  There  is  one  bank  in  Wash- 
ington. There  arc  two  papers,  both  weekly,  published  iTie  at 
'Washington  and  the  other  at  Hanover.  Eighty-six  school  houses 
liave  been  erected  and  furnished  at  a  cost  of  $r;7,i)7(),  and  thero 
jvro  in  all  108  school  districts.  There  are  three  <'hurch  edifices 
and  other  properties  valued  at  $4,600,  nnd  libraries  in  two  town- 
ships give  a  total  of .')!)()  volumes.  After  the  locust  i>laguc,  this 
county  had  1,(500  people  in  want  of  clothing,  and  600  unable  to 
procure  food  for  themselves. 


jI 


11' 


WiLsox  County  was  organized  in  I860  at  the  close  of  the  war, 
and  was  named  for  Col.  Wilson  of  Fort  Scott  The  area  of  Wil- 
son county  is  076  square  miles,  and  the  popidation  in  1875  was 
9,749,  of  whicb  number  5,097  were  males.  Eighty-two  per  cent, 
are  employed  in  farming,  and  seven  percent,  in  mines  and  manu- 
factures. Fredonia,  the  county  seat,  is  102  miles  south  from  To- 
peka,  near  Fall  river,  in  a  fine  farming  country,  and  on  the  M. 
and  N.  K.  R.  The  village  has  three  churches,  two  banks,  two 
schools,  a  weekly  newspaper,  the  .Journal,  three  hotels,  a  mill  and 
other  works.  There  are  line  water  powers  on  Fall  river  and  the 
Verdigris,  but  they  are  onlv  partially  employed  by  two  mills  on 
each  stream.  The  manufactures  of  the  county  include  a  steam 
flouring  mill,  a  steam  saw  and  planing  mill,  and  a  water  power 
flouring  mill  in  Neodesha  township  ;  two  water  power  and  two 
steam  power  flouring  and  saw  mills  in  Cedar;  a  steam  saw  mill 
and  two  steam  saw  and  flouring  mills  at  Fall  lliver ;  a  steam  and 
■water  power  flouring  and  saw  mill  at  Guilford  ;  a  steam  power 
flouring  and  sawmill  at  Verdigris:  a  steam  power  sawmill  at 
Clifton,  and  two  water  power  flouring  mills  at  Centre  township. 
There  are  three  banks  in  the  count}^  two  at  Fredonia  and  one  at 
Neodesha,  with  an  aggregate  capital  of  $49,788.  Besides  the  pa- 
per mentioned  as  published  at  Fredonia,  there  is  a  paper  published 
at  Neodesha,  the  Free  Press.  There  is  in  this  county  twenty  per 
cent,  of  bottom  land,  and  eight  per  cent  of  forest  The  principal 
streams  are  the  Verdigris  and  Fall  rivers,  with  their  tributaries, 
Cedar,  Sandy,  Duck  and  Buffalo  creeks,  with  numerous  smaller 


iring  mills,  find 
oil ;  and  a  wind 
bunk  in  Wash- 
iblishod  ")!ie  at 
ix  school  liouHos 
",!)7(^,  and  tlioro 
church  edilicea 
ics  in  two  town- 
list  i>laguc,  this 
d  600  unable  to 


:;lose  of  the  war, 
'he  area  of  Wil- 
:)n  in  1875  was 
ty-two  per  cent, 
lines  and  nianu- 
south  from  To- 
and  on  the  M. 
,wo  banks,  two 
)tels,  a  mill  and 
11  river  and  the 
>y  two  mills  on 
iclude  a  steam 
a  water  power 
lower  and  two 
steam  snw  mill 
T  ;  a  steam  and 
a  steam  power 
'er  saw  mill  at 
3ntre  township, 
onia  and  one  at 
Besides  the  pa- 
japer  published 
nty  twenty  per 
The  principal 
leir  tributaries, 
Tierous  smaller 


CoiWTY  SKurriihs. 


655 


streams.  Springs  arc  mmicroiis,  an<l  j,">od  wdls  range  from 
twelve  to  thiny  feet  in  dcplli.  Coal  is  supposed  to  umlcrlio  tho 
whole  area,  varying  in  thickness  from  six  Indies  to  thirty-si.x,  and 
tho  quality  good.  Tho  soatn  comes  to  the  surface  toward  the  cast 
of  tho  county  and  dips  to  tiic  west.  Local  coiisiiiiiplioii  for  do- 
mestic and  manufacturing  purposes  is  coiisidcrabj.'.  Liincstono 
and  .sandstone  are  found  in  large  ipiantities  of  good  ([iiality  all 
over  the  county,  and  fire  clay  is  also  found  in  the  vicinity  of  Kail 
and  Verdigris  rivers.  There  are  salt  springs  and  marshes  near 
Frcdonia,  whidi  arc  being  iiiili/'.cd.  There  are  eighty-six  .«cliool 
houses  viilned  at  IJO-l.HoO,  and  ninety-one  school  districts.  Seven 
churches  have  been  built  at  a  cost  of  $15,000.  Tliere  arc  twenty- 
six  private  libraries  in  four  towiistiips,  with  1,213  volumes.  Wil- 
son county  was  sdf  supporting  in  lS7-l  -5,  at  the  time  of  the  locust 
visitation,  although  there  was  much  sufTcring  among  the  poorer 
settlers  in  that  region. 

Woodson  County  was  one  ot  the  first  organized  in  185.'), 
having  been  named  in  honor  of  the  secretary  of  the  territory  and 
sevend  times  acting  governor.  The  area  comprises  504  srpiaro 
miles,  and  the  population  in  1875  was  4,476,  of  which  number 
2,396  were  males.  Farming  employs  80  per  cent,  ot  the  settler.-?, 
ininers  and  manufacturers  engage  8  per  cent.  Defiance,  the  coun- 
ty seat,  is  82  miles  .south  from  Topeka.  The  area  offers  a  favora- 
ble compromise  as  to  surface  and  soil,  as  there  is  6  per  cent,  of 
forest  and  10  per  cent,  of  bottom  land  of  great  fertility,  and  the 
wood  is  of  good  descriptions  for  manufacturing  purposes.  The 
principal  streams  are  the  Neosho  and  the  Verdigris  rivers,  with 
their  tributaries.  Owl,  Cherry  and  Big  Sandy  creeks,  with  many 
smaller  streams.  Springs  arc  few  but  good  wdl  water  is  found 
at  from  20  to  40  feet.  Coal  has  been  found,  but  not  enough  to 
pay  for  mining  in  a  systematic  way.  Building  stone  abounds  in 
all  parts  of  the  county.  The  Missouri,  Kan.sas  and  Texas  Rail- 
road follows  the  valley  of  the  Neosho,  so  that  the  region  is  joined 
to  the  railroad  system  of  the  continent.  Dogs  are  more  destruct- 
ive than  wolves  to  sheep  farmers,  but  that  experience  is  common 
to  most  counties  in  Kansas.  There  are  fine  water  powers  on  the 
Neosho  river  at  Neosho  Falls,  and  a  dam  has  prepared  the  way 


; 


'! 
1 


uJ^ 


hit 


956 


Ti  rn.i:'.^  Uistonv  or  K.iss.is. 


for  c()ini>loto  iitili/;ilion  ol  tlio  .Htrt'iiiii.  'I'lio  muiuifiictiircs  of  tlio 
county  inchulo  ii  water  power  lloiiriii;,'  ami  saw  mill,  a  water 
])o\ver  woolen  mill,  ii  s-tcam  saw  mill,  a  wa>;oti  and  implement  fac- 
tory, anil  a  water  power  fiuniluro  factory  ut  Neo.sln»  Kails;  a 
grist  anil  «uw  mill,  and  a  furnitnro  factory  at  Toronto;  u  grist 
and  saw  mill  at  Centre;  and  u  steam  huw  mill  at  Owl  Cretjk 
township.  There  are  no  hanking  lioiises  in  the  county,  and  only 
one  weekly  paper,  the  Woodson  I'osf,  published  at  llic  business 
centre,  Neosho  Falls.  There  are  5-1  districts,  and  63  school 
houses,  valued  at  $;J(i,!)0.'> ;  two  ehurciics  valued  ui  .$.'),  1")0,  and 
libraries  in  five  township.s,  numbering,  in  public  and  jirivaio  col- 
lections, -l,*)'.).")  volumes.  The  locusts  fell  lightly  on  this  county, 
as  wc  lind  only  o2a  persons  in  want  in  the  winter  of  1871-5. 

Wyandotte  County  was  organized  in  1859,  itnrncd  for  the 
tribe  of  Indians  indicated;  the  area  is  only  lo.']  square  miles,  and 
the  population,  in  lb75,  was  12,3(52,  of  which  number  {>,o[)ii  were 
males.     Fifty-one  per  cent.,  little  more  than  halt  of  the  settlers 
rely  on  farming,  9  per  cent,  on  trade  and  transportation,  and  16 
on  mines  and  manufactures.     Professional  and  personal  services 
engross  22  per  cent.     The  county  seat  is  Wyamlotle,  almost  u 
j)artof  Kansas  City,  to  which  it  is  joined  by  bridge  and  railroads; 
being  on  the  state  line,  57  miles  east  from  Topcka.     The  county 
is  well  conditioned   for  agriculture,  manufactures  and  residence, 
as  it  })(xsscsscs,  in  its  limited  area,  25  per  cent,  of  foiest  and  20  of 
bottom  land.     The  Missouri  and  the  Kansas  rivers  are  the  great 
streams,  and  there  are  many  of  small  dimensions  all  over  Wyan- 
dotte county.     Beautiful  springs  abound  as  usual  in  well  timbered 
country,  and  excellent  wells  range  from  20  to  50  feet     A  bore 
put  down  near  Wyandotte  to  determine  as  to  the  practicability  of 
coal  mining  has  given  curious  results.     The  bore  is  only  4  1-2 
inches ;  there  arc  many  greater  bores  in  society,  but  few  so  inter- 
esting.    At  a  depth  of  250  feet,  illuminating  gas  of  fine  quality 
was  struck,  and  has  ever  since  been  ascending  in  great  volume, 
go  that  the  engine  is  supplied  with  no  other  fuel  than  it  affords, 
to  continue  the  work,  and  a  small  two  inch  pipe  carries  to  the 
house  of  Mr.  Wilderman  enough  to  furnish  fuel  and  light     The 
estimate  made  is  that  240,000  cubic  feet  of  gas  escape  every  21 


lotiircn  of  tlio 
iiiilt,  a  water 
[ii|ploii\(.Mit  fac- 
islio  Kails;  a 
roiiU) ;  a  grirft 
,t  Owl  Clock 
irity,  ami  only 
,  lliu  bii.siiit'jiiJ 
11(1  olj  school 
X  $r),-iOO,  und 
(I  jii'ivaU'  col- 
Ill  this  county, 
f  lali-o. 

larncil  for  the 
laro  miles,  and 
bcr  O,o'jy  wcro 
of  thu  settlers 
nation,  and  16 
rsoiial  servicca 
Icjlle,  almost  u 

and  railroads; 
,.  The  county 
and  residence, 
orcst  and  20  of 
3  arc  the  great 
.11  over  \V yan- 
II  well  timbered 

feet  A  bore 
iracticability  of 
e  is  only  4  1-2 
ut  few  so  inter- 

of  fine  quality 

great  volume, 
than  it  affords, 
!  carries  to  the 
md  light  The 
escape  every  24 


Cor.v/)  ShKTviins. 


esT 


hotifs,  cnottgh  to  outbid  the  averng*)  of  gns  companies  in  volumo, 
purity  ;aiid  eheapnt'r        The  stream  lias  ronliimcd  siiieo  last  May. 
(-^oou  utter  rtnieliiiig  iho  htiatum  of  gas,  salt  water  was  reached, 
^hit^h  is  driven  Into  the  air   from  twelve  to  liftcen  feet.     The 
water  in  charged  with  salt,  nlmost  pure  chloride  of  sodium,  to  tho 
extent  of  4  1  4  ounces  per  gallon  :  but  coal  has  not  been  found, 
although  the  bore  lias  now  descended  cniiMiileral.ly  mori!  llian  6(K) 
feet     The  roar  of  the  gai4  as  ii  escapes,  driving  tin!  water  before 
it,  resembles  the  noise  of  the  escape  pipe  of  an  engine,  and  occa- 
sionally at  night  when,  for  the  sake  of  exj)eriment,  the  lluid  has 
been  ignited,  the   flame,  several    feet   in  diameter,  has  ascended 
forty  feet     There  is  no  sulphurous  smell,  so  that  the  gas  cannot 
come  from  the  region  cursorily  referred  to  by  Ihnilrl,  the  Royal 
Dane.     The  tlame  is  strong,  clear  and  white,  and  in  the  face  of 
such  nn  unpardonable  waste  of  the  manufactured  article,  one  is 
(•ompelled  to  encpiire  why  the  material  is  not  used  to  illuminate 
Wyandotte,  Kansas  City,  Weston  and  tho  suburbs.     Such  an  ex- 
port would  be  uni(iue,  as  well  as  profitable,  and  it  would  not  bo 
tho  first  enlightenment  contributed  by  Kansas  to  its  elder  sister. 
Coal  may  bo  found,  and  the  other  mineral  resources  of  Wyandotte 
county   are   line   (juarrics  of   magnesiaii    limestone,   which    give 
beauty  to  the  banks  of  the  Kansas  river  for  miles,  as  well  in  silib 
as  when  made  useful  in  arts  and  architecture.     Blue  limestone  is 
also  found  good  for  building.     The  piers  and  abutments  of  tho 
bridges  constructed  by  the  Kansas  Pacific  railroad  company  near 
Wyandotte  have  been  built  of  this  stone,  at  once  hamlsonie  and 
durable.     The  railroad  facilities  of  Wyandotte  are  second  to  none 
of  the  cities  in  the  union,  as  nearly  all  the  great  lines  arc  within 
easy  reach,  if  they  do  not  come  to  the  doors  of  the  citizens  to  in- 
vite them  to  mount  and  ride.     The  Kansas  Pacific  comes  first, 
having  principal  stations  at  Wyandotte,  Armstrong  and  Kdwards- 
ville;  the  Missouri  river,  extension  of  the  Missouri  Pacific,  fol- 
lows the  south  bank  of  the  great  river  to  Leavenworth  and  Atch- 
ison, having  principal  stations  at  Wyandotte,  Qui>idaro,  Pomeroy, 
Barkers  Tank  and  Connor.     Reports,  as  to  the  fertility  of  Wyan- 
dotte, mention  325  bushels  of  potatoes  and  90  bushels  of  corn 
per  acre. 

The  manufactures  of  Wyandotte  county  include  four  steam 
43 


'CiMawiici-aniVTgir- 


658 


TvTTr.r:'s  History  of  Kansas. 


5i' 


a. 

Hi 


packing  liouncsof  considiMablc  extent,  the  capital  invested  in  two 
of  tiieni  being  $120,000  and  $30,000 ;  a  steam  saw  mill  and  a 
steam    grease   factory  in  Sliawnee   township;  a  steam    flounng 
mill  at  (Juindaro;  a  steam  saw  mill  and  a  rope  factory  at  ?rairio  ; 
the  niacliine  shops  of  the   Kansas  Pacific  at  Armstrong;  and 
near  the  same  place  a  steam  flounng  mill ;  a  steam  flouring  mill 
at  Edwardsvillc;  a  steam    flouring   mill    at   Pomeroy;  and    in 
Wyandotte  City  tliree  steam  flouring  mills,  the  capital  of  two  of 
■which  amount,  to  $23,000  ;  a  wagon  and  carriage  factory,  tin,  cop- 
per and  sheet  iron  works,  two  cigar  factories,  and  the  repair  shops 
of  the  Kansas,  Pacific  Railroad.     There  are  three  banks  in  Wy- 
andotte City,  and    two  weekly  papers,  the  Ilendd  and    Gazelle. 
The  county  has  30  districts  and  42   school  houses,  valued  inclu- 
sive of  appurtenances  at  $89,513,  besides  which,  there  is  a  Cath- 
olic parocliicJ  school  at  Wyandotte.     The  churches  in  Wyandotte 
county  number  six  and  the  value  is  stated  at  $22,500,  but  sever- 
al organizations  have  no  church  buildings.     One   public  library 
contrins  800   volumes   and    174    private  collections  amount  to 
20,2-15  volumes.     The  losses  falling  upon  Wyandotte  county  from 
the  locust  plague  were  heavy  but  the  county  was  self-supporting. 

Graham  Couxty  is  one  of  the  unorganized,  the  first  ground 
having  been  broken  in  ^lay,  1872,  and  in  1875,  there  was  only  a 
population  of  96.  The  post  offices  for  the  county  are  at  Graham 
and  Houston.  There  is  but  little  wood,  but  bottom  lands  range 
as  hiirh  as  20  per  cent.  The  chief  streams  are  the  south  fork  of 
the  Solomon,  which  has  many  tributaries,  and  Bow  Creek.  The 
forest  lands  of  the  county  all  border  the  streams,  and  Bow 
Creek  is  heavily  timbered  in  some  parts.  No  coal  has  been  dis- 
covered but  the  search  has  not  been  exhaustive.  There  is  good 
limestone  generally  for  building  purposes  and  for  making  lime, 
and  on  Coon  Creek  there  are  several  beds  of  very  handsome 
magnesian  limestone,  which  will  pay  well  for  quarrying.  There 
are°no  railroads  in  the  county  or  it  would  go  ahead  rapidly.  The 
school  accommodation  consists  of  one  day  school  and  one  Sun- 
day school.  There  are  no  church  buildings  but  several  organiza- 
tions. 

Hamilton  Couxty  is  not  organized ;  the  first  settlement  of 


MiMMMiMiJtteiiiGNMMl 


invested  in  two 
saw  mill  and  a 
steam    flouring 
:t<M-y  at  Prairie ; 
Armstrong  ;  and 
m  flouring  mill 
imeroy ;  and    in 
ipital  of  two  of 
faetory,  tin,  cop- 
Llie  repair  shops 
;e  banks  in  \V\  - 
:tld  and    Gazelle. 
3S,  valued  inclu- 
there  is  a  Catli- 
es  in  Wyandotte 
2,500,  but  sever- 
le   public  library 
tions  amount  to 
.otte  county  from 
3  self-supporting. 

the  first  ground 
there  was  only  a 
,y  are  at  Graham 
torn  lands  range 
the  south  fork  of 
iow  Creek.  The 
'earns,  and  Bow 
oal  has  been  dis- 
.  There  is  good 
for  making  lime, 

very  handsome 
larrying.  There 
jad  rapidly.  The 
)1  and  one  Sun- 
several  organiza- 

rst  settlement  of 


BioanAriiTCAL  Sketches. 


659 


thirty  families  was  made  in  1873,  and  other  families,  to  the  num- 
ber of  sixty,  came  prior  to  July,  187-i,  but  the  drouth,  followed  by 
the  locust  plague  discouraged  great  numbers,  and  there  arc  now 
only  about  twenty  families  remaining,  unless  there  has  been  an 
increase  since  1875.  The  principal  towns  are  Syracuse  and  Sar- 
gent. Syracuse  is  on  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  Rail- 
road, 14  miles  east  of  the  state  line,  12  miles  east  of  Sargent,  and 
one  mile  from  the  Arkansas  river.  There  were  twelve  families  in 
the  town  on  the  13th  of  March,  1875,  and  no  families  in  the 
suburbs  within  six  miles.  Sargent  is  still  smaller,  as  numerous 
families  moved  to  Granada  with  the  extending  road.  There  is 
bottom  land  from  half  a  mile  to  7  miles  wide,  with  an  average  of 
two  miles.  The  Arkansas  river  is  divided  by  islands  at  this  point. 
The  ravines  which  abound  in  springs  are  very  broad  and  fertile. 
The  country  is  fine  and  rolling,  beautiful  to  the  eye  and  exceed- 
ingly fertile,  an  eligible  site  for  settlement.  There  are  about  200 
acres  of  woodland,  mostly  skirting  tlie  Arkansas,  some  of  the 
Cottonwood  trees  are  very  large,  one  near  Syracuse  is  eight  feet  in 
diameter.  Wild  jjlums  and  grapes  abound  here.  The  Arkansas 
is  the  great  stream  with  many  tributaries.  Limestone,  both  blue 
and  magnesian,  are  plentiful.  The  principal  stations  of  the  At- 
chison, Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  line  are  at  Aubrey,  Syracuse  and 
Sai-gent 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


General  Halbermax.  —  Among  the  men  who  have  distin- 
guished themselves  and  conferred  honor  on  the  state  of  Kansas, 
from  the  days  of  the  first  settlement,  the  name  of  Gen.  Haider- 
man  will  occur  first  to  every  reader  conversant  with  the  affairs  of 
this  region.  Commencing  his  carreer  as  a  democrat,  and  being 
from  a  very  early  day  private  secretary  to  Gov.  Reeder,  he  was 
conversant  with  the  difficulties  that  crowded  many  democrats 


1 


h 


i^}L\v^mmfm«^'A 


660 


Tuttle's  History  of  Kaxsas. 


over  the  republican  line,  but  whether  in  peace  or  at  war,  Gen. 
Tlulderman  has  won  the  good  word  of  every  class  of  citizens, 
without  abandoning  for  one  moment  the  high  position  of  a  man 
of  principle,  resolute  in  what  he  believed  to  be  the  righ;  path. 
A  brief  retrospect  of  the  career  of  Gen.  Ualderman  'vill  be  ac- 
ceptable to  our  readers  and  instructive  to  youth.  The  state  of 
Missouri  was  his  place  of  nativity,  and  in  that  state  and  in  Ken- 
tucky he  continued  to  reside  until  1854,  when  at  the  age  of  21 
he  removed  to  Kansas,  and  was  one  of  the  first  to  settle  in  the 
newly  recognized  territory.  His  Kentucky  experiences  made 
him  familiar  with  work  in  every  line,  as  he  figured  there  sometimes 
on  a  farm,  occasionally  clerking  and  teaching  school  until  he  had 
amassed  means  sufficient  to  procure  an  academic  course  of  instruc- 
tion. McKendra  college,  Illinois,  and  St.  Xavier,  Ohio,  were  joint- 
ly his  alma  mater,  and  he  has  done  honor  to  his  training.  Sub- 
sequently the  youth  read  law  in  the  oflice  of  Col.  C.  C.  Rogers 
at  Lexington,  Ky.,  where  he  became  conversant  with  the  routine 
of  the  United  States  district  attorney,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  at  Louisville  after  attending  the  university  in  that  city. 
After  this  course  of  preparation  Mr.  Halderman  moved  into  Kan- 
sas and  became  one  of  its  pioneers.  His  rare  qualifications  and 
high  personal  character  procured  him  in  succession  app.  intments, 
after  serving  as  Gov.  Reeder's  secretary,  as  secretary  of  the  first 
territorial  council,  probate  judge  of  Leavenworth  county,  major 
of  the  first  Kansas  volunteers,  major  general  of  the  northern 
division  of  the  state  forces,  the  last  two  appointments  being  made 
by  Gov.  Robinson,  mayor  of  Leavenworth  for  two  terms,  regent 
of  the  state  university,  member  of  the  house  of  representatives 
and  state  senator.  The  honor  last  named  is  still  enjoyed  by  Gen. 
Halderman,  and  his  escutcheon  has  no  "bend  sinister." 

Gen.  Halderman  was  by  birth  and  training  a  democrat  of  the 
Thomas  Jeflerson  school,  but  opposed  to  the  extension  of  slavery, 
hence,  although  he  generally  acted  with  his  party,  he  fought 
against  the  Lecompton  constitution  at  all  hazards  with  vote, 
voice,  influence  and  purse.  Co-operating  with  Gov.  Walker  after 
the  retirement  of  Gov.  Geary,  Gen.  Halderman  with  others 
bought  the  Leavenworth  Joiunal,  and  used  it  effectively  against 
the  proslavery  Lecompton  movement.     Could  the  active  and  un- 


■Miiiiniiiiiiii 


BioujiAi'iiiCAL  Sketches. 


661 


r  at  war,  Gen. 
lass  of  citizens, 
iition  of  a  man 
:,hc  righi.  path, 
lan  'vill  be  ac- 
,  Tlie  state  of 
te  and  in  Ken- 
t  tlie  age  of  21 

to  settle  in  tho 
aeriences  made 
there  sometimes 
)ol  until  he  had 
3urse  of  instruo- 
)hio,  were  joint- 
training.  Sub- 
.  C.  C.  Rogers 
nth  the  routine 
admitted  to  the 
f  in  that  city, 
loved  into  Kan- 
alilications  and 
1  app.  intments, 
ary  of  the  first 
.  county,  major 
f  the  northern 
tnts  being  made 
!0  terms,  regent 

representatives 
jnjoyed  by  Gen. 
ster." 

democrat  of  the 
nsion  of  slavery, 
irty,  he  fought 
xrds  with  vote, 
)V.  Walker  after 
an  with  others 
fectively  against 
i  active  and  un- 


compromising opponent  have  been  silenced,  there  is  good  reason 
for  believing  that  he  would  have  been  nominated  first  governor  of 
the  state,  under  the  constitution  which  he  materially  assisted  to 
defeat.     The  General  preferred  the  honor  of  trying  to  establish  a 
free  state,  better  than   governing  a  state  that  carried  the  stain  of 
human  servitude.     When   Martin  F.  Conway  was  elected  by  the 
republicans  as  representative  of  the  state  in  congress?.   Gen.   Ilal- 
dcrman,  nominated  by  the  democrats,  ran  a  long  way  ahead  of  his 
ticket.      When  the  national  convention  of  his  party  assembled  in 
Charleston,  S.   C,  in  1800,  and  afterwards  adjourned  to  Balti- 
more, Mil.,  the  General  was  one  of  the  few  wise  democratic  repre- 
sentatives tiiat  worked  heartily  for  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  and  his 
faith  in  "  The  Little  Giant"  has  never  abated  to  this  hour.     Un- 
fortunately for  the  party,  the  Breckinridge  schism  was  irremedi- 
able.    Like  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  when  the  war  supervened,  Gen. 
nalderman  gave  his  best  services  to  his  country  and  upheld  the 
union.     Unhappily  Mr.  Douglas  died  at  the  early  age  of  48.     Gen. 
nalderman  was  then  20  years  his  junior,  and  his  energy  found  ex- 
pression in  the  field,  lie  was  one  of  the  first  volunteers  in  this  state, 
and  was  nominated  major  of  the  first  regiment,  participating  with 
honor  in  the  battles  of  Dug  Springs  and  at  Wilson's  Creek,  where 
Gen.  Lyon  fell.     The  sei  vices  of  the  major  were  mentioned  as  gal- 
lant and  meritorious  in  the  official  records.     Gov  Robinson  ap- 
pointed him  major  general  of  the  northern  division  of  the  forces 
of  the  state  in  1862,  and  in  that  position  his  duties  were  onerous 
in  the  extreme.     His  division  was  efficiently  organized  on  a  war 
basis,  to  repel  the  incursions  of  rebels  and  prevent  Indian  depre- 
dations, besides  which  it  devolved  upon  the  major  general  to  pro- 
cure arms  for  the  state  generally. 

Later  in  his  career  we  find  Gen.  Halderman  in  the  house  of 
representatives,  in  1870,  earnestly  sustaining  the  XV th  amend- 
ment. He  was  the  author  of  the  General  Amnesty  Bill,  and  also 
of  a  bill  to  abolish  capital  punishment  in  the  state  of  Kansas ; 
such  measures  mark  the  intellectual  and  moral  status  of  the  man. 
When  the  general  retired,  in  1872,  from  his  second  term  in  the 
mayorality  of  Leavenworth  City,  the  press  -was  encomiastic  in 
the  highest  degree,  praising  him  as  "  mayor  of  the  people  and  not 
of  a  party.     *     *    *     One  of  the  best,  if  not  (he  best,  ablest  and 


>: 


662 


Tuttlk's  History  of  Kansas. 


purest  chief  magistrate  that  Leavenworth  lias  ever  had."     Seek- 
ing  relaxation  in  foreign  travel,  after  a  long  eourse  of  active  public 
life,  Gen.  lluldernian  was  in  London  on  the  ilh  of  July,  18G2, 
and  was  chosen  to  preside  over  the  annual  American  banquet  hi 
that  city  in  honor  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.     Li  his 
opening  remarks  on  LhaL  occasion,  the  general  strongly  urged  the 
re-election  of  President  Grant,  a  question  at  that  time  much  in 
debate,  among  persons  of  democratic  i-roclivitics  more  especially. 
The  liberal  training  enjoyed  in  his  young  inanliood  enabled  Gen. 
Halderman  to  appreciate  European  travel,  and  to  reap  from  it  all 
the  advantages  proiturable  in  a  brief  respite  from  active  work. 
The  principal  cities  of  the  old  world  were  visited  by  him  m  suc- 
cession, accompanied  by  his  family;    and  when  that  tour  had 
been  completed,  he  resolved  upon  more  extensive  travel,     iiis 
wife  and  daughter  remaining  in  Germany,  where  the  younger 
lady  enjoyed  the  best  facilities  for  education,  the  general  had  the 
satisfaction  of  comparing  modern  Greece  with  the  country  repre- 
sented to  him  by  the  classic  writers  of  antiquity.     From  that 
point  he  traveled  through  Turkey,  seeing   rVbdul  Aziz  in  "  his 
manner  as  he  lives,"  surrounded  by  dead  and  dying  institutions, 
and  vainly  striving   to   emulate  a  higher  civilization.      Syria, 
E-ypt  and  Palestine  became  in  turn  his  abiding  places,  until  he 
ha'd  penetrated  the  recesses  of  eastern  life,  a  design  but  seldom 
entertained  by  travelers  who  hurry  over  a  stretch  of  desert,  see 
the  pyramids,  quote  Napoleon,  and  return  in  tune  to  save  the 
post,  thinking  that  they  have  liberalized  their  ideas  by  foreign 
tvavel  and  experience.     The  region  of  the  Khedive,  his  improve- 
ments and  designs,  the  sacred  spots  in  the  Holy  Land,  the  Nile 
itself,  and  its  identification  with  the  mysteries  of  our  religion,  gave 
to  this  period  of  his  life  a  peculiar  charm  for  the  traveled  scholar, 
and  when  Gen.  Halderman  returned  to  his  native  land  after  only 
fifteen  months  spent  in  distant  countries,  he  was  better  than  ever 
able  to  appreciate  the  blessings  within  his  reach.     The- brief  holi- 
day was  followed  by  a  speedy  call  to  higher  duties  in  his  adopted 
home.     Kansas  could  not  afford  to  allow  her  worthy  pioneers  to 
"step  down  and  out,"  so,  immediately  after  the  general  had  begun 
to  realize  the  pleasures  of  home  life  he  was  elected  in  November, 
1874,  to  the  Kansas  state  senate.     The  canvass  on  that  occasion 


BlOnilAVlUCAL  SKKTCIlKff. 


66S 


Imcl."  Soek- 
active  public 
[  July,  18G2, 
in  banquet  iu 
;nce.  In  bis» 
^ly  urged  the 
line  much  iu 
ii'o  especially. 
enabled  Gen. 
ap  from  it  all 
active  work. 
ly  him  in  suc- 
hat  tour  had 

I  travel.     His 
the  younger 

3neral  had  the 
30untry  repre- 
:  From  that 
Aziz  in  "his 
g  institutions, 
[ition.  Syria, 
laces,  until  he 

II  but  seldom 
of  desert,  see 

le  to  save  the 
eas  by  foreign 
,  his  improve- 
jand,  the  Nile 
r  religion,  gave 
aveled  scholar, 
land  after  only 
etter  than  ever 
The  brief  holi- 

in  his  adopted 
thy  pioneers  to 
eral  had  begun 

in  November, 
n  that  occasion 


produced  many  commcnls  on  the  character  and  career  of  the  can- 
didate, and  it  might  be  expected  that  an  "  unreconstructed"  dem- 
ocratic organ,  published  in   i^hitte  City,  Mo.,  would  have  some- 
thing to  say  about  a  native  ]\[issourian  identified  with  the  labors 
that  made  Kansas  a  free  state.     Contrary  to  many  expectations, 
the  criticism  was  a  complete  eulogy  of  Judge  Ilaldornian,  whose 
military   services  could  not  be  named  nor  adverted  to  without 
wounding  the  anwnr  propre  of  the  readers  of  the  riattc  City 
paper,  but  they  yet  served  to  round  a  period  in  a  well  penned 
article.     The  editor  said:    "This  distinguished    gentleman   is  a 
candidate  for  the  state  senate  in  our  neighboring  state  of  Kansas. 
Ilis  election  would  give  great  satisfaction  to  the  people  of  Platte 
county,  who,  to  a  great  extent,  have  identical  interests  with  those 
of  Leavenworth.    He  was  in  the  army  '  during  our  late  unpleasant- 
ness,' and  came  out  of  it  with  distinction,     lie  has  filled  many 
public  office?,  among  which  was  that  of  mayor  of  Leavenworth, 
from  which  he  retired  without  spot  or  stain.     "^     *     *     He  is  a 
republican,  and  as  such,  might  not  be  acceptable  to  our  people, 
but  he  is  one  of  the  few  honest  ones  in  that  party.     *     *     * 
Should  Judge  llalderman  be  selected  by  the  people  across  the 
Missouri  to  assist  in  making  their  law?,  we  should  feel  assured 
they  are  willing  to  meet  us  at  least  half  way  in  bridging  the 
'  bloody  chasm.'  "     The  general  is  chairman  of  the  committee  oa 
education  in  the  senate,  and  in   his  career  has  favored  among 
other  measures,  biennial  sessions  of  the  legislature ;  rigid  econo- 
my in  the  public  service;    adjustment  and  equalization  of  all 
taxes;    encouragement   of   agriculture   and   manufactures;    free 
trade  in  money,  and  repeal  of  iniquitous  and  unwise  usury  laws ; 
abolition  of  the  death  penalty ;    a  general  herd  law ;    and  an 
amendment  of  the  constitution  to  prohibit  counties,  cities  and 
towns,  subscribing  stock  and  voting  bonds  to  railways  or  other 
corporations.     The  general  is  not  a  mere  theorist ;  he  has  assisted 
materially  to  establish  the  two  leading  life  and  fire  insurance 
companies  in  the  state,  located  at  Leavenworth,  to  which  he  gives 
all  the  attention  compatible  with'a  regard  for  his  large  landed  in- 
terests.    The  Episcopal  church  is  the  choice  of  his  mature  life, 
and  he  has  passed  through  all  the  degrees  of  Free  Masonry  to  the 
Ligh  degree  of  Knight  Templar.     His  generosity  is  of  the  broad 


it 


:u  LiMiijiuiiiiiiwj  Biiyrm^iniri  mill 


C64 


TuTTLtfs  IIlSTORr  OF  7v.UV.s\(S. 


Catholic  order  tliat  knows  no  distinction  of  cast  and  creed.  His 
home  is  a  Lijun  of  books,  pictures  and  good  taste,  imi)roved  by 
travel  and  converse  with  leading  minds  in  many  lands,  from 
many  of  which  he  has  elegant  souvenirs;  and  he  is  surrounded 
by  the  highest  culture  in  Kansas.  Gen.  Ilalderman  has  escaped 
calumny  in  a  cen.sorious  ago  when  few  are  quite  untouched.  His 
sound  sense  and  practical  sagacity  are  beyond  question,  his  integ- 
rity is  admitted  even  by  his  antagonists,  he  can  hardly  be  said  to 
have  enemies;  and  to  him  has  been  aptly  applied  the  .sentence, 
first  penned  in  honor  of  Pierre  Du  Terrail,  the  famous  Chevalier 
Bayard,  "  k  cJicmlitr  sans  pcur  el  sans  rcpruche.'''' 

The  life  of  the  General  is  yet  hardly  realizing  its  prime,  he  is 
only  forty-three  years  of  age,  and  it  would  be  hard  to  believe  tliat 
a  man  who  has  served  so  well  and  truly,  in  answer  to  every  call 
up  to  the  present  hour,  will  be  permitted  to  retire  into  the  ele- 
gancy of  private  culture,  surrounded  by  his  family  and  friends. 
That  indulgence  belongs  to  advanced  age,  and  the  general  must 
be  the  servant  of  the  public  for  many  years,  until  he  is  entitled 
to  say : 

"  My  way  of  life, 

Is  fallen  into  the  sear,  the  yellow  leaf." 

Then  it  will  be  his  good  fortune  to  find  the  blessings  so  elo- 
quently depicted  by  the  immortal  bard,  as 

"  That  which  should  accompany  old  age,  — 
As  honour,  love,  obudic/euce,  troops  of  friends." 

It  is  not  often  permitted  to  men  so  young  to  have  won  an  edu- 
cation, a  valuable  property,  and  the  reputation  of  great  service  to 
the  state  and  to  the  union,  without  such  devotion  to  Pluto  as 
must  dissociate  the  mind  from  all  that  is  elegant  and  most 
amiable ;  but  truly,  in  the  language  of  Sallust :  "  Every  man  is 
the  architect  of  his  own  fortune,"  and  the  lines  that  have  fallen  to 
Gen.  Ilalderman,  have  permitted  him  to  construct  a  life  to  which 
Plutarch  might  have  rendered  full  justice,  had  not  his  series  of 
medallions  been  long  since  closed  for  all  time. 

Gov.  Osborne  wears  honors  which  have  been  nobly  and  worth- 
ily won.     He  was  born  at  Meadvillf^.  Pennsylvania,  on  the  26th 


'"^'""•»<«',*j-r 


(1  creed.  His 
improved  by 
'  lands,  frotn 
is  surrounded 
1  has  escaped 
oucli-xl.  His 
ion,  his  integ- 
dly  be  said  to 
the  sentence, 
ous  Chevalier 

i  prime,  he  is 
,0  believe  tliat 
■  to  every  call 

into  the  elo- 
y  and  friends. 
i  general  must 

he  is  entitled. 


casings  so  slo- 


e  won  an  edu- 
;reat  service  to 
in  to  Pluto  as 
ant  and  most 
'  Every  man  is 
;  have  fallen  to 
a  life  to  which 
it  his  series  of 


blyand  worth- 
ia,  on  the  26tb 


Bion  liA  I'liK '.  I L  Ski-:  tciikh. 


665 


of  October,  1830,  consequently  he  is  now  forty  years  of  ago.  lie 
received  a  common  school  education  until  lie  was  15  years  old, 
when  he  entered  a  compositors  oflicc  to  procure  tho  means  of 
livelihood.  Thrown  upon  his  own  resources,  his  first  step  in  a 
long  career  of  usefulness  was  carrying  newspapers  for  the  office  in 
wliich  he  served  a  full  apprenticeship.  Master  of  the  art  of 
Gutenberg,  he  attended  Allegheny  College  and  supported  himself 
by  his  labors  "at  case"  during  vacation.s.  When  twenty  years 
of  age,  he  read  law  with  Judge  Derrickson  of  Moadville,  but  re- 
moved to  Michigan  in  the  following  year,  1857,  when  in  tlie  fall, 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  lie  arrived  in  Lawrence,  Kansas,  in 
the  month  of  November,  1857,  and  being  without  ca)»ital,  went 
to  work  as  a  compositor  in  the  olfice  of  the  Jlemld  of  Freedom,  of 
which  he  became  foreman,  remaining  until  the  spring  of  1858. 
El  wood,  in  Doniphan  county,  was  the  scene  of  his  first  profession- 
al labors  in  this  territory,  and  he  continued  there  for  some  time 
after  his  removal  fron^  Lawrence.  He  found  in  Doniphan  county, 
and  more  especially  in  KIwood.  some  of  the  finest  specimens  of 
manhood  and  ability  then  to  be  admired  in  Kansas,  and  circum- 
stances had  conspired  to  bring  to  this  region  the  picked  popula- 
tion of  man}' states.  Intercourse  with  men  of  first-class  capacity 
could  not  fail  to  develop  the  best  qualities  in  an  active  and  well 
trained  mind,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Gov.  Osborne  often- 
times looks  back  to  the  associations  of  that  time  with  eonsidera- 
able  interest.  lie  was  thrown  into  contact  in  his  social  and  pro- 
fessional career,  with  the  Hon.  J.  B.  Chaffee,  now  of  Colorado,  and 
delegate  in  congress  for  that  territory  prior  to  its  admission  as  a 
state;  Gen.  Albert  L.  Lee,  since  then  distinguised  as  a  brilliant 
cavalry  ofticer;  the  lion.  D.  W.  Wilder,  the  present  state  aud- 
itor; the  Hon.  W.  II.  Smallwood,  since  secretary  of  state;  and 
the  Hon.  Edward  Russell,  for  sometime  superintenlent  of  insur- 
ance. El  wood  was  then  as  it  is  now  a  good  place  for  a  young 
man  of  parts  and  ambition,  and  Mr.  O.sborne  .soon  found  himself 
in  the  front  ranks  in  the  political  agitation  of  the  time.  PVee 
state  views  and  ardent  republicanism  determined  the  young  lawyer 
as  to  his  position  on  the  great  questions  of  the  day.  He  was 
chosen  to  represent  Doniphan  county  in  the  first  senate  elected  in 
1859,  under  the  state  constitution,  and  when  that  became  law  he 


^>^:-yf^xr~-r^ 


n 


GGQ 


'Tuttlk's  JIisToiir  of  Kansas. 


took  Ills  seal  in  lyill.  Later  in  liiri  logi.slativc  career,  when  the 
senate  met  in  iyi;2,  to  try  Gov.  llobinson  and  other  state  ollieers 
who  hail  been  impeached  of  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors,  tho 
Jiieut.  Governor  being  at  tliat  time  absent  on  military  service,  it 
became  neee.s.sary  for  tlie  senate  toelioosea  president  ^;;'y  km.  from 
among  its  incmliers.  Tiie  contest  for  the  position  wa.-  between 
Mr.  Ingalls,  now  tlie  United  States  senator  and  Mr.  Osborne,  and 
it  was  not  until  tlie  fourteenth  ballot  that  a  conclusion  was  ar- 
rived at,  the  j)resent  governor  carrying  oi[  the  honor.  The  com- 
petition between  the  same  ])arties  was  very  .spirited  in  the  republi- 
can convention  of  that  year  for  the  ollice  of  lieutenant  governor, 
but  'Slv.  liigalls  was  once  more  the  un.succe.-'sful  candidate.  Hav- 
ing failed  to  secure  the  regular  nomination,  Mr.  Ingalls  permitted 
hiiiLself  to  be  init  forward  by  an  independant  party,  and  the  pub- 
lic were  thus  enabled  to  prononuce  upon  the  merits  of  the  parties, 
the  result  being  that  ^[r.  Osborne  became  lieutenant  governor  by 
a  very  respectable  Jiiajority.  Perhaps  there  may  have  been  a  de- 
sire on  the  part  of  the  people  to  pronounce  on  independent  tickets, 
as  well  as  upon  the  j)arties  concerned,  in  the  ballot  then  cast. 

In  tlie  year  ISOi,  I'resident  Lincoln  tendered  to  the  lieutenant 
governor  the  position  of  United  States  marshal  in  Kansas,  and 
the  post  was  occupied  by  him  until  the  year  1867,  when  Presi- 
dent Johnson  concluded  upon  decapitating  the  oflicer  appointed 
by  his  i)redecessor.  lie  had  the  honor  to  undergo  the  process  in 
good  company,  and  there  was  no  discredit  attached  to  the  opera- 
tion, so  far  as  the  ex-marshal  was  concerned.  The  ofTice  had 
appeared  to  require  a  residence  nearer  to  the  center  of  population 
than  Klwood,  and  when  the  sword  of  Damocles  had  fallen,  tiie 
present  governor  w;is  a  resident  in  the  city  of  Leavenwortli 
where  he  continued  afterwards. 

In  the  fall  of  1872,  the  nomination  as  governor  was  offered  to 
Mr.  Osborne,  by  the  republican  state  convention,  and  was  of 
course  accepted,  the  election  following  by  an  exemplaj'y  major- 
ity, 34,000,  certainly  very  much  larger  than  had  ever  been  given 
by  the  state  for  any  other  candidate.  The  majority  given  to 
President  Grant  in  the  first  candidature  in  this  state  was  only 
17,058,  and  on  the  reelection  in  1872,  only  amounted  to  34  078 
so  that  it  is  evident  he  brought  out  the  whole  strength  of  the 


liioaii.\rincM.  SKirrciiKs. 


m 


rccr,  when  tlio 
r  statu  oHiccrs 
loineanors,  tlio 
,ury  service,  it 
t  pro  km.  from 
\va?  between 
Osborne,  and 
;lusion  was  ur- 
jr.  The  com- 
iii  tlie  republi- 
luiit  governor, 
didale.  llav- 
;all3  permitted 
,  and  tlicpub- 
of  tlie  parties, 
t  governor  by 
ive  been  a  de- 
jndent  tickets, 
then  cast, 
the  lieutenant 
11  Kansas,  and 
,  when  Presi- 
cer  appointed 
tlie  process  in 
I  to  the  opera- 
'lie  olFiee  had 
of  population 
ad  fallen,  tlie 
Leavenworth, 

was  ollered  to 
,  and  was  of 
iplaj-y  major- 
er  been  given 
rity  given  to 
tate  was  only 
ed  to  34,078, 
rength  of  the 


republican  party.  When  Sciuaor  Cahlwell  was  obligf.l  to  resign 
his  position  as  Cniled  States  senator  ''e  iiaine  oC  (iov.  Osl.orno 
was  mooted,  but  ex-dov.  Harvey's  tricds  secured  him  the  nomi- 
nation and  election.  The  political  canvass  of  1873  -1  was  bitter 
and  i)erst)nal  beyond  precedent,  mainly  because  of  animosities 
aroused  tluring  the  senatorial  trouble,  but  the  iv[mblican  conven- 
tion gave  (iov.  Osborne  a  rcnominalion,  and  he  was  once  moro 
chosen  by  the  people  to  till  the  gubernatori"l  olVice.  flis  term 
will  expire  on  tlie  second  Monday  in  January,  1S77.  Tunes  of 
great  distress  have  fallen  within  his  terms  of  olliee,  and  his  meas- 
ures have  always  been  pix)mpt  and  effective  .so  far  as  his  meana 
would  permit.  "  The  Hon.  Tluxs.  A.  Osborne  will  linisli  his  course 
with  honor  to  himself  and  with  pnjlit  to  the  state. 

Hon.  IIiKAM  GiuswoM)  is  (me  of  the  veterans  in  legal  prac- 
tice in  Kansas,  as  he  was  born  in  1807,  on  the  f)tli  of  .Inly,  just 
too  late  to  take  part  in  the  celebration  of  the  never  to  be  forgot- 
ten Fourth.     lie  remained  in  Colebrook,  Conn.,  his  native  place, 
until  182(i,  when  he  removed  to  Hudson,  Ohio,  in  which  city  ho 
read  law  with  Judge  Van  \\.  Humphrey,  and  was  admitted  to  tlio 
bar  in  August,  1829.     The  town  of  Canton,  Ohio,  was  the  placo 
chosen  by  him  for  commencing  the  practice  of  his  professitMi,  and 
he  continued  there,  enjoying  a  fair  measure  of  success,  until  the 
end  of  1851.     Circumstances   then    invited   him    to  change    his 
locale,  to  Cleveland,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  actively  engaged  in 
professional  affairs  until  his  removal  to  the  city  of  Leavenworth, 
in  18(53,  where  he  has  resided  ever  since.     Soon  after  Mr.  Gris- 
wold  took  up  his  abode  in  Leavenworth,  he  won  recognition  a3 
one  of  the  leading  members  of  the  bar  in  the  state  of  Kansas,  a 
reputation   which  time  can  only  enhance,  because  it  is  founded 
upon  consummate  ability  and  sound  judgment.     During  the  por- 
tion of  his  lifetime  passed  in  Ohio,  Mr.  Griswold  was  an  active  and 
influential  politician,  looked  for  in  the  front  rank  of  his  party, 
and  accepted  largely  by  the  mass  of  nonpartisan  politicians  as  a 
leader  whom  it  was  sate  to  follow,  because  of  the  vigor  combined 
with  moderation  that  tempered  his  action  on  all  occasions.     The 
Jackson   democrats  were  in  an  overwhelming  degree  masters  of 
the  situation  in  Ohio,  where  Mr.  Griswold  resided,  before  the 


:l 


i 


HMii 


ia.::^^^ 


fiiirnriiri'ii  r^-'^'-nr^^tTmr''''''^-'^ 


668 


Tittle's  IIistouy  of  Kass.xs. 


yi' 


days  of  i]w  republican  ]mrtv,  and  lie  would  liavo   cnninltcd  liis 
own  interests  inalerialjy,  by  sinotlierin^L,'  liis  political  convictions, 
but  ho  had  long  before  given  in  lii.s  adhesion  to  whig  principles, 
and  on  every  pnipor  occasion  he  was  found  ranged  under  the  old 
banner.     The  tnoveinents  of  the  free  soil  party  made  aiitislavery 
an  element  in  political  life,  an<l  Mr.  (Iriswold  was  known  in  Ohio 
as  an  antislavery  whig,  \iiitil    it   became  evident   that  the  whig 
party  could  not  expand  itself  to  the  dimensions   rerinired  by  tho 
time.     The  formation  of  the  republican  party  was  hailed  by  mil- 
lions as  the  only  possible  solution  of  the  dilTiculty,  and  all  tho 
leading  wliigs,  intellectually  speaking,  were  engrossed  in  the  new 
organization;  Mr.  (iriswold    was  one  of  that  number.     A    mere 
ofhce  .seeker  would  of  eour.sc   have  idctitificd   himself  with   iho 
Btrongest  party,  locally  considered;  Mr.  Griswold  enrolled  him- 
self with  the  weaker  side,  but  in  1810.  when  it  was  necessary  to 
make  a  notninatipn  that  would  commano  respect,  although  it  was 
known   that  an  election  could   not  be  hoped,  he  permitted   his 
natne  to  be  used,  and  did  all  that  was  possible  to  assist  the  ticket 
The  party  majority  of  the  democrats  was  at  tliat  time  800,  but 
upon  his  nomination  for  state  senator  Mr.  Griswold  ran  .so  far 
ahead  of  his  ticket  that  he  was  only  beaten  by  8  votes.     Such  a 
defeat  was  as  glorious  and  almost  as  .satisfactory  as  victory.     In 
the  year  1850,  he  was  c  ncc  more  put  upon  the  ticket  by  his 
party,  as  delegate  to  the  constitutional  convention.     Alucli  of  his 
time  was  taken  up  by  an  appointment  made  by  the  legislature  of 
Ohio  in    184-i-o,  requiring  him   to  report  the  deci-sions  of  the 
supreme  court,  and  so  well    was   the   duty   performed    that   in 
1847-8    the   appoi-.itmcnt   was    reaflirmed.     This  oflice   entailed 
ujion  him  onerous  labors  for  six  years,  such  as  only  professional 
men  in  considerable  practice  can  aderpiately  understand.     Six 
volumes  of  reports  were   prepared  and   publi-shed  by  him,  and 
they  might  be  reprinted  now  without  a  single  line  of  errata. 

At  the  session  of  1850-1,  Mr.  Griswold  was  a  candidate  for  the 
position  of  United  States  senator,  but  the  canvass  was  left  entirely 
in  the  hands  of  his  friends.  Many  candidates  sought  the  nomi- 
nation, but  eventually  the  contest  was  narrowed  until  the  rival 
claimants  were  himself  and  the  Hon.  Henry  Stanberry,  ex-attor- 
ney general  of  the  state,  and  later,  attorney  general  of  the  United 


•JiDIm 


■■TjJi^'^TITSW.jr^^ri!*^*^,.^ 


A^ 


liioiiitM'iiK'M.  SKt:reiiEs. 


W& 


CDtividtioiiH, 
\)*  pritu'iplc'H, 
uidcr  the  ohi 
le  nTitiylavory 
H)wii  ill  Oliio 
lat  tlio  whig 
piirod  by  tlio 
nilod  by  mil- 
,  and  all  tlio 
'd  in  tlio  ii(!w 
:;r.  A  luoro 
iclf  with  ilio 
nrollcd  him- 

necoKsary  to 
hough  it  was 
lormittt'd  hi3 
st  the  ticket 
mo  800,  but 
I  ran  so  far 
tea.  Such  a 
victory.  In 
cket  by  his 
Afiich  of  his 
ogislature  of 
bions  of  the 
r,cd  that  in 
[ice   entailed 

profes.sional 
•stand.  Six 
•y  him,  and 
errata. 
idat<3  for  the 
left  entirely 
t  the  nomi- 
til  the  rival 
•ry,  ex-attor- 

the  United 


Statesi.     ^^r.  Gri.swold  received  the  nomination  of  tho  whii    iiuuns. 

illmoro  had   just       tUf'heil 


The  tiiiR's  were  iiccniiar;    I'lvsidoiit 


liinisi'lf  from  tho  whigs,  and  lie  had  a  following  in  tho  logislaturcJ 
of  Ohio  of  only  four  votc.-t.     The  five  soilor.^  niimborod  ten,  and 
nioHt  of  tho.se  wore  of  whig  antocodonts.     The  whig.s  only  lacked 
four  votes  of  a  majority  over  doniocrat.s  ami  free  soilers  combined. 
'J'Ik!  well  known  opinions  of  Mr.  (irisw(jld  secured  him  some  votes 
among  the  free  soil  parly,  enough  to  ensure  liis  election,  provided 
tho  Fillmore  wliigs  were  loyal  to  tlie  jiarty  ;  but  just  before  thi.>i 
time  the  candidate  had  given  expression  to  his  views  concerning 
tlio  acting   president's  proslavery  policy,   and  in  .so  doing   had 
rouseil  the  ill  feeling  of  his  su[»porter.s.     Tho  ballot  continuod  for 
some  time,  and  Mr.  Oriswold  was  repeatedly  within  four  votes  of 
success,  but  the  Fillmore  whigs  could  not  be  induced  to  east  a 
ballot  for  a  man  so  strong  on  tho  anti.slavery  ticket,  and   .so  pro- 
nounced in  hi.s  denunciation  of  Fillmore.     JOvoi'tually  .seeing  that 
there  was  ])crsonal   feeling  against   him.self  which  should  not  bo 
allowed  to  cost  the  party  a  success,  which  might  be  scoured  with 
another  candidate,  Mr.  Ciriswold  caused  his  name  to  be  withdrawn, 
and  the  ballot  went  on  for  several  days  longer.     The  whigs  nom- 
inated in  his  stead  such  men  as  Ewing  and  Corwin,  but  without 
benelicial  result,  although  all  the  men   put  forwaid  were  promi- 
nent and  worthy,  until  the  Hon.  Benj.  Wade  procured  the  vote 
at  last.     Mr.  Wade  was  just  as  determined  an  antislavery  man  as 
Mr.  Griswold,  but  his  predilections  were  not  so  well  known,  hence 
the  Fillmore  faction  gave  him  their  votes,  and  he  was  elected ;  a 
result  which  was  only  made  possible  by  the  .self  denial  evidenced 
and  exercised  by  his  predecessor  in  the  candidature.     Soon  after 
Mr.  Griswold  had  removed  to  Cleveland  which  was  then  as  a  dis- 
trict favorable  to  antislavery  principles  and  strongly  whig,  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  state  senate,  and  that  bod}'  conferred 
upon  him  the  high  distinction    of  chairman  of  its  judiciary  com- 
mittee.    The  John  Brown  raid  on  Harper's  F'erry  occurred  while 
Mr.  Griswold  was  residing  in  Cleveland,  and  the  trial  at  Charles- 
town,  Va.,  followed  speedily.     The  old  man  had  been  abandoned 
by  the  counsel  assigned  to  him  by  the  court,  antl  stood  there  al- 
most as  it  seemed  without  a  friend,  at  the  mercy  of  a  jury  wild 
with  rage,  absolutely  frenzied  with  passionate  hate  against  him. 


•""^     ~"\   .  aiiiiiiTu 


070 


Tvrri.hfs  If  IS  If  I  in'  or  K  ass  as. 


Tlicrc  wa-i  IK)  ]iro]i;iliilit y  <>f  siircos-^  attcmlinjr  iitiytliini,'  tliiit  could 
1)0  (liiiK!  or  siiiil  for  him,  in  siicli  n  court,  bcfon;  such  iv  jury,  and 
th(^  trial  was  ah'Ciuly  half  over  in  form,  ami  all  dctcrtuinod  in 
spirit,  hoforc  counsel  for  the  defcnno  tliicw  up  tlieir  briefs.  It  iti 
jirohalile  that  in  the  event  of  an  nc(piittal  liavini^  been  obtaiticd, 
the  result  would  have  been  the  same  as  in  the  September  massa- 
cre in  the  streets  of  I'aris  durirn^  the  lirst  revolution,  when  tho 
men,  said  to  he  ac(|uittcd  and  discliarged  from  the  prisons,  were 
met  at  tlie  f^atevvays  by  a  lurid  mob,  with  blood  to  tlu'ir  shoul- 
ders, will)  slew  huudreilsof  imru  Ui  ,i^i.itify  an  ini^atic  hist  for  duatli. 
John  Brown  would  have  been  munh.'rod  i)y  tho  mob  in  all  human 
j)robability,  if  there  had  not  boon  a  fraj.nuent  of  the  same  body 
then  in  the;  jury  box  to  pronounce  his  condemnation  aecordinj^  to 
law.  Mr.  (iriswold  accepted  tho  responsibility  of  taking  part  in 
tlu!  defense,  ii(«t  without  some  peril  even  for  himself,  as  men  of 
the  class  indicated  arc  not  good  at  discrriminating  between  tho 
oiTender  and  the  defender,  and  his  action  has  been  the  cause  of 
many  thou.sands  inquiring,  who  was  that  lawyer  that  volunteered 
to  defend  John  Brown  ?  It  was  diflicult  even  to  ])rocure  an  ob- 
servance of  tho  forms  of  law  upon  that  trial.  There  were  abund- 
ant provocations  to  rc[>cat  the  often  (pioted  lines  of  tho  poet: 

"  lliKlit,  for  cviT  on  tlio  sciitVoM, 
Wrong,  for  I'vuron  llic  llu'one." 

The  event  was,  as  everybody  knew  it  must  be,  death,  und  an 
immortality  of  fame,  but  it  was  something  to  have  cheered  the 
heart  of  the  brave  old  man,  strong  in  the  knowledge  of  the  abso- 
lute right  for  which  he  was  contending,  heedless  of  sufTering  on 
his  account;  and  to  have  breathed  words  of  sympathy  to  a  soul 
iiatundly  tender  and  childlike,  when  not  kindled  into  holy  indig- 
nation by  tho  fires  of  oppression.  This  event  linked  the  name 
of  Mr.  Griswold  with  a  cardinal  fact  in  the  history  of  the  culmi- 
nation and  decline  of  the  slave  power.  The  wi.sdom  of  the  move- 
ment made  by  John  Brown  need  not  be  discussed  from  any 
standpoint,  save  among  men  who  can  see  that  self  sacrilicc  is  a 
power  among  human  beings.  Those  who  can  see  that  one  died 
for  us  all,  when  there  seemed  to  be  no  earthly  purpose  served  by 
the  crucifixion,  save  to  afford  the  rabble  a  chance  to  cry,  "  Not 


^m 


MiMMM«WMMWiMP«iiMyMhMii 


lilOllll  tl'IIK  Af.  SKNTrHHs'. 


671 


ini,'  tliiit  could 
h  II  jury,  and 
letortnitied  iti 
■  briffs.  It  \a 
ic(!ii  oI)t!iiri('(l, 
I'liibor  m.'issu- 
•n,  when  tho 
prisons,  were 
)  llioir  slioiil- 
hist  fr.r  iluaLli. 
ill  all  lituiiiiii 
he  same  body 
n  according  to 
aking  part  in 
elf,  as  men  (»f 
between  tho 
1  the  cause  of 
t  volunteered 
rocuro  an  ob- 
I  were  abund- 
he  poet : 


eatli,  und  an 
cheered  the 
!  of  the  abso- 
sufTering  on 
thy  to  a  soul 
0  holy  indig- 
sd  the  name 
if  the  cultni- 
of  the  move- 
;d  from  any 
sacrilioe  is  a 
hat  one  died 
se  served  by 


0  cry, 


'Not 


tliifl  man  but  IVirrabbiH,"  can  aloiu^  comprehi-nd  the  more  than 
chivalric  feeling  wliich  prompted  John  lirown  to  hifl  seemingly 
desperate  endeavor.  He  made  known  to  tlie  whole  world,  ""rhe 
voice  of  one  crying  in  tho  wihhn-ncss,"  and  the  path  has  been 
made  straight  in  a  manner  that  few  in  liis  day  thought  possible. 
Mr.  (iriswold  was  just  as  ehivnlrie  in  assuming  the  defense  of 
John  Hrown,  as  the  f)ld  man  and  his  followers  had  been  in  (cap- 
turing llar[ier'«  V'erry,  but  nicn  do  not  stop  to  lake  counsel  ol" 
tlieir  fears  when  bravo  deeds  are  to  be  done.  Mv.  (Jriswold 
viwwv  into  Kansas  to  practice  his  prof(!ssiori,  but  he  rctaineil  iiis 
old  taste  for  politics,  and  his  skill  in  reading  eharaeter  g(;nerally 
brought  him  to  conclusions  long  before  the  people  surrounding 
him  were  prepared  to  follow.  Senator  Lane  was  tho  controling 
spirit  of  the  republican  party  in  Kansas  at  that  time,  and  his 
skill  as  an  organi/.er  was  beyond  quesli(Mi,  but  the  wary  advo- 
cate saw  in  liim  a  person  whoso  integrity  could  not  bo  relied 
upon.  Mr.  Griswold  claimed  on  one  occasion  publicly,  that 
Senator  Lano  came  to  this  territory  pledged  to  assist  in  the  estab- 
lislimcntof  slavery  on  the  .soil  of  Kansas,  and  'urther  he  assorted, 
tliat  althougli  he  had  been  wise  enough  to  abandon  a  hopeless 
cause,  he  h.ad  never  cast  himself  into  the  struggle  on  tho  other 
side  witho\it  a  reservation,  such  as  eveiy  acute  ob.server  must 
perceive,  whether  he  could  understand  it  thoroughly  or  not. 
Entertaining  those  sentiments  concerning  Senator  Lano,  it  was 
very  natural  that  the  man  who  had  not  hesitated  to  take  up  tho 
cause  of  John  Brown,  should  have  no  hesitation  in  the  case  of 
Senator  Lane  at  the  proper  time  — 

"  To  beard  tlio  lion  In  his  den, 
Tlie  Douglas  In  liis  h;»ll," 

The  time  arrived  when  Mr.  Griswold  was  convinced  that 
Senator  Lane  came  to  the  state  in  18t)6  to  bring  over  the  poli- 
ticians of  Kansas  to  the  support  of  the  policy  of  President 
Johnson.  He  was  convinced  that  the  .senator  was  acting  as  the 
emissary  of  the  president,  and  whether  right  or  wrong,  he  iiad 
the  courage  to  avow  his  opinions  frankly  and  often.  The  ground 
taken  in  opposition  to  the  senator  was  well  chosen  and  strong, 
possibly  his  mind  had  already  lost  some  of  its  force  before  he 


672 


Tu-rrLE's  IIistohy  of  Kaxsas. 


rormittod  himself  to  take  action  in  which  he  scemea  to  be  com- 
proniised,  at  any  rate,  the  opposition  with  which   he  was  now 
met  at  every  point  was  more  than  he  could  bear;  possibly,  this 
frustration  of  a  clicrishcd    scheme,  on  wiiioh    much   mayr  'have 
dep.Muled,  had  some  innueuce  on  his  mind,  leading  to'.^ard  the 
terrd)le  act  of  self  destruction  on  the  11th  of  Juiv,  1806  ■  but 
also,  It  is  possible,  tliat  his  suicide  was  but  a  part  of  a  more 
general   aberration,  under  which   liis  political    life  had  already 
been  compromised.      When  the  senator  stood  for  re-election  in 
lSO-1,  there  was  a  strong  party  in  opposition  to  him,  duly  or.r.an- 
ized   and   ready  with  a  ticket  which   would   have  comman°led 
favor  from  the  public,  but  it  is  no  part  of  our  work  to  reveal  the 
particulars  of  the  movement,  fui'ther  than  to  sav,  that  Mr.  Gris- 
wold  was  then  a  candidate  for  tlie  office  of  attorney  general. 
1  ossibly  that  fact  had  some  influence  in  directing  a  more  subtle 
and  searching  scrutiny  to  the  subsequent  acts  of  Mr.  Lane,  but 
in  any  event,  he  was  very  closely  shadowed  in  the  later  years  of 
life,  and  the  procedure  of  President  Johnson  made  it  natural  that 
every  republican  associated  with   him  should   be  looked  upon 
with  suspicion.     Those  who  were   bitterly  opposed  to  Senator 
Lane  asserted  that  he  believed  and  had  promised  that  he  would 
turn  Kansas  completely  round  in  the  interests  of  the  president 
and  that  when  he  failed  to  do  so,  had  realized  in  fact  that  he  had 
committed  a  blunder,  worse  almost  than  a  crime,  as  Fouche  said 
to  Napoleon;   he,  unable  to  endure  the  loss  of  confidence  which 
must  necessarily  follow,  took  his  own  life  in  a  fit  of  despondency. 
Mr.  Griswold  was  nominated  register  of  the  state  of  Kansas 
under  the  bankrupt  act,   by  Chief  Justice    Chase,  immediately 
upon   the  law  coming  into  force,  and  for  man v  years  was  the 
only  register  in  the  state.     It  was  very  fit  that  a  nomination,  in 
every  way  so  just  and  salutary,  should  be  made  by  the  chief 
justice,  as  Mr.  Griswold  had  been  identified  with  him  in  advocacy 
of  the  same  advanced  views  many  years  before  there  seemed  to 
be  any  probability  that  abolition  would  become  the  law  of  the 
land,  or  that  any  of  those  who  committed  themselves  before  the 
public  to  the  expression  of  such  opinions  would  be  called  to  fill 
high  offices  and  assist  to  shape  the  policy  of  the  nation.     Mr 
Griswold  still  holds  the  office  of  register  in  Kansas.     The  neces- 


BioGiiAPiiicAL  Sketches. 


673 


cmed  to  be  com- 
ich  he  was  now 
r;  i)os.sibly,  tin's 
nuch  may  have 
iliiig  to'.v^ai-J  the 
Juiy,   18G6;  but 

part  of  a  more 
ife  liad  already 
or  re-election  in 
lim,  duly  organ- 
ive  commanded 
)rk  to  reveal  the 
r.,  that  Mr.  Gris- 
ttorney  general, 
g  a  more  subtle 
f  Mr.  Lane,  but 
e  later  years  of 
e  it  natural  that 
)e  looked  upon 
ised  to  Senator 
I  that  he  would 
f  the  president, 
fact  that  he  had 
as  Fouche  said 
)nfidence  which 
)f  despondency, 
tate  of  Kansas 
ic,  immediately 

years  was  the 
nomination,  in 
e  by  the  chief 
m  in  advocacy 
lere  seemed  to 
the  law  of  the 
ives  before  the 
e  called  to  fill 
e  nation.  Mr. 
IS.     The  neces- 


sity for  the  bankrupt  act  inquisition,  or  for  any  such,  it  does  nut 
fall  within  the  province  of  this  book  to  discuss.  Tiiere  may  be 
provisions  which  could  be  wisely  dispensed  with;  perhaps  tho 
register  himself  woulil  be  an  excellent  authority  to  suggest  how 
and  in  what  way  it  should  be  amended.  As  to  all  that  matter, 
we  profess  to  know  nothing,  not  being  on  the  stand  where  we 
might  be  bound  to  tell  "the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing 
but  the  truth  "  on  that  particular  question  ;  but  there  is  one  point 
on  which  there  is  no  dispute,  and  that  is  as  to  the  fitness  of  the 
officer  for  his  position.  It  is  universally  conceded  by  all  classes, 
and  most  readily  by  those  who  know  most  on  the  subject,  that 
Mr.  Griswold  has  been  painstaking,  conscientious  and  laborious 
in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  devolving  upon  him  as  register, 
and  it  is  also  a  fortunate  fact  for  the  public  concerned  in  the  fit- 
ness as  well  as  in  the  integrity  of  public  officers,  that  he  brought 
to  the  fulfillment  of  his  trust  the  ripe  experience  of  many  years 
spent  in  midnight  vigils  over  the  pandects,  codes  and  laws  of  all 
civili;2ed  nations,  and  in  contact  with  the  most  polished  intellects 
of  his  age,  employed  in  determining  the  weight  of  custom,  the 
legitimate  meaning  of  words,  and  the  eternal  fitness  of  things, 
which,  more  even  than  legislation  itself,  tends  to  govern  mankind 
in  society  as  by  an  unwritten  law.  Mr.  Griswold's  labors  are 
honorable  to  the  appointing  power,  as  well  as  to  himself,  and  it 
is  satisfactory  to  see  that  he  is  still  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  green 
old  age. 

Governor  Crawford  claims  our  notice  as  one  more  of  the 
noble  army  of  self-made  men,  with  which  this  country  is  made 
rich,  beyond  all  that  could  be  conferred  by  the  priceless  mines  of 
Golconda.  Samuel  J,  Crawford  was  born  in  Lawrence  county, 
Indiana,  on  April  15,  1836.  The  experiences  of  a  farm  and  the 
training  of  a  common  school  furnished  him  with  the  rudiments 
of  all  that  he  has  since  attained  and  achieved.  He  is  now  41 
years  of  age,  and  has  commanded  troops  in  the  field,  guided  the 
councils  of  a  state,  expounded  the  laws  of  a  nation,  and  might 
be  called  upon  at  any  moment  to  resume  the  onerous  duties  that 
have  before  now  been  so  ably  discharged.  Mr.  Crawford  read 
law  at  an  early  age,  in  the  office  of  the  Hon.  G.  W.  Short,  of 
43 


671 


Tvttle's  HisTonr  of  Kax/^as. 


Bedfonl,  Tniliana,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1856,  \vhen 
only  -21  years  of  age.     Not  content  with  his  own  attainments  the 
young  huvycr  pursued   liis  studies  diligently,  as  we  find  him,  in 
1858,  entered  as  a  student  in  tlie  law  school  of  Cineinnati  college, 
Ohio,  from  which  institution  he  graduated  in  1858  and  came  to 
Kansas  in  the  following  year,  establishing  himself  in  the  practice 
of  his  profession  at  Garnett  City,   in  the  county  of  Anderson. 
When  the  first  state  legislature  was  convened  at  Topeka,  after  the 
admission  of  Kan.sas  to  the  union,  in   March,  1861,  Mr.  Crawford 
was  a  member  of  that  body  and  served  until   the  5th  of  May,  a 
term  of  rather  less  than  si.'c  weeks  ;  as  at  that  time  he  resigned 
his  seat  to  volunteer  for  service  in  the  field.     Returning  to  Gar- 
nett City,  he  organized  a  company  of  volunteers  and  was  commis- 
sioned as  their  captain.     The  air  was  full  of  rumors,  and  it  was 
already  certain  that  there  would  be  work  for  the  manhood  of  the 
union,  on  many  a  bloody  field,  before  the  quarrel  could  be  ended. 
Within  nine  days  from  his  resignation  at  Topeka,  Capt.  Crawford 
had  been  assigned  to  the  second  Kansas  volunteer  infantry,  and 
it  will  be  remembered  that  his  regiment  won    distinction  almost 
immediately  after  its  organization.     The  record  of  the  regiment 
is  a  muster  roll  of  heroes.     The  campaign  under  Gen.  Lyon  i'l 
Missouri  was  participated  in  by  the   Kansas  second,  and  they 
fought  like  veterans  at  Wilson's  Creek,  where  Lyon  fell  mortally 
wounded  on  the  10th  of  August,  1861.     The  regiment  was  mus- 
tered out  and  reorganized  as  cavalry,  in  which  arm  of  the  service 
Capt.  Crawford  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  a  battalion  and 
took  part  in  the  battles  fought  against  the  rebels  by  Gens.  Blount 
and  Schofield  in  Missouri,  Arkansas  and  Indian  Territory,     The 
command  of  the  second  regiment  devolved  on  Col.  Crawford  in 
1863,  and  immediately  afterwards  the  secretary  of  war  commis- 
sioned him  as  colonel  of  a  colored  regiment  attached  to  the  seventh 
army  corps  under  Gen.  Steele.     The  expedition  into  southern 
Arkan.sas  was  partly  made  up  of  our  Kansas  contingent  as  read- 
ers of  our  war  record  will  bear  in  mind,  and  Col.  Crawford's  men, 
like  their   leader,   behaved   well.      The   expedition    from    Fort 
Smith  through  Indian   territory   was  led   by  Col.   Crawford  in 
July,  186-1,  and  in  October  we  find  the  same  oflicer  commended 
for  gallantry  in  the  campaign  in  Missouri  against  Gen.  Price. 


Mmm 


1.9. 


BuiGitAvnicAL  Sketches. 


676 


)ar  in  1856,  -vvlien 
vn  attainments  the 
as  wc  find  him,  in 
Cincinnati  college, 

1858  anil  came  to 
elf  in  the  ijractice 
nty  of  Anderson. 
t  Topeka,  after  the 
8f)l,  Mr.  Crawford 
the  5th  of  May,  a 

time  he  resigned 
Returning  to  Gar- 
I  and  was  cominis- 
■iimors,  and  it  was 
e  manhood  of  the 
el  could  be  ended. 
:a,  Capt.  Crawford 
teer  infantry,  and 
distinction  almost 
d  of  the  regiment 
der  Gen.  Lyon  ii 
second,  and  they 
jyon  fell  mortally 
egiment  was  mus- 
irra  of  the  service 
jf  a  battalion  and 
3  by  Gens.  Blount 
1  Territory.  The 
1  Col.  Crawford  in 
y  of  war  commis- 
bed  to  the  seventh 
on  into  southern 
:)ntingent  as  read- 
;.  Crawford's  men, 
ition  from  Fort 
Col.  Crawford  in 
iffieer  commended 
aiust  Gen.  Price. 


The  month  following  that  raid  saw  Col.  Crawford  elected  gov- 
ernor of  Kansas,  and  resigning  his  commission  in  December,  he 
returned  homo  to  be  inaugurated  in  Januar}',  1805,  the  year  of 
the  end  of  the  war.  Two  vcars  of  office  beinir  near  their  e.xpira- 
lion,  Gov.  Crawford  was  rei-leetcd  in  the  fall  of  1860  and  .served 
a  second  term  of  office  with  profit  to  the  state.  In  the  fall  of 
1808  a  band  of  marauding  Indians  having  swooped  down  upon 
the  frontier  of  the  state  and  carried  away  captive  a  number  of 
white  women  and  children,  the  governor  at  once  organized  a  com- 
pany of  cavalry  and  pursued  the  redskins,  a  compound  of  Ara- 
pahoes,  Cheyennes,  Kiowas  and  Comanohcs  into  their  own  coun- 
try, through  the  western  portion  of  Indian  territory  and  into 
northwestern  Texas.  The  expedition  was  vigorous  and  success- 
ful, but  the  whole  of  the  winter  and  spring  were  occupied  in  the 
chase  before  the  governor  had  the  felicity  to  secure  the  object  of 
his  search.  It  is  satisfactory  to  know  that  the  Indians  were  made 
so  completely  aware  of  their  defeat  that  tliey  surrendered  all 
their  prisoners,  and  have  not  since  ventured  upon  any  snch  raid 
in  this  state.  The  joy  of  the  relatives  and  friends  who  waited 
and  watched  for  the  return  of  the  captives  cannot  be  described 
and  may  not  be  ea.sily  imagined.  Relieved  at  length  from  a  suc- 
cession of  public  duties,  Gov.  Crawford  resumed  the  practice  of 
his  profession  in  Emporia,  the  capital  of  Lyon  county,  in  a  neigh- 
borhood which  abounds  with  society  of  the  type  best  fitted  to 
appreciate  his  good  qualities,  and  where  trade,  manufactures, 
mining  and  agriculture  prosperously  combined,  afford  him  an  ex- 
cellent field  for  the  development  of  his  ability  as  an  advocate. 
There  is  no  difficulty  in  placing  a  man  of  such  steadfastness  a.s 
Gov.  Crawford.  The  republican  party  was  just  beginning  to 
command  attention  when  he  attained  his  majority,  and  he  has 
fought  under  the  same  banner  all  his  life,  voting  for  Fremont 
when  there  seemed  little  probability  that  a  republican  would  ever 
be  president  of  the  United  States,  then  twice  for  Abraham  Lin- 
coln, and  afterwards  for  Gen.  Grant.  With  all  the  multiplicity 
of  engagements  with  friends,  and  with  the  enemy,  during  the 
bu.sy  and  eventful  career  just  hurriedly  sketched,  it  is  satisfactory 
to  find  that  the  governor  found  time  for  an  engagement  still  more 
engrossing  than  all  the  others,  one  that  will  [)robably  only  end  with 


676 


TuTTLiifs  History  of  Kaxsas. 


;-■,      ^ 


bis  life :     He  was  married  on  the  27tli  of  November,  1866,  to 
Mibs  Belle  Chase,  of  Topeka,  the  capital  of  Kansas. 

IIox.  OuRiN  T.  "Welch,  superintendent  of  insurance  for  the 
state  of  Kansas,  was  born  in  December,  1835,  in  the  town  of 
Orleans,  Jeflerson  Co.,  N.  Y.     Ilis  father  was  a  farmer  in  com- 
fortable circumstances,  but  not  wealthy.     The  father  was  the  first 
white  boy  born  in  that  county  north  of  Black  river,  and  is  still 
hale  and  hearty,  farming  his  own  land  in  the  county  of  his  birth. 
Tlie  grandparents  of  Mr.  Welch  were  from  Connecticut,  and  could 
tell  in  their  day  of  some  stirring  scenes  among  the  heroes  of  '76. 
The  boy  received  his  early  training  in  tlie  common  schools  of  his 
native  county,  where  the  seminaries  as  a  rule  are  equal  to  the 
best  that  can  be  found  in  the  United  States,  and  at  the  early  age 
of  15  years  began  his  career  as  a  teacher,  combining  that  pursuit 
in  the  winter  with  farm  work  in  the  summer,  until  he  was  twenty 
years  of  age,  when  he  "  went  west "  to  the  state  of  Michigan,  and 
taught  school  several  terms,  reading  law  all  the  time  to  prepare 
Jiimself  for  admission  to  bar  practice.     This  design  was  consum- 
mated  when  he  had  attained  the  ripe  maturity  of  22,  and  in  the 
same  year  he  was  fortunate  enough  to  marry  a  very  estimable 
ilady.  Miss  Abbie  E.  Simmons,  daughter  of  George  Simmons,  one 
of  the  early  settlers  in  Galesburgh,  near  Kalamazoo,  the  intellec- 
■tual  centre  of  Michigan.     Mr.  Welch  was  elected  justice  of  the 
peace  in  the  thriving  village  of  Decatur,  Van  Buren  county,  in 
fthe  year  of  bis  marriage,  holding  that  position  and  several  minor 
-offices  during  the  next  four  years.     In  the  year  1861,  Mr.  Welcb 
was  chosen  to  represent  the  board  of  supervisors  of  Van  Buren 
\jounty  before  the  board  of  equalization,  and  in  1863,  President 
Lincoln  appointed  him  commissioner  of  the  board  of  enrollment 
for  the  second  district  of  Michigan,  with  quarters  at  Kalamazoo, 
This  position  was  held  by  him  until  the  close  of  the  war,  having 
drafted  over  4,000  men  for  the  war  during  his  term  of  office,  from 
the  seven  counties  composing  that  congressional  district     In  the 
fall  of  1865,  soon  after  the  war  had  ended,  Mr.  Welch  located  in 
Topeka,  where,  in  connection  with  J.  M,  Spinner,  he  entered  into 
the  law,  real  estate  and  insurance  business,  which  he  continued 
to  follow  with  much  success,  sometimes  without,  and  sometimes 


■,  1866,  to 


e  for  the 
!  town  of 
ir  in  cora- 
s  the  iirst 
nd  is  still 
his  birth, 
md  could 
)es  of  76. 
)ols  of  hig 
aal  to  the 
early  age 
■t  pursuit 
as  twenty 
igan,  and 
3  prepare 
consum- 
nd  in  the 
estimable 
nons,  one 
3  intellec- 
36  of  the 
ounty,  in 
•al  minor 
r.  Welch 
m  Buren 
President 
iroUment 
ilamazoo, 
r,  having 
[fice  from 
In  the 
ocated  in 
iered  into 
ontinued 
ometimes 


<llii  imW 


MMI 


BioGHAPiiiCA L  Sketches. 


677 


with  a  partner,  until  March,  1875,  at  which  time  he  entered  upon 
tiie  duties  of  his  present  office  as  superintendent  of  insurance  for 
the  state  of  Kansas,  a  position  of  vast  importance,  such  as  should 
bo  filled  only  by  first  class  men,  fully  acquainted  with  the  subject 
in  every  state  in  the  Union,  and  in  every  country  in  the  world. 
In  the  month  of  July,  1866,  Mr.  Welch  published  the  first  paper 
over  issued  in  Kansas,  devoted  entirely  to  real  estate  interests. 
In  the  year  1868,  Mr.  Welch  was  clioscn  mayor  of  Topeka,  and 
the  people  of  the  city  appreciating  in  a  high  degreee  the  practical 
ability  displayed  by  him  in  that  office,  reelected  him  in  1871,  and 
again  in  1872.  There  could  be  no  better  evidence  of  the  popu- 
larity earned  by  his  executive  capacity  than  is  found  in  the  fact 
that  three-fourths  of  the  votes  cast  at  each  of  those  elections  for 
the  office  named,  were  polled  for  him.  When  the  locust  plague 
fell  upon  Kansas  in  1874,  and  the  people  were  completely  broken 
down  by  tlieir  troubles,  Mr.  Welch  with  four  other  members  of 
the  executive  of  the  Kansas  Central  Kclief  Committee,  gave  the 
whole  of  his  time  for  several  months  to  the  relief  of  the  suffering 
poor.  Ml.  Welch,  was  the  purchasing  and  shipping  agent,  and 
that  committee,  with  arduous  and  multifarious  duties,  rising  into 
mammoth  proportions,  did  its  work  so  well  and  systematically 
that  no  person  in  Kansas  suggests  an  idea  of  fraud  or  mismanage- 
ment in  its  operations.  Mr.  Welch  has  been  for  more  than  six 
years  president  of  the  board  of  trade  in  the  city  of  Topeka.  This 
brief  record  will  suffice  to  show  that  Mr.  Welch  is  well  adapted 
for  the  office  filled  by  him. 

Hon.  James  Haxway  is  one  of  the  best  authorities  now  liv- 
ing as  to  the  record  of  old  John  Brown  in  Kansas,  and  it  will  be 
regretted  hereafter  if  there  should  not  be  an  effert  made  now  to 
embody  his  recollections  in  veritable  history.  The  first  rumors 
of  every  event  are,  customarily,  exaggeration,  then  the  facts  grad- 
ually become  known  through  continuous  siftings,  until  the  true 
grain  remains  at  last.  We  shall  try,  in  a  brief  way,  to  note  a  few 
of  Mr.  Ilanway's  facts,  for  which  we  are  under  great  obligations 
to  him,  in  these  pages.  Senator  James  Ilanway  represents  the 
generation  of  thinkers  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  the  repub- 
lican party  as  it  was  before  the  crowd  of  camp  followers  came  ia 


;  ,i 


-:-^em^sii^ 


678 


Tt'Ttle's  HisToiiY  OF  Kaxsas. 


to  bring  suspicion  on  tlie  great  principles  represented.  lie  was  a 
delegate  in  the  Pittsburgh  convention  that  nominated  John  P. 
ITale  for  the  presidency,  and  Geo.  W.  Julian,  vice  president,  and 
l)e  assisted  at  the  organization  of  the  republican  party  in  Co- 
lumbus, Ohio.  In  the  spring  of  1856,  be  moved  to  Kansas,  and 
located  on  the  Pottawatomie,  where  he  now  resides.  AVhon  the 
county  was  organisced,  Mr.  Ilanvvay  was  made  county  superin- 
tendent, and  initiated  the  school  system  there.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Wyandotte  Constitutional  Convention,  in  1859,  and  of 
tlie  territorial  legislature  in  1860;  being  also  sent  to  the  state 
legislature  in  1864  and  1869.  lie  was  one  of  the  commission 
that  located  the  asylum  for  the  insane  at  Osawatomie,  acting  as 
one  of  the  trustr'^s  until  within  the  last  two  years.  Having  thus 
briefly  adverted  to  the  services  of  Mr.  llanway,  it  would  bo 
gratifying  to  narrate  some  facts  concerning  his  beneficent  life,  but 
to  do  30  would  abridge  our  limited  space  for  noting  the  facts 
above  mentioned.  Capt.  Montgomery's  name  and  exploits  have 
been  referred  to  at  some  length,  but  too  briefly,  in  our  territorial 
history.  One  item  in  his  career  has  not  yet  been  mentioned  in 
the  press,  and  for  it  we  are  indebted  to  Mr.  Ilanvvay :  A  man 
named  lluss  Ilinds  was  put  to  death  during  the  troubles  in  Kan- 
sas, and  the  captain  was  suspected  of  knowing  the  facts,  because 
he  was  for  a  long  time  an  army  of  defense,  almost  alone,  in  a 
wide  district  from  which  free  settlers  had  been  warned  away. 
One  day,  Mr.  llanway  met  Capt.  Montgomery,  long  after  the 
troubles  and  shortly  before  the  death  of  the  daring  leader ;  he 
asked  him  for  particulars  concerning  Ilinds,  and  the  answer  was 
written  on  a  page  of  the  senator's  memorandum  book,  while  the 
cars  were  moving.  It  reads  as  follows:  "Russ  Hinds.  Hung 
on  the  16th  Nov.,  1860,  for  man  stealing.  He  was  a  drunken 
'Border  Ruffian,'  worth  a  good  deal  to  hang,  but  good  for  noth- 
ing else.  He  had  caught  a  fugitive  slave  and  carried  him  back 
to  Missouri  fqr  the  sake  of  a  reward.  He  was  condemned  by  a 
jury  of  twelve  men.  The  law  found  in  the  16th  v.,  21st  chapter 
of  Exodus,  which  reads,  'And  he  that  stealeth  a  man,  and  selleth 
bim,  or  if  he  be  found  in  his  hands,  he  shall  surely  be  put  to 
death.'"  The  law  is  clear;  the  execution  was  speedy.  The 
Pottawatomie  massacre,  in   which  Wilkerson,  the  Doyles  and 


h. 


\ 


He  was  a 
ed  John  P. 
•esident,  and 
:iiU'ty  in  Co- 
Kansas,  and 
AVhon  tho 
[ity  superin- 
ivas  a  mem- 
1859,  and  of 
to  the  state 

commission 
ie,  acting  as 
[laving  thus 
t  wouUl  bo 
jent  life,  but 
ig  the  facts 
'cploits  have 
ir  territorial 
lentioned  in 
ay :  A  man 
)les  in  Kan- 
icts,  because 

alone,  in  a 
irned  away. 
Ig  after  the 
f  leader;  he 

answer  was 
c,  while  the 
nds.     Hung 

a  drunken 
d  for  noth- 
i  him  back 
emned  by  a 
51st  chapter 
,  and  selleth 
y  be  put  to 
eedy.  The 
Doyles  and 


Bwan.i  I'll ic A  I.  Sketches. 


679 


Sliorman  were  put  to  death,  is  frequently,  indeed  gen  crally,  men- 
tioned as  an  event  of  whicli  Capt.  Brown  was  not  aware  until 
afterwards,  but  it  is  us>ially  stated  that  he  indorsed  tlio  action  of 
liis  party  after  the  event.     Mr.  Hanway,  who  knew  John  Brown 
as  intimately  as  any  man,  gives  it  as  his  opinion,  contrary  to  tho 
leceived  versions,  that  John  Brown  was  the  commander  on  the 
expedition  out  of  which  the  massacre  grew.     It  was  immediately 
after  the  sack  of  Lawrence,  and  tliat  he  was  present  at  tlic  time, 
and  gave  the  orders  necessary  for  the  execution  of  those  men. 
The  description  given  by  Mrs.  Wilkerson  of  the  peculiar  costume 
and  ajipcarance  of  the  person  tliat  took  her  husband  away  from 
his  own  house,  a  prisoner,  exactly  corresponds  with  the  known 
dress  and  appearance  of  old  John  Brown,  and  when  speaking  of 
the  executions  of  the  men  named.  Brown  said :  "  If  it  was  mur- 
der,  I  am  not  innocent."     Other  statements  from  the  Puritan 
leader,  and  from  men  who  accompanied  him,  all  point  in  the  same 
direction.     Looking  back  on  the  events  that  transpire  in  a  season 
of  war,  it  is  not  easy  to  realize  the  frame  of  mind  out  of  which 
they  arise,  after  the  nation  has  returned  to  a  peaceful  condition, 
and  the  motive  makes  the  deed  innocent  or  sinful  in  many  cases. 
The  men  slain  were  proslavery  leaders  and  very  obnoxious;  they 
were,   at  the  time  of  their  arrest  and  execution,  prosecuting  a 
system  of  evictions  and  destruction  against  free  settlers,  wiio  were 
warned  and  were  being  driven  from  the  country;  the  only  ques- 
tion was  v/ho  should  strike  first.     John  Brown  was  not  likely  to 
eend  his  followers  to  do  a  deed  in  which  he  would  not  participate. 
The  breaking  up  of  Judge  Cato's  court  is  sometimes  mentioned 
as  an  irruption  of  150  men  into  the  court  house  in  which  Judge 
Cato  was  trying  causes.     The  facts  seem  to  have  been  that  Judge 
Cato   was  sitting  as    judge  in  a  duly  constituted  court,   when 
some  citizens,  thirty  in  number,  who  were  members  of  the  Potta- 
watomie company,  went,  as  they  were  entitled  to  do,  into  an  open 
court  to  learn  whether  the  judge  was  administering  common  law 
and  the  statutes  of  the  United  States,  or  the  bogus  laws  of  the 
Sliawnee  legislature.     Young  John  Brown  and  Senator  Hanway 
were  amcuig  the  visitors.     The  log  cabin  would  not  hold  many, 
and  the  judge  was  addressing  the  jury,  many  of  them  boys  and 
under  age ;  but  enough  was  gathered  from  the  remarks  of  the 


I 


;?B>it'iiiiiiii>itH.wa'.iiiMjiJi« 


-r^ee^ 


680 


TvTTufs  ITisTonr  of  Kaxsas. 


ife:,  ■' 


I: 


judge  to  leave  it  doubtful,  after  the  visit  came  to  an  end,  whether 
the  objectionable  statutes  were  or  were  not  being  administered. 
Young  John  I?rown  was  clear  that  they  were.  Senator  llanway 
was  clear  that  there  was  no  evidence  on  the  subject  in  anything 
said  by  Judge  Cuto.  The  other  members  of  the  company  hail 
not  heard  enough  to  determine,  so  it  was  concluded,  after  a  brief 
meeting  of  the  company,  to  return  to  the  court,  and  plainly  sub- 
mit the  question  to  the  judge.  The  question  was  submitted  in 
writing,  young  Capt.  Brown  being  tlie  scribe,  as  it  was  desired  to 
avoid  disturbing  the  peace  of  the  tribunal.  Cato,  much  agitated, 
flung  the  paper  to  the  sheriff,  ami  hurriedly  replied  that  he  could 
not  be  troubled  about  outside  matters.  Brown,  standing,  said,  in 
a  tone  that  could  be  heard  by  his  friends  without,  "The  company 
■will  muster  on  the  parade  ground."  The  military  incursion  had 
no  more  solid  basis.  The  company  did  so  muster,  but  the  court 
had  evaporated  yet  more  speedily,  and  there  was  never  after- 
wards an  attemj)e  at  Pottawatomie  to  hold  a  court  for  the  en- 
forcement of  the  Shawnee  mission  statutes.  The  memoirs  of 
Mr.  Ilapway  as  to  the  famine  that  was  caused  among  the  settlers 
by  robberies  continually  carried  on  under  the  name  of  impress- 
ment on  the  public  roads  by  proslavery  volunteers,  have  the  ring 
of  verity  in  them,  and  there  is  an  element  of  probability  in  the 
statement  that,  after  the  settlers  came  to  the  conclusion  to  quarter 
on  the  enemy  by  appropriating  the  beeves  of  their  Missouri 
neighbors,  the  stealings  of  the  other  side  were  very  considerably 
checked. 

Mr.  Ilanway's  latch  string  was  always  out  when  Montgomery, 
John  Brown  and  their  friends  were  around,  and  when  eleven 
slaves  had  been  rescued  from  Missouri  in  one  raid  by  John  Brown, 
the  party  would  certainly  have  been  captured  but  for  the  ready 
cooperation  of  Senator  Hanway  and  a  few  other  stockholders  in 
the  underground  railroad,  who,  with  some  risk  for  their  own  home- 
steads, concealed  the  fugitives  for  many  days  until  Brown  was 
ready  for  his  flight  to  Canada.  It  would  be  interesting  to  make 
further  memoranda  from  the  material  kindly  supplied  for  the  pur- 
pose from  Senator  Ilanway's  valuable  memoranda,  but  want  of 
space  is  an  inexorable  master,  and  the  corroborative  testimonies 
that  sustain  the  several  statements  and  conduBions  must  be  omit- 


'A^tSSk»4 


Atenia>?;,tewr,.-,^;;,>r.'.*.*«^ 


nd,  whether 
Iministcred. 
tor  llanway 
in  anything 
■)inpnny  lifitl 
ifter  a  brief 
[)lainly  siib- 
.ibmittcd  iri' 
3  desired  to 
ich  agitated, 
liat  he  could 
ling,  said,  irv 
he  company 
icnrsion  had 
Lit  the  court 
never  aftcr- 
for  the  en- 
memoirs  of 
the  settlers 
of  impress- 
ave  the  ring 
bility  in  the 
)n  to  quarter 
sir  Missouri 
considerably 

Montgomery, 
A'hen  eleven 
Fohn  Brown, 
or  the  ready 
ckholders  in 
rown  home- 
Brown  was 
ting  to  make 
I  for  the  pur- 
but  want  of 
3  testimonies 
lUst  be  orait- 


f^omm 


I 


' 


BimnAvnwAj.  SKUTcrrES. 

tod.  They  certainly  soem  to  be  conclusive  as  to  the  fact  that 
Capt  Brown,  sen.,  or  old  John  Brown,  gave  the  order  for  the  ex- 
ecut'on  of  the  Pottawatomie  prisoners,  and  believed  that  he  was 
tlierein  doing  the  best  thing  possible  in  the  interests  of  humanity. 
Senator  Ilanway  is  now  in  his  sixty-seventh  year,  and  he  writes 
with  the  grace  and  vigor  of  young  manhood,  to  which  he  has 
added  the  wisdom  and  moderation  that  does  not  always  come  with 
advancing  yeans.  He  was  for  many  years  a  newspaper  corres- 
pondent, which  of  course  has  kept  his  pen  in  continual  practice, 
and  his  identification  with  the  political  life  of  the  country  for 
nearly  half  a  century  renders  his  references  to  Clay,  Polk,  Web- 
ster, Hale,  Julian,  and  Salmon  P.  Chase  peculiarly  refreshing. 
The  earliest  movements  of  abolition  sentiment  in  this  country 
found  in  him  and  in  John  Brown  the  various  materlid  from  wliich 
the  public  feeling  and  war  policy  of  President  Lincoln's  time  be- 
came possible,  and  in  that  relation  it  is  like  actual  eotftact  with 
both  men  to  find  the  senator  relating  how  John  Brown,  hiding 
then  with  him,  received  the  news  that  President  Buchanan  had 
offered  a  reward  for  his  arrest,  by  saying  that  he  would  give  $2 
for  the  arrest  of  President  Buchanan. 

Hon.  Tnos.  H.  Cavanaugh,  secretary  of  state  for  Kansas,  was 
born  in  Vincennes,  Knox  county,  Indiana,  on  the  18th  of  March, 
1843,  and  is  consequently  now  33  years  of  age.  Ilis  parents  were 
natives  of  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania,  but  removed  from  that 
state  and  took  up  their  location  in  the  west  in  1835.  Three  years 
before  the  troubles  of  this  world  dawned  upon  the  present  secre- 
tary of  state,  his  father  was  the  publisher  of  the  Vincennes  Gazette, 
which  continued  to  supply  him  with  all  the  "pi"  required  by  a 
small  family,  until  1845,  when  the  Cavanaughs  removed  to  St. 
Louis,  Mo.  The  fates  were  not  propitious,  apparently,  in  the 
great  city,  as  there  was  another  removal  in  1851,  to  Jacksonville, 
Illinois,  and  a  return  to  St.  Louis  once  more  in  1856.  The  prov- 
erb says  that  "a  rolling  stone  gathers  no  moss,"  and  another  wise 
saying  retorts  that:  "a  standing  post  gains  no  knowledge,"  so 
that  the  probability  is  that  there  was  more  information  than 
■worldly  gear  collected  by  the  little  household,  who  would  still 
find  comfort  in    the   suggestion   that   "  knowledge  is  power." 


t 


V— -- 


iJP 


082 


TiTi'i.i:'s  IlisnntY  or  A'.i.v.s-.i.?. 


■ii    ' 


Working  ftt  cnse  whs  the.  ornploynifnt  of  Mr.  Cavanmigh,  Jr.,  in 
Cliii'ngo,  ill  tlio  yoar  IS,"'),  wJieii  a  youth  more  favorcil  l)y  fortiino 
would  .still  have  bcon  at  scliool,  hut  "  ncci'ssity,"  wliich  "  kiiowrt 
no  hiw,"  ncuonHiig  to  the  l<atiii,  is  CNcoediiigly  ghid  to  know 
jirintiiig  in'phun  lOiiglish.  Next  to  .si-hool,  of  course,  n  pri. iter's 
ollk'O  is  the  best  place  on  earth,  jierhaps,  for  a  boy,  although  it 
does  look  very  niiu'h  like  condcrniiatioii  to  tlu3  "galloy.s"  for  life. 
From  IHoO,  for  throe  years,  ^fr,  Cavanaugh  was  iii  St.  Louis 
with  his  ])arents,  variously  engaged,  and  licie  for  the  tirst  time  in 
his  life,  the  advantages  of  schooling  were  within  his  reach,  for 
rather  less  than  two  yeans,  at  an  ago  wlien  he  could  appreciate 
the  privilege  to  an  extent  not  univer.sal  among  boys,  lletiirnlng 
to  Illinois,  in  1860,  lie  became  interested  in  a  farm,  but  did  not 
continue  in  that  avocation,  as  soon  after  the  election  of  that  year 
he  was  employed  in  the  ofliee  of  Gov.  ^'ates,  and  wlien  the  army 
auditor's  ollice  was  e.stablishcd,  found  adciuate  emj)loyment  there. 
In  the  year  ISGl,  after  t'e  outbreak  of  the  war,  Mr.  Cavanaugh 
was  assigned  to  duty  at  Camp  Butler,  and  was  made  regiment  ad- 
jutant of  the  Gth  Illinois  cavalry,  Col.  Grier.son  in  command. 
Ilis  services  extended  through  the  dilferent  departments  of  the 
v"st,  to  the  Gulf  and  to  Texas  before  the  close  of  the  war.  "When 
the  rebellion  had  been  crushed,  Mr.  Cavanaugh  located  hiin.self 
in  St.  Louis  once  more,  in  18C5,  and  in  November  of  that  year, 
was  solaced  for  all  the  perils  and  hardships  of  camp  life  by  mar- 
riage with  Miss  Holmes,  of  Richland,  Sangamon  county,  Illinoi.s. 
In  the  year  18G6,  he  removed  to  Carrollton,  Ills.,  and  engaged  in 
mercantile  business  for  three  years,  until  in  tlie  year  1860,  he  con- 
cluded to  remove  to  Kansas  and  take  up  a  preemption  claim  in 
Saline  county,  making  this  state  his  permanent  home.  In  the 
year  1872,  the  republicans  of  Saline  county  ran  Mr,  Cavanaugh 
for  clerk  of  the  district  court,  but  they  were  not  able  to  carry  the 
election.  lie  became  assistant  clerk  in  the  house  of  reprc-cnta- 
tives  the  same  year,  and  entered  on  a  broader  field  of  usefulness, 
becoming  assistant  secretary  of  the  senate  in  the  j'ear  1873,  and 
in  187-4,  secretary  of  that  body.  In  August,  1874,  the  republi- 
cans nominated  him  as  secretary  of  state,  and  with  the  success  of 
their  ticket,  he  assumed  the  position  now  held  by  him  with  a  fair 
promise  of  continuance  and  usefulness.     Uis  republicanism  has 


inaiigh,  Jr.,  in 
ri'il  by  fortuno 
vliif'li  "  knows 
^^liul  to  know 
rse,  a  pri. iter's 
)}•,  altlioii;,'li  it 
Iley.s  "  for  life. 
4  ill  St.  Loiiia 
le  tir.st  time  in 

lii.^  rcat'li,  for 
lid  .'ippivciato 
.s.  lli'tiiniiiig 
II,  but  cli'l  not 
)n  ()[  tliat  year 
k'lien  the  army 
loynicnt  there, 
[r.  Cavanaiigh 
a  regitnciit  ail- 
in  cotninand. 
rtments  of  the 
e  war.  When 
)cated  himself 
r  of  that  year, 
p  life  by  inar- 
)unty,  Illinois, 
nd  engaged  m 
r  1800,  he  eon- 
ption  claim  in 
home.  In  tha 
[r.  Cavanaugh 
le  to  carry  the 
of  rcpre.'-'enta- 

of  usefulness, 
(•ear  1873,  and 
t,  the  republi- 
the  success  of 
im  with  a  fair 
blicaiiism  has 


•tmm 


Jiioa II. { rim •. i  /,  SKHrriit:s. 


nss 


bfion  constant  and  outspoken  at  all  times,  and  bin  wide  spread 
('.xperien(!0  has  given  him  broad  viowH  of  men  and  things,  so  tliat 
he  is  likely  to  prove  an  acipiisition  in  an  oHii'c  that  recpiires  miirli 
tact  and  skill,  as  well  as  liberal  views.  His  repnl)licanism  set'in.s 
to  have  b(>en  ingrained,  as  his  father  always  trained  with  the 
whigs  until  the  republican  party  was  formed  out  of  the  be.Ht  elo- 
ments  of  that  organisation.  Mr.  ('avanaugh  is  a  man  eminently 
qnalilied  to  conciliate  the  good  opinions  of  the  people  with  whom 
he  is  brought  in  contai^t,  his  manners  are  genial,  the  outcome  of  a 
generous  nature,  and  the  interest  which  naturally  expresses  itself 
in  his  daily  eoiiver.sation,  in  all  advanced  movements,  s[)rings  from 
habits  of  thought  which  have  been  aecpiircd  in  the  printing  ollico 
rather  than  in  the  .'school,  and  made  iviidy  and  practical  by  travel 
in  a  military  life  spread  over  much  of  this  continent. 

Hon.  D.VNIEL  W.  "WlLDKii,  auditor  of  state,  has  for  many- 
years  figured  in  the  political  life  of  Kan.sas,  and  a  full  record  of 
his  experiences  would  supply  a  background  to  many  of  the  pic- 
tures that  form  them.sclvesin  the  history  of  the  time.  Ho  was  born 
in  the  Old  Bay  State  at  Blackstone,  Massachuett.s,  in  18!}2,  and  is 
the  seventh  son  of  a  very  worthy  father,  Dr.  Abel  Wilder.  The 
public  Latin  school  at  Boston  gave  him  such  rudiments  of  train- 
ing as  could  not  be  (^uite  so  conveniently  ailorded  at  homo, 
where,  however,  he  was  surrounded  by  such  influences  as  make 
culture  a  delight  The  Franklin  medal  and  many  other  })ri;5e8, 
won  during  the  academic  course,  proved  the  lad  worthy  of  his 
position  in  the  Hub  of  the  Universe,  and  justified  the  hopes  enter- 
tained by  his  friends.  When  his  academic  course  had  been  com- 
pleted, the  young  man  was  sent  to  Harvard  college,  where  he 
graduated  with  honors,  carrying  of!  the  Boylston  prize  as  a  very 
honorable  trophy,  as  well  as  many  other  prizes  only  inferior  to 
the  gold  medal  already  named. 

Mr.  Wilder  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Boston  in  1857,  when 
he  was  twenty-five  years  of  age,  having  chosen  the  legal  profession 
for  his  career  as  perhaps  the  best  of  all  adapted  in  this  age  to 
procure  for  a  young  man  the  entre  into  public  anti  social  life  in 
all  parts  of  the  great  republic.  He  came  to  Kansas  in  the  same 
year  and  made  his  location  at  Elwood,  where  he  formed  one  of  a 


1 

I 


imtuMiMin 


ato**-^' 


/ 


684 


Tvtti.k's  Ifisronv  or  A'.i.v.v.i.v. 


I 

i  i 


I; 


brilliant  society  of  young  iiu-n,  tiiuiiy  of  wlioiii  have  since  becoirio 
(listiiigiii.-ilicil  in  tlicir  sevcnil  pursuits  in  tlie  fieUl,  in  the  coiuicila 
ot  tlio  nation  ami  otlier  way.s.  Tiie  activities  of  ^^^.  WiMur's 
mind  fouiul  expression  in  tlio  inanageinent  of  u  newspaper,  or 
ratiier  it  may  be  said,  of  many  palters,  as  he  eomnienceil  witii  the 
Elwood  /•'/•/ c /Vt.v,y,  and  prosper! n-,'  in  that  venture  as  editor  and 
publislier,  ho  nftervvanls  assumed  control  of  the  Fm:  Ikntixntl^ 
in  the  city  of  St.  Joseph,  Missouri;  tiirneo  returning  to  Kansas, 
lie  took  the  management  of  the  Jjcavenworth  Cuiimrvatirc,  then 
the  7V///''.v  piiblislied  in  the  same  eity ;  after  wiiieh  he  heearno  eil- 
itor  of  tlie  l"'ort  Seott  Mniiilni:  Tlic  attempt  to  establisii  a  rt:pub- 
licau  paper  in  St.  Josepli,  Missouri,  at  that  time,  a  very  hot-bed  of 
the  prosluvery  democrats,  was  a  little  Quixotic  of  course,  but  the 
courage  of  the  movement  commanded  attention  if  not  favor.  Mis- 
Houri  was  then  aslavestate,  and  had  not  completely  abandoned  the 
idea  that  the  south  would  be  able  to  make  her  own  terms  for  the 
peculiar  domestic  institution,  ho  that  in  a  commercial  and  social 
aspect  there  was  much  more  risk  than  promise  in  the  venture. 
If  the  Fn?.  Ikmorritt  had  been  allowed  to  continue  on  its  course 
unchallenged  by  the  dominant  party,  there  would  have  been 
reason  lor  believing  that  it  was  not  very  Free  in  its  remarks  on 
current  events,  oi  in  the  discussion  of  the  topics  of  the  day  ;  but 
it  was  in  the  hands  of  young  men  of  s|)irit,  with  one  Wilder  at 
their  head,  and  whatever  else  resulted  for  all  concerned,  it  was  not 
on  the  cards  that  the  pajter  could  pass  unnoticed.  Many  publi- 
cations have  been  drowned  in  the  Missouri  by  king  mob  for  less 
caustic  articles  than  continued  in  every  issue  to  blister  the  sensi- 
tive skin  of  the  proslavery  party,  until  then  entirely  unaeiustomed 
to  the  criticisms  of  a  republican  journal  published  ai  their  own 
doors.  The  result  that  might  have  been  looked  for  from  the 
first,  if  nothing  worse  hapi)ened,  was  reached  in  the  indictment 
of  i\\Q  Free  Democrat  as  an  "incendiary  sheet,"  Mr.  Wilder  and 
his  associates  of  course  having  little  to  hope  for  from  a  jury  in 
any  part  of  Missouri.  It  was  in  this  way  that  Mr.  Wilder  wa« 
driven  back  into  Kansas  and  became  identified  with  the  Leaven- 
worth Conservative.  His  ability  as  a  writer  had  commanded  at- 
tention and  respect  even  among  those  who  feared  the  drift  of  his 
genius ;  among  the  republicans  he  was  welcomed  as  a  valuable 


■iiiliiiMi.aMi.liiik  I 


vo  hIiicc  bocoirio 
,  ill  thu  coiuiciid 
;)f  Mr.  WiMcr'fl 
a  iicwspaiHT,  or 
ncrii'i'il  wiili  the 
:o  us  cililur  and 
)  Froi  DeiniM'.rut^ 
ling  to  ivan.HUd, 
juniivudve,  then 
1  lio  bocunio  cd- 
tiibli.sli  !i  I'cpub- 

very  hotbuilof 

course,  but  tlio 
not  favor.  Mis- 
r abandoned  tho 
in  terms  for  tlio 
•cial  and  social 

in  tho  venture, 
e  on  its  course 
uhl    have  been 

its  remarks  ou 
3f  tho  day  ;  but 

one  Wilder  at 
rned,  it  was  not 
.  Many  publi- 
ng  mob  for  less 
•lister  the  sensi- 
r  unaf>iustomed 
cd  ai  their  own 
J  for  from  the 
the  indictment 
ir.  Wilder  and 

from  a  jury  ia 
Mr.  Wilder  waa 
itli  the  Leaven- 
commanded  at- 

the  drift  of  his 
1  as  a  valuable 


Uioa HA I'llICA I.  SKh:T<  IlKS. 


085 


nlly.  I'rcsidcnt  Lincoln  rccogni/.rd  tlrj  courage;  and  al)ility  of 
his  consistent  and  f('iirlo.>'s  suppoitcr,  in  tho  yi'ar  iSfSIJ,  by  op- 
pointing  liim  surveyor  general  for  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  tho 
fliitics  of  which  responsible  onTico  were  admirably  executed,  but 
^fr.  Wilder  did  not  ubamlon  his  old  love,  the  press,  as  in  nddition 
to  his  occasional  lucubrations  in  the  dailies  published  in  Kansas, 
ho  has  beooMKj  nn  author  rpioted  all  over  this  continent  for  hhs 
•'Annals  of  Kansas,"  a  book  of  nearly  700  pages  published  in 
[H7'> ;  the  subject  and  tho  ability  of  tho  writer  conil)iniiig  to 
make  a  truly  interesting  volume.  In  tho  year  1872,  Mr.  Wild- 
er's  name  appeared  on  tho  republican  ticket  for  tho  ollhio  now 
lield  by  him,  that  of  auditor  of  state,  to  which  ho  was  called  Ijy  ii 
large  majority  of  his  fellow  citizen.s,  and  in  187-1  he  was  re-elected. 
Kansas  has  many  bright  and  able  men,  worthy  to  bo  called  to 
high  oniccs  in  the  union,  but  taken  for  all  in  all,  there  are  few 
that  surpass  tho  Hon.  Dan.  AV.  Wilder. 

])h.  a.  M.  Eidso.v  illustrates  another  typo  of  tho  infmito  vari- 
ety of  men  and  pursuits  that  unite  to  form  a  state  and  tho  average 
tone  of  modern  society,  lie  was  born  at  Peru,  Indiana,  in  April, 
1846,  and  is  consequently  now  thirty  years  of  age.  Uis  father, 
Wm.  D.  Eidson,  was  a  rtiillor,  and  was  known  as  "  tho  honest 
miller,"  in  the  locality  where  his  oldest  son,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  and  many  other  children  were  born.  The  fact  that  hon- 
esty was  a  rare  phenomenon  among  millers  is,  we  trust,  confined 
to  Indiana.  The  child  was  fond  of  books  from  an  early  age,  and 
was  permitted  to  enjoy  all  the  scholastic  privileges  of  his  native 
town.  In  the  year  1858  he  was  removed  from  the  district  school 
at  Peru,  to  a  more  advanced  institute  at  Valparaiso,  in  the  same 
state,  where  he  went  through  a  complete  classical  coiirse,  remain- 
ing in  that  institution  until  1861,  when  at  the  early  age  of  fifteen 
he  became  a  soldier,  responding  to  the  call  of  the  president  for 
men  to  defend  the  union  against  its  enemies.  The  courage  and 
patriotism  of  the  boy  deserves  praise,  and  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  in  1861,  boys  from  many  districts  were  the  readiest  to  volun- 
teer to  serve  in  the  ranks,  leaving  their  bones  to  whiten  on  the 
battle  fields  of  their  country,  or 

"  By  tlie  wayside  fell  and  perished, 
Weary  with  the  miuxh  of  life." 


»t 


! 


P 


wstiimi 


686 


TvTTLffs  IT  IS  r  on  Y  of  KAJiSAS. 


''f*^ 


Fifteen  months  in  tlie  ranks   of  the  Second  Indiana  cavalry 
brought  the  boy  up  to  a  sturdy  young  manhood,  and  developed 
in  him  a  decided  taste  for  surgery  and  medicine,  not  in  the  sense 
of  losing  limbs  or  taking  drugs,  but  in  the  study  and  pr-'ictice  of 
the  healing  art  in  all   its  various  features.     An  appointment  as 
a  ssistant  surgeon  was  the  consequence  of  his  frequently  noticed 
avidit}--  for  medical  books  and  clinical  practice,  and  for  two  3'ears 
he  was  employed  alternately  in  field  and  hospital,  discharging  all 
the  duties  of  an  army  surgei.n,  until  the  regiment  was  mustered 
out  and  the  men  honorably  discharged  in  the  fall  of  1864.     After 
a  brief  recreation,  Dr.  Eidson  entered  the  ofRces  of  Drs.  Seluilt/S 
and  Taylor,  in  Logansport,  Ind.,  to  complete  his  studies,  enjoying 
at  tlie  same  time  and  afterwards  two  full  terms  of  lectures  at  the 
Eclectic  Medical  Institute  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  where  he  gradu- 
ated in  February,  1868.     Studies  and  application  such  as  his,  fol- 
lowing upon  extensive  and  continuous  army  practice,  made  the 
young  doctor  an  acquisition  to  the  ranks  of  medicine,  and  after  a 
brief  term  in  Delphi,  Ind.,  his  native  state,  he  took  up  his  abode 
in  Topeka,  where  his   practice  is  extensive  and  in  every  way 
profitable  to  patient  and  practitioner.     Surgical  and  chronic  cases 
may  be  said  to  be  his  specialty,  and^  many  come  to  him  from 
great  distances  in  this  and  neighboring  states,  attmcted   by  his 
reputation.     The  Topeka  Medical  and  Surgical  Institute  is  fortu- 
nate in  possessing  the  services  of  so  able  and  experienced  an 
organizer  as  Dr.  A.  M.  Eidson  for  principal  and  secretary.     Dr. 
Eidson  was  one  of  the  prime  movers  in  the  establishment  of  the 
Kansas  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  a  body  bound  by  the  main 
features  of  its  organization  to  select  from  all  systems  of  medical 
treatment  the  best  features  to  be  applied  in  the  interests  of  suffer- 
ing humanity.     The  a.ssociation  was  chartered  in  1871,  mainly 
through  the  exertions  and  influence  of  this  gentleman,  who  has 
since  that  time  been  one  of  its  chief  supporters  as  a  means  for  the 
direction  of  the  studies  of  young  men,  being  its  active  and  useful 
secretary.     The  association  holds  its  annual  meetings  in  Topeka 
on  the  second  Tuesday  ii;  February  and  following  days,  while  the 
legislature  is  in  session,  and  the   attendance   is   usually  large. 
There  are  more  than  two  hundred  members  of  this  branch  of 
medical  practice  in  Kansas  at  the  present  time,  and  many  of  the 


If 


BioaiiAvmcAL  Skktciiks. 


68T 


[ndiana  cavalry 
and  developed 
not  in  the  sense 
and  prrictice  of 
ap{5ointment  as 
?qu*jntly  noticed 
id  for  two  3'ears 
I  discharging  all 
it  was  mustered 
of  1864.  After 
of  Drs.  Sehult/5 
tudies,  enjoying 
f  lectures  at  the 
'here  he  gradu- 
such  as  his,  fol- 
actice,  made  the 
sine,  and  after  a 
)k  up  his  abode 
1  in  every  way 
nd  chronic  cases 
le  to  him  from 
itti"acted  by  his 
nstitute  is  fortu- 
experienced  an 
secretary.  Dr. 
•lishment  of  the 
ind  bv  the  main 
;ems  of  medical 
iterests  of  suffer- 
in  1871,  mainly 
leman,  who  has 
a  means  for  tlie 
ctive  and  useful 
tings  in  Topeka 
y  days,  while  the 
3  usually  large. 
;  this  branch  of 
,nd  many  of  the 


papers  read  during  the  annual  assemblies  arc  of  such  a  character 
as  to  command  lengthened  notices  in  the  press.  The  doctor  is  a 
benedict,  having  won  tliat  high  privilege  in  May,  1873,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  merciful  consideration  of  Miss  Ryan,  daughter  of 
the  famous  excursionist,  wliosc  pamphlet  on  Kansas  has  been  so 
extensively  circulated.  His  practice  has  been  so  far  profitable 
that  he  has  perhaps  as  large  investments  in  real  estate  as  any  pro- 
fessional man  in  Kansas,  by  whose  ultimate  success  he  would 
persistently  swear,  in  spite  of  drouth  and  locust,  but  for  the  fact 
that  his  early  Sunday  school  training  and  his  later  identification 
Avith  the  ^fethodist  Episcopal  church  forbids  any  such  carnal  in- 
dulgence. Dr.  P]id.son  is  an  entliusiast  in  the  study  and  practice 
of  eclectic  medicine  and  sui'geiy. 

IIox.  Samuel  Seward  Benedict,  of  Guilford,  "Wilson  coun 
ty,  is  sufficiently  known  in  connection  with  his  services  in  the 
legislature  of  this  state,  to  render  some  few  particulars  of  his 
career  in  life  interesting  to  our  readers.  lie  is  a  "Green  Moun- 
tain Boy,"  having  first  seen  the  light  at  Manchester,  Bennington 
county,  Vermont,  in  November,  1843,  so  that  he  is  now  at  an  age 
when  he  may  be  considered  as  only  commencing  his  career  of 
usefulness.  Born  of  old  Connecticut  stock,  and  reared  in  New 
England,  he  enjoyed  educational  advantages  not  excelled  in  the 
world.  He  was  prepared  for  his  collegiate  course  at  Burr  semin- 
ary, Manchester,  Vt,  going  thence  to  Williams  college,  Mass., 
when  16  years  of  age.  Mr.  Benedict  graduated  in  the  class  of 
1865,  when  21  years  old,  a.;d  two  years  later  came  west  to  settle 
where  he  now  resides.  His  first  intention  was  to  practice  law  as 
a  profession,  but  upon  his  arrival  in  Kansas  in  1867,  he  found  the 
advantages  offered  by  this  country  for  stock  raising  so  far  in  ad- 
vance of  any  other  pursuit  that  he  wisely  turned  all  his  attention 
to  the  calling  of  a  ranchero.  He  is  the  owner  of  a  first  class 
farm,  and  enjoys  the  profits  of  that  business  in  a  manner  that 
would  justify  nature  in  still  greater  liberality.  Mr.  Benedict  was 
one  of  the  earliest  settlers  in  Wilson  county,  where  there  were 
only  27  inhabitants  in  1860,  and  in  1865,  only  just  as  many  as 
would  permit  of  organization,  but  so  rapid  has  been  its  extension 
since  that  time,  that  in  1870  there  were  6,694,  and  at  present  there 


'  *t  *&■ 


688 


Tuttle's  History  of  Kansas. 


are  more  than  10,000  people.     Having  come  west  to  identify  him- 
self with  the  country,  Air.   Benedict  was  a  laborer  in  most  of  the 
good  works  connected  with  the  development  of  society,  and  his 
breadth  of  culture  gave  him  an  entire  freedom  from  narrov.-  con- 
ventionalities such  as  can  seldom  be  found  even  in  t)ie  United 
States,  except  in  the  new  states.     The  activity  and  intelligence 
with  which  he  entered  into  or  mooted  successive  improvements, 
early  marked  the  Green  Jklountain  Boy  for  legislative  honors,  and 
he  has  carried  vim  into  legislation  on  many  occasions  of  impor- 
tance to  his  adopted  county  and  state.     lie  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  legislature  in  1871,  and  in  lS7i  was  again  returned,  giving 
so  much  satisfaction  to  his  constitutents  that  his  nomination  was 
all  but  unanimous  in  the  several  caucuses  last  held.     Uis  record 
is  of  a  character  that  will  not  bar  his  continuance  in  public  life, 
nor   impede   his  ascent  to  higher  honors  with  ripening  years. 
Wealth  is  not  in  this  country,  and  should  not  be  anywhere  a  sine 
qua  non  among  men  required  to  devote  time  and  service  to  legis- 
lation, but  it  is  and  ought  to  be  a  recommendation  to  a  man 
among  his  fellows  when  seeking  any  representative  position,  if  he 
has  been  so  fortunate  as  to  have  proved  his  capacity  to  serve  the 
public  by  fii-st  honestly  and  effectively  attending  io  his  own  inter- 
ests.    Mr.  Benedict  is  so  placed  as  that  every  circumstance  favor- 
ing the  development  of  Kansas  will  necessarily  better  his  con- 
dition. 

Hon.  Hannibal  Cicero  St.  Clair,  state  senator  from  the 
25th  senatorial  district,  is  a  fair  specimen  of  a  Kansas  settler;  his 
home  is  in  Belle  Plaine,  Sumner  county,  Kansas,  and  he  is  sur- 
rounded by  the  rewards  of  his  own  industry  and  enterprise,  prose- 
cuted under  many  disadvantages  with  limited  means ;  yet  so  won 
as  that  he  has  retained  the  good  will  and  respect  of  his  neigh- 
bors, lie  was  born  in  Essex  county,  N.  Y.,  in  July,  1825,  con- 
sequently he  is  now  51  years  of  age.  His  grandparents  came 
from  Scotland  to  Canada  soon  after  that  colony  had  been  annexed 
by  the  mother  country,  but  the  instincts  of  liberalism  were  so 
strong  in  the  sturdy  Scotchman  that,  upon  the  breaking  out  of 
the  war  of  the  revolution,  his  grandfather  moved  into  the  revolt- 
ing colonies  to  serve  under  Gen.  Washington  in  the  cause  of  free- 


mm 


Biographical  Sketches. 


689 


identify  liim- 
n  most  of  the 
ciety,  and  hia 
n  narrow  con- 
in  t)ie  United 
id  intelligence 
improvuments, 
vo  honors,  and 
ions  of  itnpor- 
:;ted  a  member 
turned,  giving 
)mi  nation  was 
..  Uis  record 
in  public  life, 
ipening  years, 
ny  where  a  sine 
ervice  to  legis- 
tion  to  a  man 

position,  if  he 
ty  to  serve  the 
i  his  own  inter- 
mstance  favor- 
better  his  con- 


lator  from  the 
sas  settler ;  his 
and  he  is  sur- 
iterprise,  prose- 
ns ;  yet  so  won 
)t  of  his  neigh- 
uly,  1825,  con- 
idpareuts  came 
i  been  annexed 
!ralism  were  so 
breaking  out  of 

• 

into  the  revolt- 
le  cause  of  free- 


dom, lie  was  at  Lexingto. ,  Bunker  Ilill,  Monmouth,  Brandy- 
wine  Creek,  Valle}'  Forge,  and  was  present  when  Burgoyne  sur- 
I'endered.  When  Arnold's  treason  was  frustrated  by  the  capture 
of  Major  Andre,  grandfather  St.  Clair  was  at  West  Point,  and  he 
had  before  that  time  assisted  in  the  unsuccessful  attack  on  Que- 
bec, where  brave  Montgomery  was  slain,  and  Arnold  might  have 
been  with  honor.  Mr.  St.  Clair's  father  moved  from  New  York 
to  Ohio  in  1831,  and  in  1833  to  Sangamon  county,  Illinois,  where 
the  more  advanced  youth  of  his  son  was  spent  on  a  farm  and  in  a 
woolen  factory.  His  educational  advantages  were  just  such  as  a 
common  school  can-  afford ;  and,  in  1849,  when  the  reports  from 
Sacramento  Valley  spread  the  gold  fever  all  over  the  United 
States,  the  young  man,  then  24  years  old,  went  overland  to  Cali- 
fornia, and  remained  there  until  1852.  Upon  his  return  to  Illi- 
nois, he  had  amassed  enough  capital  to  commence  business  as  a 
merchant ;  but  an  inability  to  say  "  no,"  to  people  wanting  credit, 
consumed  his  substance  in  ten  years.  In  the  year  1862,  Mr.  St. 
Clair  entered  the  army  as  lieutenant  in  the  35th  Illinois  infantry, 
being  afterwards  promoted  and  attached  to  the  quartermaster  de- 
partment, in  which  he  served  until  1865.  The  interval  between 
the  time  of  his  honorable  discharge  in  that  year  and  his  arrival  in 
Kansas,  in  1871,  was  spent  in  mercantile  pursuits  in  Illinois. 
The  county  seat  of  Sumner  was  not  located  on  his  arrival  at 
Belle  Plaine,  and  there  were  three  towns  with  an  aggregate  pop- 
ulation of  only  160  people,  all  wanting  the  county  seat  in  their 
own  special  localities.  Mr.  St.  Clair  assisted  in  procuring  a  solu- 
tion of  the  difficulty,  filled  numerous  minor  offices  in  the  county 
with  honor  to  himself,  and  with  so  much  satisfaction  to  his  con- 
stituents that  he  was  chosen,  three  years  after  his  arrival  in  the 
county,  for  the  important  position  now  filled  by  him.  Senator 
St.  Clair  is  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church  and  a  Free  Mason  in 
good  standing,  whose  word  is  known  to  be  his  bond.  His  ser- 
vices during  the  winters  of  suffering  that  followed  the  drouth  and 
the  locust  plague  will  not  readily  be  forgotten  ;  they  were  earnest, 
effective  and  untiring  efforts  in  the  cause  of  humanity ;  such  as 
have  not  failed  to  make  an  enduring  favorable  impression  on  the 
minds  of  the  people  of  Sumner  county. 

44 


'N. 


-  «.--^,^  ^<y'lW'f 


~Hp;*-5V¥?!"t" 


t'    I 


Ti'TTLK's  lIlSTOIiY  OF  KaKSAS. 


m  >• 


IIox.  CoTJJMiU's  G.  BiUDOES,  senator  for  the  first  senatorial 
district  in  Kansas,  is  a  man  of  acknovvlctigeil  merit,  concerning 
whom  we  append  a  few  brief  particulars.  lie  was  born  in  Ma- 
rion county  Ind.,  in  June,  183i,  and  is  now  42  yeava  of  age. 
When  five  years  old  his  father  moved  into  Iowa,  and  he  was 
educated  in  the  common  schools  of  that  state,  attending  high 
school  and  procuring  such  efficiency  as  enabled  him  to  teach 
school  for  several  terms.  In  1857,  when  23  years  old,  Mr. 
Bridges  married  Miss  McMeckan,  daughter  of  a  well  to  do  far- 
mer in  Decatur  county,  and  upon  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  be- 
came M  lieutenant  in  a  cavalry  regiment,  in  which  he  served  with 
honor.  In  the  year  1800,  Mr.  Bridges  had  been  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  Iowa,  and  in  1802,  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  senate  in 
that  state,  in  which  capacity  he  served  four  years.  In  October, 
1868,  he  moved  to  Kansas  and  established  the  Doniphan  County 
Jiepublican,  a  pai)er  that  rendered  good  service  to  the  party. 
After  quitting  that  business,  he  entered  into  mercantile  pursuits 
for  nearly  three  years,  identifying  himself  naturally  with  all  im- 
provements that  seemed  feasible,  sucli  as  railroads,  public  build- 
ings, the  organization  of  agricultural  societies  and  such  works. 
The  public  school  system  has  had  in  him  a  consistent  and  able 
supporter,  qualified  to  pronounce  on  many  questions  "caviare  to 
the  general."  The  public  school  building  in  Troy,  which  cost 
$15,000,  and  is  the  admitted  ornament  of  a  very  beautiful  town, 
was  largely  indebted  to  his  exertions  for  its  erection.  In  the  fall 
of  1874,  the  senator  w^as  chosen  for  the  honorable  position  now 
filled  by  him,  by  a  large  majority,  and  there  is  every  indication 
that  his  services  are  satisfactory  to  his  constituents.  He  is  thor- 
oughly republican  in  his  views  and  general  action,  but  he  pre- 
serves his  independence  on  all  questions,  conceiving  that  he  can 
in  that  way  best  promote  the  interests  of  his  party.  He  is  not  a 
rich  man,  but  his  reputation  for  honesty  is  a  bank  that  stands 
him  in  good  stead  always.  He  is  a  fast  friend,  and  an  enemy 
that  can  be  relied  upon  to  be  always  where  his  antagonists  don't 
want  him.  He  has  the  faculty,  invaluable  to  a  politician,  of 
making  friends  readily  and  retaining  them  afterwards.  His  news- 
paper experiences  have  given  him  a  wide  range  of  information, 
which  he  can  use  to  considerable  advantage  in  debate.     His  char- 


mumtumimmm 


BioGRAPmciL  Sketches. 


691 


e  first  senatorial 
merit,  concerning 
waa  born  in  Ma- 
42  yeava  of  age. 
owa.  and  he  was 
I,   attending  high 
ed  him  to  teach 
J   years   oUl,  Mr. 
a  well  to  do  far- 
k  of  the  war,  be- 
;h  he  served  with 
n  admitted  to  the 
f  of  the  senate  in 
lars.     In  October, 
Doniphan  County 
ce   to  the   party, 
lercantile  pursuits 
rally  with  all  im- 
[ids,  public  build- 
and  such  works. 
Dnsistent  and  able 
itions  "  caviare  to 
Troy,  which  cost 
y  beautiful  town, 
ction.     In  the  fall 
ible  position  now 
s  every  indication 
snts.     He  is  thor- 
2tion,  but  he  pre- 
iving  that  he  can 
irty.     lie  is  not  a 
bank  that  stands 
id,  and  an  enemy 
antagonists  don't 
o  a  politician,  of 
wards.    His  news- 
ge  of  information, 
lebate.     His  char- 


acter has  always  been  above  rejiroach,  and  he  is  connected  with 
tlie  order  of  Fiee  Masons,  having  risen  lo  the  degree  of  royal  arch, 
but  although  religiously  disponed,  he  has  never  become  a  church 
member.  He  is  identified  with  the  order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and 
has  taken  considerable  interest  in  the  promotion  of  the  organiza- 
tion known  as  Sovereigns  of  Industry.  Hon.  Columbus  G. 
Bridges  is  on  the  whole  a  valuable  member  of  society,  and  his 
labors  in  Doniphan  county  have  in  no  inconsiderable  degree 
helped  to  build  up  the  prosperity  and  good  order  by  which  the 
community  in  which  he  resides  has  long  been  made  conspicuous 
among  counties  mostly  noted  for  good  order  and  industry. 

Hex.  W.\r.  Lrid.KY  Pahicixsox,  senator  from  Franklin  county, 
and  resident  in  Ottawa,  a  lawyer  of  considerable  repute  in  the 
state  of  Kansas,  was  born  in  llock  Lick,  Marshall  county,  Vir- 
ginia, in  June,  18-13,  consequently  he  is  now  33  years  old.  His 
father  was  a  sterling  liberal  and  antislavery  man,  in  Western 
Virginia,  when  to  hold  such  views  and  express  them  was  actually 
dangerous  to  life  and  destructive  to  business  prospects.  The  con- 
vention that  nominated  John  P.  Hale  for  the  presidency  had  one 
delegate  from  Wheeling,  Virginia,  the  father  of  the  subject  of 
our  sketch,  and  his  action  in  that  respect  led  to  much  active  per- 
.secution,  but  being  a  man  of  iron  will,  he  was  not  daunted  by  op- 
position, however  vigorous.  The  expression  of  antislavery  opin- 
ions led  to  his  being  twice  mobbed  by  adherents  of  the  pro- 
slavery  party  and  his  family  was  often  in  danger  of  personal  vio- 
lence. Under  such  training  it  was  not  likely  that  Mr.  Parkinson 
would  prove  other  than  an  abolitionist  and  thoroughgoing  union 
man.  His  early  life  was  passed  on  a  farm  but  he  enjoyed  the  advan- 
tages of  good  schooling,  and  when  the  war  broke  out  in  1861,  he, 
with  three  brothers,  enlisted  in  the  first  Virginia  volunteer  in- 
fantry, nnder  the  reorganized  government  at  Wheeling,  Virginia, 
when  West  Virginia  seceded  from  the  secession  proclaimed  by 
the  state  of  Virginia.  The  state  as  a  whole  claimed  the  right  to 
secede  as  unquestionable,  indefeasible,  but  was  unable  to  perceive 
that  any  such  right  pertained  to  Western  Virginia,  hence  the  ad- 
hesion to  the  union  on  which  the  western  portion  of  the  state  in- 
sisted was  a  cause  cl  much  bloodshed.     Mr.  Parkinson  served 


Ill  <Ow»ii<B  liMiN.wwtinH^w 


"M".-'l^''.'Ji',i"mW'": 


.w(iWi-»  mmn  >  j^^"Mig*w.  itjn*fi»mm^  m  »,  m  iff  |t*«  jV i^  u  j '  im' 


692 


T utile's  IIistorv  of  Kas'sas. 


from  1861  to  18G3,  when  lie  was  compelled  to  retire  from  tlie  ser- 
vice in  consequence  of  injuries  received.  lie  was  then  19  yeara 
old  and  he  served  for  one  year  in  his  father's  office,  discharging 
tlie  duties  of  assessor  of  internal  revenue  for  the  district  of  West- 
ern Virginia.  Two  years  at  Waynesburg  College,  Pennsylvania, 
followed,  and  the  young  student  proceeded  to  read  law  in  the 
city  named.  Completing  his  studies  in  that  direction,  he  returned 
to  Wheeling,  West  Virginia,  where  he  remained  until  the  spring 
of  1870,  at  which  time  he  removed  to  Kansas.  Some  portion  of 
the  fall  and  winter  of  1870  was  spent  in  Europe,  after  which  time 
the  business  of  life  was  commenced  in  earnest.  When  Mr.  Park- 
inson came  to  this  state  in  1871  there  was  no  thought  of  settle- 
ment, but  he  was  so  mucli  pleased  with  the  appearance  and  pros- 
pects of  Kansas  that  he  returned  with  his  family  in  the  spring  of 
1871  and  permanently  located  at  Ottawa,  the  capital  of  Franklin 
county.  The  practice  of  law  has  proved  very  remunerative  in 
the  hands  of  the  young  senator,  who  has  for  his  partner  one  of 
the  ablest  lawyers  and  most  persevering  men  in  the  state,  the 
Hon,  A.  II.  Benson.  Educational  matters  have  commanded 
much  of  the  senator's  attention,  and  he  is  now  serving  a  second 
term  as  president  of  the  board  of  education  in  Ottawa.  Every 
improvement  that  has  been  attempted  since  Mr.  Parkinson's  arrival 
in  the  county  has  been  aided  Ijy  him  to  the  extept  of  his  ability. 
The  Ottawa  furniture  and  woodwork  company  was  organized  by 
him,  and  he  still  continues  a  shareholder  and  officer  in  the  con- 
cern. The  company  is  now  conducting  the  largest  business  of 
the  kind  in  the  state.  The  forests  of  Franklin  county  contain 
very  valuable  woods,  and  this  form  of  wealth  is  made  more  val- 
uable by  the  application  of  labor  on  the  spot.  Mr.  Parkinson 
was  raised  as  an  ardent  republican,  but  when  the  Greeley  nomi- 
nation was  made,  he  followed  the  Tribune  lead  in  that  respect, 
still  continuing  a  thorough  republican  in  sentiment;  was  for  some 
time  editor  of  the  "  Kansas  Liberal,"  and  a  stockholder  in  the 
Journal,  being  a  consistent  upholder  of  the  demand  for  reform  in 
the  republican  party.  In  the  fall  of  1874,  the  senator  was 
elected  by  the  highest  majority  received  by  any  candidate  on  any 
ticket.  Since  that  time  he  has  taken  a  prominent  part  in  re- 
ducing public  expenditure  in  every  branch  of  the  service,  and  has 


e  from  tlie  ser- 
!  then  19  years 
ce,  diachnrging 
istrict  of  West- 
Pennsylvania, 
;ad  law  in  tlie 
on,  he  returned 
uitil  the  spring 
omc  portion  of 
fter  which  time 
rhen  Mr.  Park- 
ught  of  settle- 
ranee  and  pros- 
n  the  spring  of 
tal  of  Franklin 
emunerative  in 
partner  one  of 
I  the  state,  the 
e  commanded 
irving  a  second 
>ttawa.  Every 
kinson's  arrival 
L  of  his  ability. 
s  organized  by 
icer  in  the  con- 
;st  business  of 
county  contain 
Tiade  more  val- 
Mr.  Parkinson 
Greeley  nomi- 
in  that  respect, 
;  wias  for  some 
kholder  in  the 
d  for  reform  in 
e  senator  was 
.ndidate  on  any 
;nt  part  in  re- 
lerviee,  and  has 


■■«■ 


wmm 


lilOGRA  PHICA  L   SkE  TCIIKS, 


693 


been  recognized  as  a  leading  men: bcr  in  the  opposition';  stumped 
the  county  in  the  fall  of  1875  in  the  interests  of  the  reform 
movement,  but  is  usually  very  attentive  to  his  professional  busi- 
ness which  grows  rapidly.  Domestically  and  .socially  the  senator 
is  well  placed,  as  he  married  a  talented  and  amiable  lady,  daughter 
of  a  Methodist  minister  of  Pittsburg  and  graduate  of  Waynes- 
burgh  college,  Pennsylvania,  who  for  some  time  taught  elocution 
in  that  college.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Congregational  church, 
but  is  among  the  most  liberal  section  of  that  communion.  lie  is 
an  ardent  temperance  reformer,  and  will  onl  icceed  in  politics 
so  far  as  mere  directness  and  capacity  will  aid  him,  as  he  is  not 
possessed  of  the  Janus  faculty  for  looking  two  ways  at  once, 
which  in  modern  times  seems  to  be  almost  indispensable  to  the 
brilliant  politicians  of  the  day. 

Hex.  Harvey  Seburx,  of  Hiawatha,  Brown  county,  and 
county  treasurer,  is  a  man  of  mark  in  his  own  neighborhood,  and 
may  well  claim  to  be  .self  made  without  being  too  proud  of  his 
work.  He  was  born  in  Jefferson  county,  Ind.,  in  July,  1835. 
His  parents  were  too  poor  to  afford  an  education  for  their  chil- 
dren; but  when  nearly  approaching  to  maturity,  Mr.  Seburn  at- 
tended Asbury  University  in  Greencastle,  Ind.,  where  he  main- 
tained himself  by  labor  of  any  kind  mornings,  evenings  and 
Saturdays  while  pursuing  his  studies.  His  taste  suggested  medi- 
cine, and  he  continued  his  studies  while  teaching  school  for  three 
years  until  qualified  for  practice.  Dr.  Seburn  settled  in  Hiawa- 
tha in  1859,  and  practiced  with  great  success  until  the  war  broke 
out,  when  he  served  for  three  years  against  the  rebels.  Was  in 
the  post  commissary  department  most  of  the  time,  and  after  the 
war  commenced,  farming  and  stock  raising  with  much  success; 
was  chosen  county  treasurer  in  1873,  and  appears  to  have  given 
much  satisfaction  in  that  office.  The  doctor  has  held  numerous 
offices  connected  with  the  school  system,  and  in  1874,  was  elected 
to  the  town  council  of  Hiav/atha,  on  a  temperance  ticket  opposed 
to  the  granting  of  licenses.  Kailroads,  school  houses  and  churches 
are  his  desiderata  for  social  advancement.  He  is  also  a  Free  Mason, 
and  identified  with  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry.  The  doctor  is  a 
married  man,  having  joined  in  wedlock  with  Miss  M.  A.  Klinefelter. 


,i 


I 


n 


:4-l.i^iaijt.iJi»^'HN'M.'W 


694 


TiTTijfs  Hisroiiv  or  IvASSAfi. 


In  all  respects  lie  is  one  of  tlic  suceessful  iiion  in  Kansas,  but  liia 
good  fortune  dues  not  make  him  indiU'orent  to  tlie  wants  of  others. 
lie  lius  given  mueh  time  to  the  discharge  of  public  dutief^,  und 
will  be  still  more  largely  called  upon  in  the  future. 

Cai'T.  S.  S.  Puoutz  has  a  history  tliat  serves  to  illustrate  how 
dangerous  and  dillieult  it  was  to  reach  Kansas  in  the  early  days 
of  its  territorial  history.  He  was  born  in  Onondaga  county,  N. 
Y.,  in  July,  1835,  and  consequently  he  is  now  about  forty-ono 
years  of  age.  Having  enjoyed  the  educational  advantages  of  his 
native  state  until  he  was  sixteen  years  old,  he  was  then  appren- 
ticed to  the  Gazette  Printing  Company  at  Phcenix,  Oswego  coun- 
ty, to  learn  the  business  of  a  compositor,  In  the  year  1856,  when 
the  United  States  rang  with  appeals  to  the  North  and  to  the 
South  to  recruU  their  respective  parties  in  lighting  the  batt  lo, 
"free  state"  or  "slave  state  "  on  this  territory,  he  joined  the  Chi- 
cago colony  to  come  here  as  a  free  state  man.  The  steamer"  Star 
of  the  West,"  with  fifty-eight  colonists  on  board,  was  stopped  at 
Lexington,  Mo.,  by  the  blockade  of  border  rufTuins  under  the 
command  of  Col.  Shelby,  afterwards  still  less  favorably  known  as 
Gen.  Shelby,  commanding  a  rebel  force  in  Missouri  and  else- 
where. The  colonists  were  completely  outnumbered  by  the 
blockaders,  and  compelled  to  surrender  their  weapons,  after  which 
they  were  permitted  to  proceed  as  far  as  Kansas  City  under  sur- 
veillance, and  at  that  point  they  were  taken  prisoners  by  a  still 
larger  force  under  David  E.  Atchison,  once  acting  vice-president 
of  the  United  States,  and  in  aspiration  at  least  a  candidate  for 
president  Gen.  B.  F.  Stringfellow  was  a  coordinate  authority 
with  Atchison  on  the  expedition,  and  every  one  of  the  company 
peculated  on  his  own  account.  The  Chicagoan  colony  was  robbed 
of  all  its  funds,  individual  and  collective,  to  the  amount  of  about 
$75,000,  after  which  the  whole  party  was  compelled  to  return 
down  the  river  to  Illinois.  Such  a  discomfiture  would  have  pre- 
vented some  men  ever  thinking  again  about  colonizing  in  Kansas, 
as,  "  if  that  could  be  done  in  the  green  wood,  what  would  be  done 
in  the  dry?  "  but  Mr.  Proutz  was  more  than  ever  determined  to 
make  his  abode  in  the  territory.  In  September  of  the  same  year, 
1856,  he  joined  another  party  making  a  rendezvous  at  Mount 


mi  I  MjMimmmi'immmi^ 


Bionn.winc.a  SiKF.rrJiFs. 


end 


arisas,  but  liia 
ants  of  otlicrri. 
ic  dutie*,  and 


illustrate  how 
,lie  early  diiy-i 
ga  county,  X. 
)out  forty-ono 
antages  of  lii.s 
!  then  apj)ren- 
Oswego  coun- 
lar  1856,  when 
,h  and  to  tho 
g  the  batt  le, 
oiiied  the  Chi- 
steamer  "Star 
as  stopped  at 
ms  under  the 
xbly  known  as 
juri  and  else- 
bcred  by  tho 
IS,  after  which 
lity  under  sur- 
ners  by  a  still 
vice-president 

candidate  for 
nate  authorit}'' 

the  company 
ny  was  robbed 
lount  of  about 
lied  to  return 
)uld  have  pre- 
;ing  in  Kansas, 
would  be  done 
determined  to 
the  same  year, 
:)us  at  Mount 


Pleasant,  Iowa,  tho  capital  ^t  Ilciiry  county,  about  28  miles  north 
northwest  of  Burlington,  then  the  westernmost  railroad  point  in  the 
United  States,  and  once  more  struck  out  for  Kansas.  The  party  con- 
sisted of  250  persons  in  all.  men,  women  and  some  cliildren,  and 
tlie  command  led  l)y  ('ol.  S.  W.  Kldridge,  commenced  their  march 
through  Iowa  t<i  Kansas,  via  Nebraska,  in  the  latter  part  of  Sep- 
tember. It  was  emphatically  a  march,  as  only  the  camp  etiuipago 
and  baggage  could  be  conveyed  by  team,  unless  the  whole  of  tho 
s\ibstance  remaining  was  to  be  swallowed  in  tho  cost  of  transit. 
The  men  were  marching  then  through  a  friendly  state,  deeply  in- 
terested in  the  furtherance  of  free  settlement,  and  Iowa  sent  many 
of  her  gallant  sons  to  aid  the  struggle  ;  but  the  time  might  come 
at  any  moment  when  they  would  have  to  light  a  l)and  of  ruflians 
oblivious  of  state  rights,  as  they  had  been  on  tho  Missouri  and 
elsewhere  of  all  the  proprieties,  so  that  weapons  were  absolutely 
indispensable.  There  were  many  of  "  Becclier's  Bibles,"  as  tho 
Sharp's  rifles  were  then  called  in  Kansas,  in  their  teams,  and  other 
weapons  of  much  value,  and  the  transport  of  these  formed  no 
small  part  of  the  cost  of  the  journey. 

The  route  lay  directly  west  to  Nebraska  City  through  the 
soutliern  part  of  Iowa,  and  they  reached  the  town  of  Plymouth 
on  the  southern  border  of  Nebraska  territory  wiihout  molestation, 
but  at  that  point  the  whole  body  were  taken  prisoners  by  a  force  of 
United  States  troops  sc.it  out  by  Gov.  Geary,  newly  arrived  in 
the  territory  and  under  serious  apprehensions  of  a  warlike  in- 
vasion by  "  Lane's  northern  army."  The  governor  had  just  seen 
on  his  way  to  Kansas,  up  the  Missouri',  the  kind  of  e-'ipionage  and 
ruffianism  to  which  the  "Star  of  the  West"  was  subjected,  and 
he  had  caused  the  blockade  to  be  raised,  but  he  could  not  under- 
stand in  spite  of  all  that,  ^vhy  the  band  of  colonists  then  arriving, 
should  come  prepared  for  .self  defense.  He  was  able  to  appreci- 
ate ruffianism  still  better,  when  he  was  compelled  to  save  his  own 
life  by  a  flight  between  two  days  to  escape  assassination,  within  a 
few  months  of  that  time.  However,  we  have  left  our  friends 
prisoners,  or  contraband  of  war  on  tho  border  of  Kansas  near 
Plymouth,  and  they  must  not  be  neglected  in  such  a  strait.  The 
force  by  which  they  were  captured  con.sistcd  of  about  GOO  men, 
cavalry  and  artillery  combined,  under  the  command  of  Col.  Philip 


mMmtm 


.  W.J^?,r^V.-k'.,,...1i 


imiitiSimmmmim 


mmm 


690 


TvTTLk's   J I  is  Toll  y  OF  K ASS. IS. 


'','->  ■ 


St.  Georg*!  Cook.     The  buttery  was  under  the  commnml  of  Maj, 
T.  W.  Sherman.     Tlie  force  wna  great  enough  to  have  eater  the 
80  calleil  invaders,  but  so  many  e.xaggorations  had  been  indulged 
in  concerning  the  "  northern  army,"  t'«'it  there  was  an  anticipa- 
tion that  the  whole  of  the  northern  st.>.ja  svould  come  vi  d  tinnis, 
pouring  over  the  Nebraska  border  a  torrent  like  our  own  Niag- 
ara.    If  there  had  been  only  fifiy  United  Statc:^  troojw  there  would 
have  been  no  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  colonists,  as  all  their  arms 
were  for  the  enemies  of  the  union,  but  there  was  no  oi)tion  in  the  pres- 
ence of  an  overpowering  force,  and  the  emigrant  train  submitted 
to  be  conveyed  to  Indianola,  four  miles  from  Topeka,  where  they 
were  reviewed  and  released  by  Gov.   Geary,  fully  convinced  that 
there  waa  nothing  to  fear  from  siich  colonists.     Beyond   Uie  an- 
noyance of  being  lield  prisoner.^,  there  was  not  much  to  be  com- 
plained of    on  the  march  under  escort  from   Plymouth   to   the 
neighborhood  of  Topeka,  and  Gov.  Geary  traveled  from  Lecomp- 
ton°  the  territorial  capital,   to  abridge  their  term  of   duress  as 
much  as  iK)ssiblc,  but  it  gave  the  eolouists  a  .strange   idea  of  the 
condition  of  the  state  of  society  when  the  right  of  an   American 
citizen  to  carry  arms  guarantied  by  the  constitution  was  thus 
rudely  (juestioned.     Mr.  Proutz  had  at  length   reached  Kansas, 
and  he  took  up  a  claim  three  miles  from  Prairie  City,  about  18 
miles  south  from  Lawrence.     Early  in  18r>7,  on  the  25lh  ot  June, 
he  commenced  running  a  newspaper  in  Prairie  City,  "  The  Free- 
man's Champion,"  with  the  suggestive  motto  "Liberty or  Death." 
The  first  two  months  of  the  publication   passed  in  a  tent,  but 
many  questions  as  well  as  many  sheets  were  ventilated  freely. 
In  October  of  the  same  year,  the  publisher  was  elected  clerk  of 
Douglas  county.     Gov.  Geary  was  holding  back  the  ruffians  from 
the  polling  booths  with  a  strong  hand,  and  was  earning  their<n)«//i- 
cma  maranatha  in  consequence.     Mr.  Proutz  was  the  Hrst  free 
state  clerk  of  Douglas  county  ever  elected,  and  even  in  the  midst 
of  the  anxieties  of  that  trying  time,  he  found  leisure  to  think  of 
matrimony,  as  he  was  married  in  Lawrence  on  the  31st  of  May, 
1858,  to  Miss  Hannah  M.   Whitehead.     Moving  soon  afterwards 
to  Burlington,  in  Coffey  county,  he  established   the    "  Neosho 
Valley  Register,"  in  September,  1859,  and  continued  so  occupied 
until  the  war.     In  June,  1862,  Mr.  Proutz  was  commissioned  by 


i 


et 


ninnd  of  Maj. 
avo  eater  tho 
been  indulged 
i  an  nntieipa- 
ne  vi  (I  iinnlx, 
ur  own  Niag- 
[>H  tliere  would 
s  all  their  arms 
ion  in  the  pres- 
Liin  Hubniitted 
ca,  where  they 
onvinced  that 
eyond  Uio  an- 
i\\  to  bo  com- 
mouth  to  the 
from  Lecomp- 
i  of  duress  as 
1^0   idea  of  the 

an  American 
tion  was  thus 
ached  Kansas, 
City,  about  18 
B  25lh  ot  June, 
y,  "  The  Free- 
erty  or  Death." 
in  a  tent,  but 
iitilated  freely, 
ected  clerk  of 
le  rufTians  from 
ing  their  in/f/^/t- 
3  the  first  free 
3n  in  the  midst 
lure  to  think  of 
e  81st  of  May, 
lOon  afterwards 

the  "  Neosho 
led  so  occupied 
mmissioned  by 


.UI,JIHIII|HM 


ipiBiiijiaiiijB     • 


Bioff/iAfiiic.tr.  Siih-n-rfKs. 


Wl 


Mr.  Stanton,  .secretary  of  war,  first  lieutenant  and  quartermaster 
of  the  fir.st  regiment  of  Indian  home  guards,  a  position  held  by 
him  until  Oct.  12,  18(34,  when  he  resigned.  During  tin;  Trico 
raid  in  October,  lSti4,  Lieut  Trout/,  was  on  the  stall  of  Maj.  (ieri. 
Curtis,  who  commanded  the  union  forces  which  forced  Price 
back  to  and  over  tho  Arkan.sa.s.  In  September,  of  that  year, 
Quartermaster  I'rout/-  brought  out  the  first  number  of  tho 
'•  Patriot,"  u  paper  still  piiblislied  in  that  city.  In  ISOS,  still  main- 
taining the  lead  once  taken,  Capt.  Proutz  was  one  of  the  Kan.sa3 
delegates  to  the  Chicago  convention,  which  first  nominated  (Jen. 
Grant  for  the  presidency  of  the  United  States,  and  he  had  tho 
.  honor  to  be  chosen  one  of  the  vice  presidents  of  that  body.  The 
joint  ballot  of  both  houses  elected  him  as  state  printer  for  two 
years  in  18(39,  and  at  the  end  of  that  term  he  was  reelected.  Tho 
succession  of  papers  started  by  him  had  not  exhausted  his  fecun- 
dity, fts  we  find  him  in  May,  18(30,  in  conjunction  with  Maj.  J.  B. 
Davis  issuing  the  first  number  of  the  "Daily  Commonwealth," 
with  which  paper  he  continued  in  connection  as  editor  or  as  man- 
ager, until  1S73.  The  life  thus  briefiy  described  could  bo  am- 
plified by  merely  filling  in  the  sketch,  so  as  to  afl^ord  a  work  of 
thrilling  interest  and  present  a  complete  picture  of  Kansas  life 
during  the  struggle  in  which  the  motto  "Liberty  or  Death  "  had 
a  terrible  reality.     Mr.  Proutz  is  now  a  resident  in  Topeka. 

Hon.  Geo.  W.  Fox,  ex-mayor  of  Chetopa,  and  many  years  a 
captain  of  artillery  during  the  war,  now  an  attorney  in  successful 
practice,  will  serve  our  design  to  illustrate  the  theory  that  the 
qualities  capable  of  winning  their  way  in  one  direction  will  cus- 
tomarily attain  their  object  in  any  other.  Napoleon  would  have 
been  a  first  class  road  engineer,  or  a  law  maker,  if  he  had  not 
chosen  the  profession  of  war,  and  the  vice  of  conquest  The  sub- 
ject of  our  sketch  was  born  in  Canajoharie,  Montgomery  Co., 
N.  Y.,  in  August,  1842,  and  is  now  34  years  of  age.  His  father  ' 
died  when  the  boy  was  three  years  old,  and  he  was  left  to  the 
care  of  his  mother,  burdened  with  many  children,  but  his  uncle 
undertook  his  training  until,  at  the  age  of  13,  he  became  a  farm 
hand,  and  to  some  extent  his  own  master.  From  that  time,  work- 
ing every  summer  and  schooling  every   winter,  the  academio 


1^^ 


iifcfiM^ titiiiaiir  nun'iiiiiiiMaiiii 


.  ifta^imnM-t'Wfi, 


m 


608 


I'rrrt.h's  Ifismny  df  Kassas. 


course  was  complolod  at  Kort  Plain  Soitiiiiaiv,  in  IS'tS,  ami  tho 
VoutlicomtniMiccil  rcailing  law  at  (.'licrry  Valley,  OtrtcgoCo.,  N.  V. 
Ik-  was  atlmitti'd  to  llic  liar  fiwin  oiioof  tlio  hvM  oflim's  in  Albany, 
N.  Y.,  in  May,  ISCil,  ami  drvoted  liiinsi-If  to  his  profession  in 
Moiitgotni'ry  Co.,  N.  V.,  until  the  call  for  troops  became  so  ur^'cnt 
that  in  Auirnst  of  the  same  year  he  i-nlisted  in  tlit;  Isl  New  York 
iirlillory.  lie  spicilily  won  liis  way  from  the  ranks  to  the  posi- 
tion of  (jnlerly  sereeant,  and  was  attached  to  (Jen.  Banks'  army 
in  tho  Shenandoah.  Wo  was  an  active  partiei|)ant  in  the  battles 
of  Ik'verly  Ford,  Uapiihin,  Cedar  Mountain,  i{appahai\noek  and 
Jkfanassas,  tlie  second  Bull's  Run,  where  the  unfortunate  result 
was  due  to  the  tardiness  of  MeClellan  in  supportinj^  the  move- 
ments of  his  newly  appointed  superior  ofliecr.  He  was  in  tho 
battles  of  South  Mouulaiu  and  Antietam  when  Lincoln  said  that 
the  confedt'rate  army  was  given  into  our  hands  by  I'rovidence, 
but  permitted  to'cscape  l)y  the  supinencss  of  the  command.  Fox 
was  made  a  lieutenant  Un'  his  services  in  the  field,  and  appointed 
drill  master  of  a  battalion,  being  afterwards  promoted  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  1st  New  York  l)attery,  and  make  captain  as  a  recog- 
nition of  his  cniciency.  Capt.  Fox  fought  in  the  battles  of  La- 
fourche and  at  Donahlson,  in  the  siege  of  l''ort  Hudson,  and  in  all 
the  engagements  of  the  Jlcd  river  campaign,  when  his  arm  of  tho 
service  was  the  main  reliance  of  the  army,  and  although  tho 
youngest  artillery  captain  of  tho  10th  corps,  ho  was  distinguished 
by  the  ai)pointment  as  chief  of  artillery  on  the  second  division, 
and  on  the  stall  of  Gen.  Gro'  er. 

AVhen  Canby  relieved  Banks,  Fox  remained  in  command  of 
twelve  batteries  until  ordered  to  join  Gen.  Steele  as  chief  of  artil- 
lery and  ordnance,  which  rardc  he  held  until  the  end  of  the  cam- 
paign at  Mcjbile.  The  captain  was  appointed  chief  of  artillery  in 
the  di.«trict  of  Texas,  and  so  remained  until  he  was  mustered  out 
of  the  service  in  June,  1866,  after  four  years  and  ten  months  of 
life  in  the  camp  and  field.  In  any  other  branch  of  the  force  there 
would  have  been  higher  promotion,  but  as  an  artillery  ofTicer  he 
reached  the  pinnacle  that  merit  could  win.  Eeturning  to  the  law, 
Mr.  Fox  commenced  practice  in  Builalo,  N.  Y.,  but  very  soon 
concluded  that  he  would  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  rising  state  of 
Kansas.     He  arrived  in  Chetopa  in  December,  1870,  then  a  small 


S.'.S,  find  tlio 
•g<)C<).,N.  Y. 
•«  in  All)aiiy, 
jirofession  in 

tlK!  HO  UI'f^lMlt 

it  Ni!\v  York 
s  to  tlio  po^i- 
Banks'  army 
in  the  battli's 
liannock  anil 
rtunatu  rosnlt 
!ig  tlio  move- 
le  was  in  tlio 
:oln  said  that 
>•  Providence, 
niiiand.  Fox 
i)d  appointed 
d  to  the  corn- 
in  as  a  recog- 
battles  of  La- 
on,  and  in  all 
lis  arm  of  tho 
alliiongh  ihu 
distinguished 
ond  division, 

command  of 
chief  of  artil- 
d  of  the  cam- 
)f  artillery  in 
mustered  out 
en  months  of 
he  force  there 
lery  officer  he 
ig  to  the  law, 
ut  very  soon 
rising  state  of 
I  then  a  small 


lilnili/M'llliM.   Shim  HIS. 


m) 


liamlot  little  thoiiirlit  of  on  the  southorii  border  of  Kansas ;  now 
a  city  rvorvwhore  spoKi-n  of  as  one  of  the  most  boaiitifnl  and  en- 
terprising in  iiabettc  county,  a  principal  station  on  the  Missouri, 
Kansas  and  'l\'.\as  Jtailroad,  with  a  steam  foundry  employing 
many  hands;  an  excellent  weekly  paper,  Tlie  Advance;  one  of 
the  h mdsomest  public  schools  in  the  state,  wliiidi  cost  $'25,(100  ; 
live  elegiint  churches  ;  planin^  mills,  Hour  mills,  huye  stock  yards, 
and  two  l)atd\S.  The  organizing  powers  of  Capt.  [''ox  were  soon 
called  into  requisition,  as  in  1871  he  was  chosen  mayor  by  a  largo 
majority,  and  the  hainhit  doubled  Us  population  during  his  term 
of  oflice,  chielly  in  consequence  of  its  merits  as  a  place  of  settle- 
ment bccotning  known.  The  churches  and  sclio"'  house  already 
mentioned,  dat(!  from  his  mayo.  Jty  ;  die  streets  vvre  grad'.'d,  side- 
walks made,  streams  bridge<l,  voads  and  npf)roaches  to  the  city 
im[irovod  .so  that  the  village  won  prii.ic  as,  ihe  enterprising  city 
of  Clietopa.  Having  .served  the  c'.ty  with  -  >  much  e'^  -ot,  the  next 
point  was  to  attend  to  his  hnnw  interests,  as  an  ol  '  engagement 
at  Belle  Plain,  N.  Y.,  dating  from  before  the  wai  u-iulted  in  Miss 
Devcndorf  becoming  Mrs.  Fox  in  1807,  find  ^here  was  a  fan.  'y  to 
be  cared  for.  The  mayor  declined  a  ren  .niin  'tion,  and  an  .lUiiiira- 
ble  successor  was  readily  induced  to  coiitinue  his  labors,  while  he 
devoted  all  his  energies  to  the  practice  of  his  ])rofession,  in  tho 
firm  of  Ayres  &  Fox,  refusing  for  the  present  all  participation  in 
public  duty  in  consequence  of  the  daily  increasing  demands  of 
his  legal  labors.  lie  is  a  strictly  tempc'-i,te  man,  of  strong  will, 
connected  with  the  M.  E.  Church,  a  Master  Mason  in  good  stand- 
ing, raised  many  years  since  in  New  York  state,  and  demitted 
from  his  first  lodge  to  the  brethren  in  Chetopa.  lie  is  also  of  the 
Royal  Arch  Council  and  Commandery,  so  that  there  need  be  no 
doubt  that  whenever  he  is  properly  called  upon,  within  the  length 
of  his  cable  tow,  he  will  bo  ;■  .  ^)ared  to  take  the  proper  steps,  reg- 
ularly or  irregularly,  in  ih>;  interests  of  society  at  large.  The 
free  and  accepted  mason  is  always  a  good  citizen,  and  it  says 
much  for  the  credit  ^t:  the  city  of  Chetopa  under  the  rule  of 
Mayor  Large  that  such  institutions  flourish  in  that  domain.  The 
Southern  Kansas  Advance  is  the  paper  flourishing  in  Chetopa 
and  we  find  that  the  reputation  of  Capt.  Fox  has  traveled  far  be- 
yond h..-!  immediate  neighborhood,  as  the    Oswego  Independent 


Bi*M«HHBCMM«««ffM 


700 


Tuttle's  History  of  Kaxsas. 


f 


names  him  with  great  respect  as  one  of  the  leading  public  men 
in  that  portion  of  the  state,  possessing  a  sound  mind  in  a  healthy 
body,  capable  of  any  amount  of  labor,  and  bound  to  cooie  out 
ahead  iii  whatever  pursuit  may  engage  his  powers.  The  educa- 
tional interests  of  Labette  county  have  been  well  cared  for  gener- 
ally, and  those  of  Chetopa  are  at  least  on  a  par,  if  not  just  a  little 
ahead  of  the  average  of  the  county.  More  need  not  be  said  on 
behalf  of  any  well  founded  city  In  the  state  of  Kansas.  i 

Hon.  Bykox  Judd,  state  schator  for  Wyandotte  county,  land 
agent  and  banker,  is  necessary  to  make  up  the  range  of  our  pro- 
fessional illustrations  among  the  successful  men  in  Kansas.     He 
was  born  in  August,  1824,  and  is  now  52  years  of  age,  but  full 
of  vigor  as  tlie  result  of  powers  well  applied  through  life.     The 
town  of  Otis,  Berkshire  county,  Massachusetts,  suggests  a  lineage 
looking  back  towards  the  Mayflower  and  the  earliest  records  of 
the  old  Bay  State,  and  that  town  is  the  locale  of  Senator  Judd's 
nativity.     His  father  was  a  farmer,  and  the  boy  divided  his  atten- 
tion between  industrial  training  at  home  and  scholastic  labors  in 
the  admirable  institutions  proper  to  Massachusetts.     At  the  age 
of.  twenty  the  young  man  attended  the  academy  at  Southwick 
for  one  term,  and  afterwards  the  state  normal  school  at  West- 
field  for  ten  fall  terms  in  succession,  working  on  the  farm  during 
the  summer  and  teaching  school  every  winter,  so  that  his  body 
and  mind  were  alike  developed  by  practical  work.     Among  his 
friends  in  Otis,  in  spite  of  the  too  true  aphorism  that  "a  prophet 
is  not  without  honor,  save  in  his  own  country,''  he  was  made  se- 
lectman, township  assessor,  and  s  member  of  the  school  commit- 
tee for  several  years,  until,  in  1855,  he  removed  to  Des  Moines, 
Iowa,  where  he  was  deputy  recorder  for  one  year,  and,  in  1857, 
came  to  this  state,  landing  in  Wyardottc  City  in  the  beginning  of 
November.     The  city  was  then  a  part  of  the  county  of  Leaven- 
worth, and  a  place  oi  much  business,  well  suited  for  the  opera- 
tions of  men  of   the  calibre  of   Mr.  Judd.     Land  agency  and 
banking  were  the  specialties  of  the  new  comer,  and  he  was  soon 
as  busily  engaged  as  could  be  desired,  but  had  sufficient  leisure, 
as  will  always  happen  with  the  most  successful  men  of  business, 
to  attend  to  many  public  appointments.     The  senator  has  served 


ng  public  men 
id  in  a  healthy 
i  to  come  out 
i.  The  educa- 
ared  for  gener- 
lot  just  a  little 
not  be  said  on 
isas.  I 

e  county,  land 
ge  of  our  pro- 
1  Kansas.     lie 
if  age,  but  full 
Ligh  life.     The 
fgests  a  lineage 
liest  records  of 
Senator  Judd's 
/ided  his  atten- 
ilastic  labors  in 
3.     At  the  age 
'  at  Southwick 
chool  at  West- 
lie  farm  during 
that  his  body 
J.     Among  his 
ihat  "a  prophet 
!  was  made  se- 
school  commit- 
to  Des  Moines, 
I",  and,  in  1857, 
he  beginning  of 
inty  of  Leaven- 
[  for  the  opera- 
nd agency  and 
ad  he  was  soon 
ifficient  leisure, 
len  of  business, 
nator  has  served 


f 


BioGRAPiitCAL  Sketches. 


701 


in  many  responsible  office?  with  honor  to  himself  and  with  ad- 
vantage to  the  community,  as  president  of  the  city  council  and 
as  mayor  of  the  city  of  Wyandotte.  For  five  years  in  succession 
he  was  chosen  justice  of  the  peace,  and  for  a  similar  term  he  was 
a  trustee  of  Wyandotte  township,  besides  being  the  Wyandotte 
county  treasurer  for  four  years.  Successive  marl-!  of  honor  and 
trust,  reposed  in  him  by  his  fellow-citizens,  indicated  Viw  Judd  as 
an  eligible  man  for  an  appointment  as  United  States  commission- 
er for  the  district  of  Kansas,  a  position  filled  with  conspicuous 
advantage.  In  1871,  whun  the  Fir.st  National  Bank  was  organ- 
ized in  the  city  of  Wyandotte,  Mr.  Judd  was  elected  president, 
and  in  that  capacity,  or  as  cashier,  he  has  been  in  the  institution 
ever  since.  In  the  year  1872,  the  people  of  Wyandotte  county 
elected  their  successful  fellow-citizen  to  represent  them  in  the 
senate,  and  so  favorably  were  they  impressed  with  his  services 
during  the  first  term,  that,  before  its  3.\piry,  he  was  reelected,  in 
1874,  for  a  second  term  of  two  years,  which  will  expire  in  No- 
vember. There  is  but  little  reason  to  doubt  that  the  senator  will 
be  offered  the  renomination,  but  it  is  possible  that  his  continually 
increasing  land  agency  business,  added  to  his  responsibilities  in 
connection  with  the  bank  may  make  him  desirous  of  a  respite. 
He  is  a  democrat  of  the  Thomas  Jefferson  .school,  quite  content 
to  allow  to  others  the  freedom  of  opinion  that  he  claims  for  him- 
.self,  having  no  sympathy  with  the  border  ruffian  stripe  of  politi- 
cal experience,  and  he  is  consequently  able  to  run  ahead  of  his 
own  ticket  in  every  contest,  a  recommendation  of  great  value  in 
any  party  in  any  state  in  the  Union.  The  senator  is  not  a  church 
member,  but  he  is  a  regular  attendant  in  the  Congregational 
church,  having  been  reared  within  its  discipline.  He  is  not  con- 
nected with  any  secret  organization,  and,  indeed,  has  too  little 
time  at  his  disposal  to  add  anything  to  his  multifarious  duties. 
In  the  year  1865,  when  he  had  arrived  at  the  mature  age  of  41, 
Mr.  Judd  was  so  fortunate  as  to  win,  in  marriage,  a  widow  of 
many  accomplishments,  Mrs.  Mary  Louise  Bartlett  nee  Coapes,  of 
Grasburg,  Vt,  but  then  resident  in  Wyandotte  city,  and  has  a 
small  family  of  girls  growing  up  around  him.  His  business  en- 
gagements have  been,  on  the  whole,  successful,  and  he  is  pos- 
sessed of  r  competency.     His  public  labors  have  won  honor  from 


1 
/  1 


ll'. 


702 


Tl'ttle's  UisToiiY  OF  Kax^as. 


II 


M. 


m 


all  classes  and  every  party ;  bis  good  name  is  without  reproach, 
and  in  the  retirement  of  his  comfortable  home  he  could  happily 
spend  the  remainder  of  a  life,  vvbicli  has  not  been  without  iirolit 
to  his  country.  The  state  of  Kansas  cannot  liave  too  many  of 
such  citizens,  and  his  worth  is  appreciated. 

Capt.  Pkuhv  lIuTOiiiNSON  will  serve  our  purpose  to  illus- 
trate the  successes  that  can  be  achieved  by  men  of  business  tact 
and  courage  in  this  state.  IMr.  Hutchinson  hails  from  New  York 
state,  where  he  was  born  in  December,  1831,  .so  tliat  he  is  now  forty- 
live  years  f)ld.  In  the  year  1855,  at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  having 
procured  meantime  some  insight  to  the  calling  of  a  miller  and  a 
fair  amount  of  education,  he  removed  to  Iowa,  and  from  thence, 
four  years  later,  having  been  fortunate  enough  in  the  meantime 
to  marry  a  goo4  wife,  he  came  to  this  territory  in  1859,  bringing 
with  him  a  team  wagon  with  a  few  houseliold  goods  —  a  prairie 
schooner  in  fact  on  a  s^nall  scale  — and  $2.50  in  currency.  The 
start  was  not  such  as  Rothschild  would  liave  cho.sen  for  his  son, 
but  a  stout  heart  is  worth  more  than  a  bank  balance,  and  for 
our  purpo.se  of  illustration,  it  is  worth  while  to  follow  the  young 
colonist,  with  his  wife  and  two  children,  as  they  set  themselves 
to  climb  the  hill  of  life  together.  They  had  no  wealthy  friends 
upon  whom  to  call  for  assistance,  but  they  kept  their  own 
counsel,  found  a  house  about  si.'c  miles  east  of  Leavenworth 
City,  and  gathered  corn  with  his  team  wagon,  boarding  himself 
for  one  bushel  of  corn  per  day.  Corn  was  then  worth  forty  cents 
per  bushel,  so  that  the  remuneration  was  not  excessive,  but  any- 
thing was  better  than  nothing,  and  on  the  corn  thus  procured  the 
little  family  lived  through  the  winter,  eking  out  their  vegetable 
food  with  buffalo  meat  when  r,he  chance  offered.  The  winter 
was  not  of  long  duration  and  spring  brought  a  change  of  scene. 
Mr.  Hutchinson  had  become  known  to  some  extent,  as. the  winter 
dragged  on,  and  early  in  the  spring  he  took  a  claim  on  the  road 
that  must  be  traversed  by  miners  on  the  way  to  Pike's  Peak. 
Building  a  log  cabin  was  a  trifle  to  a  man  that  could  face  winter 
in  a  strange  territory  with  $2.50,  so  there  was  very  soon  a  home- 
stead for  the  little  group,  and  upon  that  evidence  of  industry 
there  was  no  difficulty  in  procuring  credit  for  a  load  of  hay  and 


i 


out  reproach, 

joald  happily 

ivitliont  nrolit 

too  many  of 

pose  to  ill  US- 
business  tact 
)in  New  York 
e  is  now  forty- 
y-four,  having 
X  miller  and  a 
I  from  thence, 
tlio  meantime 
L859,  bringing 
ds  —  a  prairie 
irrency.  Tlie 
Ml  for  his  son, 
lance,  and  for 
ovv  the  young 
et  themselves 
■ealthy  friends 
^pt  tlieir  own 
Leavenworth 
irding  himself 
rth  forty  cents 
jsive,  but  any- 
3  procured  the 
heir  vegetable 
The  winter 
ange  of  scene. 
,  as. the  winter 
n  on  the  road 
>  Pike's  Peak, 
dd  face  winter 
soon  a  home- 
!e  nf  industry 
ad  of  hay  and 


*g*^W^*— — »WfWBjB<|g!lJi.i^|i.i    mffn,! 


<4 


BioanAiHicAL  Sketches. 


703 


t  load  of  corn.  The  trade  was  a  success  and  some  money  was 
iru'i'  0,  but  not  enough  to  liquidate  the  national  debt.  There  was 
an  inducement  to  extend  the  area  of  enterprise,  the  team  wagon 
had  still  enough  vital  force  to  be  made  useful,  and  in  June  a 
freight  of  ten  passengers  being  desirous  to  be  conveyed  to  Den- 
ver City,  en  rottte  to  the  mines  in  Colorado  territory,  Mr.  Hutch- 
inson took  up  the  ribbons  and  became  driver  of  the  Denver 
coach,  receiving  $400  in  all  for  the  passage.  This  was  a  little 
fortune,  but  being  so  near  the  mines,  the  brave  driver  took  the 
gold  fever  so  badly,  that  he  was  compelled  to  go  into  the  moun- 
tains, like  thousands  of  others  to  work  off  the  infection.  The 
cure  was  eft'ected,  but  every  dollar  had  disappeared  in  the  process. 
Every  man  could  tell  fabulous  stories  about  heavy  finds  that 
had  been  made  by  somebody  somewhere,  but  the  men  all  around 
Hutchinson's  locale  of  operations  were  groaning  in  spirit  and  suf- 
fering in  flesh,  because  they  did  not  win  enough  in  a  week  to 
pay  for  a  breakfarst.  Still,  it  was  then  in  the  mountains  as  it 
always  is  everywhere  in  this  world  — 

"  Hope  told  a  flattering  tale." 

And  by  the  time  the  story  was  finished,  everything  else  was 
gone.  When  the  hero  of  the  wonderful  lamp  "  got  stuck,"  it 
was  only  necessary  for  him  to  rub  the  lamp  and  his  genius  came 
to  the  rescue.  In  Hutchinson's  case  it  was  not  a  lamp  but  a 
wagon.  He  was  "stuck"  as  badly  as  niortal  need  be,  but  if  he 
had  not  a  dollar,  there  was  still  the  wagon  and  his  knowledge  of 
the  road.  Some  few  miners  who  had  sufficient  common  sense  to 
be  warned  in  time,  concluded  on  returning  to  the  better  gold 
diggings  that,  had  been  abandoned  in  their  "  will-o'the-wisp" 
chase,  and  they  were  willing  to  pay  small  fees  for  tran porta tion. 
The  transports  of  the  miner  had  subsided,  and  a  more  humble 
transport  was  preferred  ;  so  when  Mr.  Hutchin.son  returned  to  his 
log  cabin  and  civilization  in  the  fall  of  ISGl,  he  was  not  abso- 
lutely without  a  cent.  He  was  the  proud  possessor  of  $45  and 
all  expenses  paid ;  little  better  than  one-tenth  of  the  amount 
received  on  his  trip  to  Denver.  The  winter  passed  much  more 
satisfactorily  than  the  first  in  Kansas,  and  in  the  beginning  of 
1862  he  rented  a  good  hotel  in  Marysville,  which  he  continued 


701 


Turi'LE's  HisTonr  or  Kassas. 


I  I 


to  keep  until  June  of  that  year.  At  that  tinne  there  was  a  belief 
that  ll.e  rebellion  could  be  quelled  in  six  months  if  everybody 
went  in,  and  Capt.  Hutchinson  concluded  that  he  would  do  his 
share.  He  raised  a  company  and  was  mustered  into  the  13th 
Kansas  infantry,  having  first  bought  a  piece  of  land  for  a  mill 
and  employed  labor  to  build  the  dam.  Six  months  passed  and 
the  war  was  not  ended,  twelve  months  and  the  finale  looked 
further  ofT  than  ever,  so  it  became  necessary  for  the  Captain  to 
return  and  look  after  mundane  aflairs.  The  contractor  for  the 
mill  dam  had  failed  and  the  miller  must  be  his  own  artificer. 
He  had  nov/  $1,600,  not  quite  as  much  as  before  going  to  the 
wars,  but  "  it  was  no  use  crying  over  spilt  milk."  During  the 
winter  the  dam  was  finished  and  a  saw  mill  started  in  the  spring, 
so  that  there  was  a  brisk  stroke  of  business  until  the  fall ;  when, 
by  mortgaging  everything  for  the  greater  venture,  he  raised 
money  to  buy  a  one  pair  of  burrs  bolt  and  smut  mill,  which  was 
started  on  the  10th  of  Novembr,  1884.  Rising  with  his  fortune, 
the  next  stroke  was  to  buy  a  run  of  thirty  inch  stone  on  two 
years'  time,  as  it  began  to  be  seen  that  this  man  was  one  of  the 
sort  that  wins  success  by  being  worthy  of  it.  There  was  thus  a 
mill  and  dam  with  one  run  for  wheat  and  another  for  corn,  and 
to  accommodate  the  last  addition  to  the  machinery,  a  small 
building  was  raised  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  which  continued 
to  serve  its  purpose  until  the  summer  of  1867,  when  the  stone 
mills,  known  as  the  Excelsior  Mills  were  made  ready  for  occu- 
pancy, and  have  since  been  made  the  center  of  one  of  the  most 
profitable  industries  in  the  state  of  Kansas.  When  all  the  burrs 
are  in  full  run  they  grind  1,000  bushel?  of  wheat  every  twenty- 
four  hours,  but  the  ordinary  daily  run  is  about  700  bushels. 
The  monetary  operations  of  Perry  Hutchinson's  mill  amount  to 
$500  per  day,  and  the  wheat  that  is  ground  into  flour  by  him 
comes  from  distances  of  150  milod.  The  product  of  his  mill  is 
valued  because  he  is  a  first  class  miller,  and  has  put  his  whole  soul 
into  the  business.  He  is  valuable  to  us  because  his  example 
shows  that  a  strong  willed  man  is  worth  more  to  this  state  than 
even  a  bank  balance. 


Hon.  Harlan  Page  Dow,  senator  for  the  27tli  senatorial  dis- 


was  a  belief 
■  everybody 
ould  do  his 
Xo  the  13th 
d  for  a  mill 

passed  and 
Inale  looked 
3  Captain  to 
ictor  for  the 
wn  artificer, 
joing  to  the 

During  the 
1  the  spring, 

fall;  when, 
!,  he  raised 
1,  which  was 

his  fortune, 
;one  on  two 
13  one  of  the 
e  was  thus  a 
[or  corn,  and 
jry,  a  small 
;;h  continued 
3n  the  stone 
dy  for  occu- 
of  the  most 
all  the  burrs 
very  twenty- 
700  bushels. 
1  amount  to 
bur  by  him 
f  his  mill  is 
is  whole  soul 
his  example 
is  state  than 


enatorial  dis- 


BiOGRAniicAL  Sketches. 


705 


trict,  was  born  on  the  20th  of  February,  1840,  at  Richland  Springs, 
Otsego  county,  N.  Y ;  his  parents  being  in  comfortable  circum- 
stances on  their  own  farm,  and  their  son,  dividing  his  attention 
from  childhood  to  the  age  of  seventeen  between  farm  work  in  the 
summer  and  tuition  in  the  winter  seasons.  His  father,  having 
become  surety  for  other  persons,  was  bereft  of  nearly  all  his  prop- 
erty in  the  j'car  1857.  and  removed  to  Page  county,  Iowa.  Dur- 
ing the  winter  of  1857-8  the  boy  attended  the  openin-g  term  at 
"Amity  College,"  anil  in  the  following  year  taught  school,  until 
the  death  of  his  father  necessitated  his  return  to-  farm  life  to  sup- 
port the  younger  branches  of  the  family  and  his  mother.  He 
married  in  the  year  1860,  when  twenty  years  of  age,  and  in  the 
following  year  enlisted  in  a  regiment  of  militia  raised  for  six 
months  only,  in  Iowa,  to  put  down  the  rebellion.  Private  Dow 
was  elected  lieutenant  by  his  comrades,  and  at  the  close  of  that 
gervice  he  entered  tlife  ranks  of  the  fourth  cavalry  regiment  raised 
by  the  state  of  Missouri  under  Col.  Geo.  11.  Hall.  Within  six 
months  he  was  once  more  a  lieutenant,  and  participated  in  the 
battle  of  Springfield,  already  described  in  our  military  history,  as 
■ivell  as  in  many  engagements  of  le.ss  note.  His  capacity  as  an 
administrator  and  jurist  led  to  his  being  detailed  for  special  duties 
on  many  occasions.  He  served  as  judge  advocate  in  the  general 
court  martial  and  military  commission  that  was  convened  at 
Booneville,  Mo.,  in  July,  1863,  and  again  at  Jefferson  City  in 
1864 ;  besides  being  "  recorder  of  boards  of  survey  "  and  of  courts 
of  enquiry  on  twelve  occasions.  Gen.  Rosecrans  appointed  Capt. 
Dow  to  the  ordnance  department  in  Jefferson  City  in  the  year 
last  named,  in  which  position  he  remained  wntil  the  regiment  was 
mustered  out  of  the  service  and  honorably  discharged,  in.  the 
spring  of  1865.  The  fall  of  Richmond  was  yet  an  uncertain 
event,  and  the  governor  of  Missouri  at  once  raised  a  regiment  to 
serve  for  twelve  months  to  suppress  the  last  symptoms  of  revolt 
in  the  turbulent  districts  under  his  control.  Capt  Dow  was  ap- 
pointed to  a  company,  but  the  fall  of  Richmond,  the  surrender  at 
Appomattox,  the  general  collapse  of  the  rebellion  and  the  capture 
of  Jefferson  Davis,  completely  subdued  the  hopes  of  the  riotously 
disposed,  so  that  the  force  could  be  mustered  out  of  the  service 
in  July,  1865.  Capt.  Dow  returned  at  once  to  the  avocation  of 
45 


V? 


700 


Tvttlk's  IfisTonr  or  Kansas. 


farm  life  in  I'ago  county,  lowii,  continuing  thus  engaged  until  he 
sold  out  and  cume  to   Kansas  in  the  year  18G9.     Having  pur- 
chased 320  acres  of   unimproved  land   in  Kiley  county  in  May, 
18(39,  Mr.  Dow  had  a  task  upon  his  hands  that  required  all  his 
energy,  but  he  has  now  the  half  mile  of  territory  all  inclosed  and 
120  acres  u..der  cultivation.     The  times  have  not  been  favorable 
for  farm  life  m  Kan.sas  since  liis  land  has  been  fairly  broken  ;  the_ 
drouth  and  the  locusts  have  given  the  co-mty  two  complete  fail- 
ures of  crop,  and  there  have  been  two  semi-failures,  but  in  spite 
of  all  drawbacks,  ho  is  a  prosperous  settler  in  Kansas.     In  tho 
year  1871,  ho  was  chosen  a  trustee  for  Grant  township,  and  dis- 
charged his  duties  with  so  much  elTicieney  that  two  years  later  he 
was'scnt  by  the  county  to  the  house  of  representatives,  and  in 
1874  was  elected  to  the  senate  for  the  term  which  .    '^   expire  in 
November  of  the  present  year.     Capt.  Dow  is  recogni/.  .d  among 
the  soundest  politicians  of  the  time  as  a  fast  friend  to  his  party,    , 
but  one  capable  of 'discriminating  wisely  in  the  interests  of  pro- 
gress.    Personally,  he  is  more  inclined  for  home  life  and  its  peace  . 
than  for  the  turmoil  of  political  existence,  but  the  call  of  duty 
never  finds  him  unready  or  unwilling  to  respond.     lie  may  be   - 
described  as  one  of  tho  more  liberal  orthodox  thinkers,  having 
long  been  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  be- 
ing°conscientiously  opposed  to  indulgences  in  liquor  and  tobacco. 
His  manners  are  reserved,  and  he  is  somewhat  slow  in  the  forma- 
tion of  attachments,  but  the  tie  onco  formed  is  enduring.     He  has 
given  very  considerable  assistance  to  the  organizations  of  patrons 
of  husbandry,  having  risen  therein  to  the  dignity  of  master,  and 
is  generally  a  man  to  be  found  in  every  good  work. 

Brev.  Maj.  Gen.aCakr  may  be  cited  as  a  professional  soldier 
for  a  veiy  brief  notice  in  order  that  our  range  of  illustrations  may 
be  complete.  He  is  now  46  years  of  age,  having  first  seen  the  light 
in  Erie  county.  New  York,  in  March,  1830.  He  entered  West 
Point  Military  Academy  in  1846,  graduated  in  1850  and -entered 
the  regiment  of  mounted  riflemen.  He  was  engaged  in  expedi- 
tions to  the  Rockv  :Mountains  in  1852-3,  and  was  in  Texas  and 
New  Mexico  in  1854,  being  wounded  in  a  fight  with  the  Mesea- 
lero  Apaches  at  Mount  Diavolo  Texas,  in  November  of  that  year. 


»a 


U  vH' 


y 


¥ 


t^ 


ii-iJtKm 


i> 


BlOGRA PllICAL  Sia:T('IIES. 


roT 


until  he 
ing  pur- 
in  May, 
1  all  his 
osed  an  J 
[avorablo 
ken ;  the_ 
[jlctc  fail- 
t  in  spite 
In  the 
and  tlis- 
■s  later  he 
;s,  and  in. 
expire  in 
d  among 
his  party, 
ts  of  pro- 

I  its  peace 

II  of  duty 
[e  may  be 
rs,  having 
h,  and  be- 
d  tobacco, 
the  forrna- 
;.  He  has 
of  patrons 
naster,  and 


)nal  soldier 

ations  may 

en  the  light 

;ered  West 

md 'entered 

in  expedi- 

Texas  and 

the  Mesca- 

oi  that  year. 


¥ 


Lieut.  Carr  of  the  first  cavalry  was  employed  on  the  Sioux  expe- 
dition in  1855,  and  after  that  date   found  warm  work  in  cooling 
partisan  strife  in  Kansas  for  some  years.     Was  aid-decamp  to 
Gov.  Walker  during  his  administration,  and  in  1858  was  on  the 
Utah  Expedition,  being  made  captain  in  June  of  that  year.     Fort 
Washita,  C.  K,  was  his  station  until  1861,  and  he  went  witli  the 
expeditions  in  1859-60  to  the  Antelope  Hills,  to  the  Kiowas  and 
Comanches,    and  was  in  the  battle  at  Spring  Creek.     In  May, 
1861,  when  the  rebellion  br'->ke  out  he  fought  under  Gen.  Lyon  at 
Wilson's  Creek,  as  also  in  many  minor  engagements ;    became 
colonel  of  3d  Illinois  cavalry  volunteers  in  September,  and  acted 
as    brigadier   general    during  Fremont's  Hundred  Days.     Under 
Hunter,  Halleck  and  Curtis   in  1861-2,  he  commanded  cavalry 
in  observation  toward  Springfield,  Missouri,  and  later  the  ■1th  di- 
vision of  the  army  of  the  southwest,  being  in  the  battles  at  Sugar 
Creek,  Pea  Kidge,  and  elsewhere,  and  made  brigadier  general  of 
volunteers  in  March,  ]872.      The  demonstration  on  Little  Rock 
and  march  to  Helena,  Arkansas,  and  the  command  of  the  army  of 
the  southwest,  with  the  command  of  the  St.  Louis  district,  Mis- 
souri, during  the  winter,  accounted  for  1862-3,  and  early  in  the 
year  last  named  he  was  with  Grant  at  Vicksburg  commanding  the 
3d  division  of  the  13th  army  corps  at  Magnolia  Church,  Jackson, 
Champion  Hills,  Black  River  Bridge,  as  well  as  in  the  several  as- 
saults, siege  and  capture  of  Vicksburg.     He  next  commanded  the 
left  wing  of  the  16th  army  corps  at  Corinth,  Missouri,  and,  trans- 
ferred to  Little  Rock,  Arkansas,  was  in  command  of  the  cavalry 
division  and  subsequently  of  the  district.     Was  with   Steele  on 
the  Camden  expedition,  taking  part  in  the  brilliant  affair  at  Prairie 
de  Anne,  and  in  command  at  Poison  Springs  and  Saline  river ; 
commanded  the  3d  division  of  the  16th  army  corps  during  the 
}*Iobile  campaign  in   many  engagements,  the  capture  of  Spanish 
fort  by  assault,  the  assault  on  Blakeley,  and  the  march  on  Mont- 
gomery, Alabama  ;  in  the  winter  of  1865-6,  commanding  the  St. 
Francis  river  district;  was  mustered  Out.  of  volunteers  and  re. 
turned  to  the  regular  army  ;  was  in  command  at  Raleigh,  North 
Carolina  from  1866  to  1867  ;  then  acting  inspector  general,  de 
partment  of  Washington  until  the  fall  1868  ;  afterwards  on  an  ex- 
pedition against  the  Arapahoes,  Cheyenne  and  Sioux  Indians,  in 


708  TvTTLffs  JIisToiir  of  Kaxsas. 

which  the  battles  nt  the  Ikaver  atul  Chalk  Bluffs  drove  the  enemy 
out  of  Ktinsas.  The  second  battle  of  the  Beaver  in  1869  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  pursuit  to  the  Republican  ;  broke  up  the  dog-soldier 
band  and  rescued  Mrs.  Weichel,  a  white  captive  at  the  battle  of 
Sunwnit  Sp.ings,  in  July,  1869,  on  the  Summit  expedition,  and 
was  thanked  by  the  legislatures  of  Nebraska  and  Colorado  ;  com- 
manded' the  5th  cavalry  in  Arizona  from  November,  1871,  until 
April,  1874,  having  been  promoted  to  lieutenant  colonel  in  Jan- 
uary, 1873,  and  allowed  a  brief  respite  from  service  which  was 
spent  in  Enrope.  Brev.  Maj.  Gen.  Carr  is  now  in  command  of 
his  regiment  at  Fort  Hays,  in  this  state. 

Gkorge  D.  Stinebaugh  was  born  in  Crawford  county,  Ohio, 
in  1840 ;  he  lived  on  a  farm,  receiving  a  good  commercial  educa- 
tion until  1860,  soon  after  which  time  he  became  a  soldier  and 
was  severely  woundfd  at  Jonesborough,  Georgia,  in  September, 
1864.     The  injury  necessitated  amputation  of  his  left  leg,  and  in 
August,  1865,  Mr.  Stinebaugh  was  honorably  discharged.     In  the 
year  1866,  the  partially  disabled  soldier  removed  to  this  state,  and 
was  elected  enrolling  clerk  of  the  house  of  representatives  in  the 
following  year.    In  November,  1867,  he  was  chosen  county  clerk 
of   Franklin  county,  and  has  since  that  time  been  reelected  in 
1869,  '71,  '73  and  '75 ;  a  tolerably  good  showing,  that  he  has  been 
as  faithful  to  the  county  as  he  was  to  the  nation.     In  politics  he 
is  thoroughly  republican,  going  for  the  ticket  of  his  party,  first, 
^   last  and  all  the  time,  so  that  his  friends  can  at  all  times  tell  where 
he  may  be  found.     The  war  has  left  us  many  such  faithful  and  fear- 
less men,  taught  in  the  hard  discipline  of  the  battlefield,  to   value 
the  privileges  of  civil  government,  and  ready  to  discharge  its 
functions  with  all  the  energy  at  their  disposal. 


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